Silkworm moths may be familiar to everyone, because when I was a child, I often raised a few silkworms as pets in my spare time, and the small white moths that appear after the feathering of these silkworm cocoons are silkworm moths. The great silkworm moth, literally, is at least larger, and it is a general term for insects of the Lepidoptera macrophyllaceae, which is larger, such as the larger silkworm moth of the genus Jiù, with a wingspan of about 25 cm, larger than the palm of an adult' hand. There is no distribution of large silkworm moths in the Qinling mountains and Bashan areas, but the ginkgo large silkworm moth, the green-tailed silkworm moth, the long-tailed silkworm moth, etc. are very common, and they are generally larger and colorful, and they are no less beautiful than butterflies. The large silkworm moth likes to be active at night and is not easy to observe, but the good thing is that its adult insects are mostly phototropic, and it is easy to find them under the summer lights, so that we can appreciate their beauty and horror.
Ginkgo biloba silkworm moth
Ginkgo biloba silkworm moth is a very common large silkworm moth in the Qinba Mountains, the diet is very complex, in addition to feeding on ginkgo biloba, it also endangers walnuts, maple poplars, oak trees, persimmon trees and other plants. In recent years, the southern Shaanxi region has vigorously carried out walnut planting, the ginkgo silkworm moth has become one of the main insect pests, its larvae eat a large amount, when the insect mouth is more, the leaves of the whole tree can be eaten, only the branches are left, and the harm to the development of the walnut industry is huge. The cocoon of the Ginkgo giant silkworm moth is relatively special, mesh-shaped, highly recognizable, and can often be seen in the wild.
The green-tailed silkworm moth
The green-tailed silkworm moth is also an important pest of walnuts, and also harms poplar trees, willow trees, camphor trees, moon seasons and other plants. The author once raised the green-tailed silkworm moth, providing its larvae with four kinds of plants: weeping willow, moon season, camphor and maple poplar, and the larvae prefer to eat maple poplar, and finally raised it with maple poplar leaves. The larvae of the green-tailed silkworm moth are huge at the end of their age, as thick as fingers, and their whole body is emerald green, like jasper, which is very cute. Its adult wings are pale green , and the hindwings have tail-like protrusions about 4 cm long , hence the name " Green-tailed Silkworm Moth " .
Long-tailed silkworm moth
The long-tailed silkworm moth and the green-tailed silkworm moth belong to the same genus of tailed silkworm moths, but its tail process is longer, reaching 8-10 cm, like a streamer, making the whole moth look like a kite. We can imagine how ethereal the scene of such a beautiful moth dragging a "long tail" flying in the night should be! The long-tailed silkworm moth mainly harms oak trees, camphor trees, etc., compared to the green-tailed silkworm moth is rarer, the author photographed one in Zhenping County and Hanbin District, all of which are males.
Leopard silkworm moth
Leopard silkworm moth larvae mainly feed on citrus and other rue family plants, but also harm ash willow and so on. In the genus Leopard Silkworm Moth, the Leopard Silkworm Moth is the largest, but its wingspan is only 5-7 cm, which is far from the Large Silkworm Moth. The adult body of the leopard silkworm moth is bright yellow, has four eye spots on the wings, and is distributed with many wavy black lines, which is also very beautiful.
Silkworm moth
Chū is the ancient name of the Ailanthus tree, which feeds on Ailanthus and also harms the sycamore, camphor tree, salt-skinned wood, walnut and so on. Adult silkworm moths have tanned wings, the most obvious feature of which is the 4-month-shaped translucent markings on the wing surface. What is even more peculiar is that the tip of its forewing is blunt and rounded, coupled with a small black eye spot, which looks like a living snake head, so some people like to call the silkworm moth "snake head moth", which is speculated to be able to intimidate predators and have a certain self-protection effect.
Cat-eyed silkworm moth
The cat's name is very apt because it has a pair of markings that resemble cat's eyes in the middle of its hindwings. This pair of eye spots is exquisite, the sense of three-dimensionality is very strong, making people feel like a pair of real, watery eyes. Every time I see it, I can't help but feel stared at by its fierce gaze, and it is estimated that birds and other predators will be frightened when they see it.
Experience the natural wilderness of autumn in qinling on the weekend
Walk into the most beautiful autumn in Qinling mountains on the weekend, walk into nature under the leadership of professional nature experience engineers, regain the sensitivity to nature and beauty, appreciate the wonderful survival wisdom of animals and plants through natural observation, inspire curiosity and imagination about natural objects, and share the experience and happy time of playing with nature with children!
■Event time: October 28 (Sunday) 8:30 a.m. (Qujiang New District Yanxiang Road No. 3001 Huashang Newspaper entrance, unified ride)
■Location: Niubeiliang National Nature Reserve
■ Recruitment age: Friends over 6 years old who like the size of animals and plants
■ Number of recruits: 50 people
■ Activity fee: 180 yuan per person / time (the same price for adults and children, including transportation, insurance, tickets, tutor fees, manual teaching aids)
■ Registration method: Pay attention to the "it world" WeChat public account, fill in the "name + age + number + phone number" information, send it to us, the staff will contact you in time to confirm.
Plant Story Club: The Secret of The Changing Color of the Qinling Mountains
The 29th issue of the natural science popularization activity "Plant Story Club", jointly founded by Xi'an Botanical Garden and Huashang Daily in Shaanxi Province, invites you to walk into the most beautiful autumn of Xi'an Botanical Garden, under the leadership of plant experts, to understand the fruits of autumn, understand the mystery of the colorful color change of autumn leaves, and the secret of the color change of Qinling Mountains. Make beautiful autumn leaves by hand and leave a memory of autumn.
■Location: New Area of Xi'an Botanical Garden, South Third Ring Road
■ Number of recruits: 30 people
■Activity fee: 50 yuan per person/time (the same price for adults and children)