White butterflies that appear in the spring in our gardens, kitchen gardens and parks are the nymphalids of the white family. These include not only harmless dealers, but also pests of vegetable and fruit crops, such as cabbage, birch bark, and ladybird. Hawthorn - a white butterfly with black veins on its wings, also belongs to the genus of whites. The wingspan reaches 70 millimeters, and the size of the butterfly itself exceeds 3 centimeters. The distribution area of this representative of the lepidopteran squad is Eurasia and North Africa.
Description
The butterfly, white with black veins, is so impressive in its color that it is remembered from childhood. She settles in meadows, in gardens, very often she can be found on the banks of water bodies. This butterfly appears in early May and moves not alone, but in whole groups, creating an amazingly beautiful sight. The butterfly itself eats floral nectar. But the caterpillars that hatch from the numerous (over the summer this figure reaches 500 pieces) eggs laid by a female butterfly cause irreparable harm. Fruit trees such as apple trees, pears, hawthorn (hence the name of the butterfly) and buckthorn are most damaged by them. Caterpillars devour not only buds, depriving plants of future foliage, but also buds of future flowers. Thus, the white butterfly with black veins is the reason for the low yield of fruit crops.
After the end of the period of nutrition and growth (this is approximately two weeks after the blossoming of the gardens), the caterpillars spread along branches and fences, release a web and gradually pupate.
The pupa of the hawthorn (green or yellow with black spots) matures 2 weeks, after which a young butterfly emerges from it. In total, only one generation of hawthorns hatch during the summer.
Legend of bloody rain
Hawthorn - a white butterfly with black veins on its wings - is the heroine of legends associated with frightening bloody rains. These rains were considered harbingers of tragedy and very frightened uneducated peasants. However, later, scientists found out their cause. It turned out that at the time of transformation of the hawthorn pupa into an adult, it releases a small amount of reddish liquid. If there were a sufficiently large number of such pupae, then during the summer rain the liquid, mixing with the raindrops, was a rather frightening sight - the rain turned into bloody.
Another white pest
Another butterfly is a pest of fruit trees - it is an American white butterfly. It is slightly larger than the hawthorn, its wings are white with black and brown dots. Unlike the hawthorn, she is a representative of the genus Ursa.
Methods of struggle
Pests of fruit trees and shrubs must be controlled using various insecticides to destroy them. To do this, even before flowering, they spray the undeveloped buds of plants. In addition, throughout the season, it is necessary to destroy all cobweb nests, and in the autumn to remove from the trees all twisted leaves in which pupae can hide. Collected nests and leaves must be burned.
