domenica 2 gennaio 2011

Insects - Papilio machaon, the european swallowtail... my childhood friend.

female swallowtail (Papilio machaon) on buddleja. Photo Andrea Mangoni.
An old female swallowtail (Papilio machaon) on Buddleja. Photo Andrea Mangoni.
Punctual as every year, in june, the childhood friend will come back.

Every summer, in fact, the big privet bush (bush? Tree!) in my garden become the canteen for the european swallowtail (Papilio machaon).

Cildhood friend because, since childhood, she seems to me the queen of the butterflies; and because his colored caterpillars were a prize for my research on insects in the garden, and sometimes ended up running away from the furniture, and after a while the beautiful butterfly suddenly appeared in my room, attracted by the light of the window.

Now, unfortunately, the swallowtail has become quite rare in my region. The decrease in the family garden plots may have contributed to its depletion. The larvae, in fact, grow on the Umbelliferae, and found abundant food on carrots (Daucus carota) and fennel (Foeniculum vulgare). The caterpillar becomes a beautiful adult butterfly in the spring from pupae that have overwintered, and then (at our latitude) there is a first generation, with adults who are flickering in the summer and give birth to a second generation, whose larvae become pupae spend the winter in diapause, with their silk belt attached to a twig or a wall.

Papilio machaon caterpillar. Photo Andrea Mangoni

Years ago I remember that I'd sown in the country along the shore, the carrots, the aim was only to help these beautiful butterflies to find adequate food for their offspring. Try it you too, perhaps leaving in the garden until late autumn these plants with their beautiful green foliage vaguely reminiscent ferns and don't forget to plant privet and Buddleja: especially the second, in summer, becomes a well-stocked "bar " for this butterfly and many other species. With a little luck, even your garden can accommodate this beautiful insect.

European swallowtail(Papilio machaon). Photo Andrea Mangoni
Papilio machaon. Photo Andrea Mangoni.

Nessun commento:

Posta un commento