PRACTICAL NOTE ON BUTTERFLY (LEPIDOPTERA) AND CATERPILLAR.

BUTTERFLY

Habitat of the butterfly;

• Flower
• Garden,
• Vegetation
• Field

Life cycle is Complete metamorphosis

Scientific Classification

Phylum Arthropoda

Reason:

• Presence of a chitinous exoskeleton
• Metameric segmentation
• Presence of jointed appendages attached to each segment.
• Bilaterally symmetrical
• Triploblastic coelomate
• Open circulation (haemocilic)
• Undergo moulting.

Class Insecta

Reason:

• Presence of a pair of compound eyes
• Presence of three body divisions (namely, head, thorax, and abdomen)
• Presence of a pair of antennae
• Presence of three pairs of thoracic legs

Order Lepidoptera

Reason:

• The body and wings are covered with scales
• Mouthparts are modified as a coiled proboscis for sucking

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Observable Features

• Coiled proboscis
• Spirally coiled antennae / clubbed antennae
• Scaly wings
• Hairy abdomen
• Eye spots on wings
• Proportionally larger wings than the rest of the body

Feeding Habit

• Fluid feeding on plant juice (fruits and nectar of flowers)

Reason:

• Presence of a proboscis that pierces succulent fruits/parts

Features for Movement

• Wings for flight
• Legs for perching or walking

Features for Feeding

• Proboscis to suck plant juice

Features for Protection/ To Escape Danger

• Eye spot
• Antennae
• Compound eyes

Economic Importance of the Butterfly

• The larva destroys citrus leaves
• The adult destroys citrus fruits
• The adult helps in pollination
• Some caterpillars produce silk
• Used as ornaments

Agricultural Importance /Effects of Butterflies on Crop Production

• Pollination of flowers through feeding on nectar from one plant to another
• Pest of fruits through the sucking of juice with the proboscis

Effects of butterflies on crop production:

Pollinator:

• When the insect visits a flower to suck nectar with its proboscis, pollen adheres to the undersurface of the insect.
• As it visits another flower to obtain more nectar, pollen from its body gets dusted on the stigma of the flower, thereby bringing about pollination

Pest:

• When feeding on fruits such as mango and orange, the proboscis pierces the fruit to suck juice.
• This leads to the decay of the fruit

What is the importance of eyespots in butterflies?

• Protection against predation.
• Eye spots are more prominent than the actual eyes, hence predators are misdirected to attack the tip of wings bearing eyespots rather than the head region

Differences Between the Butterfly and the Grasshopper

BUTTERFLY	GRASSHOPPER
Round head	V-shaped head
Limbs of almost equal size	Enlarged hind limbs
Spirally coiled antennae	Shorter uncoiled antennae
Sucking mouth parts	Biting or chewing mouth parts
Scaly wings	Leathery wings
Broad wings	Narrow wings
Proportionally larger wings	Proportionally smaller wings.
Hairs cover the body.	Body covered by plates

CATERPILLAR

Details of Drawing

• 5 or more spiracles
• True legs on the first 3rd thoracic segments
• Prolegs on the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th abdominal segments

Features of Biological Interest

• Clasper for gripping support
• Chewing mouth parts for feeding on leaves
• Prolegs provide extra attachment to the plant
• Green colour blends with the environment

The common name is Caterpillar, and the stage in the life cycle is Larva

The name of the next stage is Chrysalis (Pupal stage)

Name of adult is Butterfly

The life cycle is a complete metamorphosis

The function of the stage in the life cycle is to feed actively and store food for the pupal stage.

The major activities of the larva are feeding and growing

Habitat:

• Plants/ leaves of plants

Reasons:

• Presence of Prolegs for climbing
• Presence of claspers for gripping support
• Chewing mouthparts for chewing leaves
• Green colour blends with the environment

Feeding habit is Herbivorous, and the diet is Vegetation/leaves

Adaptive Features

• Claspers for gripping support
• Prolegs provide extra support for climbing
• Chewing mouthparts for chewing vegetation

Similarities between the specimen and its adult

• Eyes
• Eyes spot
• Three pairs of thoracic Legs
• Three Body divisions
• Spiracles
• Segmented body

Differences Between a Butterfly and a Caterpillar

ADULT BUTTERFLY	CATERPILLAR
Wing present	Wing absent
Sucking mouthparts (proboscis)	Chewing mouthparts (mandibles)
Compound eyes	Simple eyes
No prolegs	Prolegs present
Claspers absent	Claspers present
Longer thoracic legs	Shorter thoracic legs
A pair of antennae	Antennae absent

Features of interest

• It has a head, thorax, and abdomen
• It has a small head that bears the mouthparts for chewing.
• Has no compound eyes but six ocelli
• A pair of short antennae
• It is green with dark-brown markings and orange spots
• The thorax bears three pairs of walking legs
• The abdomen bears cushion feet called prolegs
• The tenth abdominal segment is modified into a pair of claspers
• The functions of the legs, prolegs, and claspers are for walking and holding firmly to the plant.
• Pairs of spiracles on the thorax and abdomen for gaseous exchange

Adaptive Features to Live on Plants and Feed on Leaves

• Clasper for gripping support
• Chewing mouth parts for feeding on leaves
• Prolegs provide extra attachment to the plant

Adaptive Features to Escape Predation

• Colour provides camouflage/blends with the environment/leaves of plants
• Eyespot startles predators
• Osmeterium is a temporal structure that releases a foul smell to scare predators

Adaptive Features of Feeding

• Chewing mouthparts

Economic Importance of the Caterpillar

• The larva destroys citrus leaves
• Some caterpillars produce silk
• It’s adult destroys citrus fruits
• Its adult helps in pollination

Agricultural importance of the specimen

• Destroys/feeds on leaves of plants
• It’s adult pierce and sucks citrus fruits, causing premature fruit fall and reducing yield
• Adults pollinate flowers and crops, leading to fertilization and fruit formation

Effects of Caterpillar on Crop Production

• Feeds by chewing green stems and leaves, thereby reducing the yield of farm crops

Plants commonly affected by the caterpillar

• Citrus, such as an orange
• Cereals such as maize

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