Birch Moth is a pest that you need to know in person

Birch moth is a butterfly-pest. She is well-known to the gardeners of our country, because of her fault, not one fruit crop has been lost. Fortunately, today scientists have studied the habits of this insect well, which allowed to effectively combat it.

Who is who?

Butterfly birch moth got its name due to its appearance. The thing is that dark spots are scattered in a chaotic order on her white body. This color is similar to the one that bears the birch bark. In the rest it is not much different from representatives of a huge family of moths.

Habitat

Birch moth is a very numerous species. Its representatives can be found almost throughout Europe. The only exception is the Far North, since the climate prevailing there is absolutely not suitable for her way of life. The same rule applies to Russian lands.

It should be understood that trees are extremely important for survival of this insect. Therefore, it tries to settle in those areas where there is excellent access to them. The ideal environment is fruit plantations or forests. However, if there are none, the birch moth can safely manage the city park or square.

Appearance of an insect

Pheidenitsa is a small butterfly with a fairly thick body. The wingspan in adults is 4-5 cm. It is curious that initially all butterflies of this species had a light gray color with a lot of dark pigments. However, in recent years their color has undergone strong changes. So, the birch moth became much darker, and once clear spots and at all began to merge with the body.

The reason for this was evolution: because of life in the city, butterflies were forced to adapt to the colors of the surrounding world, otherwise they would become easy prey for birds. Those insects that live in the forest, still remain true to their old war paint.

By the way, similar metamorphosis is very useful for research of ecologists. Observing the color of butterflies, they can determine how polluted their region is. Given this, it's nice to realize that even the most malicious pest has its positive sides.

Reproduction period of butterflies

With the advent of May, the mating season begins at birch moths. Inebriated with pheromones, they flock to each other and start circling in a ritual dance. And if the partner is suitable for the female, then soon the act of coition begins. It lasts only a fraction of a second, but this is enough to pollinate the thousands of eggs that the "lady" has.

After that, the birch moth is looking for a safe place for future offspring. Often, such is a crack in the bark of a tree or a small hole in its trunk. On average, one female can lay between 700 and 2,000 eggs. And just imagine how much food this colony needs at the moment of its awakening!

In addition, caterpillars develop throughout the summer. That is, they have three months to ruin the local gardens. And only with the advent of autumn they burrow into the ground, where they turn into pupae. And in the spring the whole process of metamorphosis repeats itself again on the circle circled by centuries.

Defiler of trees

Caterpillar butterfly of birch moth is one of the most dangerous pests living in the territory of the Russian Federation. Hatching from the egg, it begins to eat everything that meets the path, whether it be leaves, buds, buds, flowers or fruits. And given their number, it's not hard to guess that literally in one day they can destroy a good part of the greenery on the tree.

Therefore, gardeners try to pre-process their trees, so that they are not attacked by omnivorous caterpillars. In addition, in this difficult struggle people come to the rescue of some species of birds. After all, if adult butterflies are protected by a camouflage color, then their offspring is lighter and nutritious.

Methods of pest control

Gardeners are well aware of who the birch moth is. The photo of this pest is familiar to most of them. After all, as they say, the enemy needs to know in person. As for the very struggle with caterpillars, it is best to use special chemical preparations for pollination of fruit trees ("Lipotsid", "Gomelin").

Experienced gardeners are used to hanging tapes in advance from their trees. After all, firstly, they are environmentally friendly, and secondly, they easily catch uninvited guests. All in all, you need to change the traps in time and destroy the butterflies trapped in them.