Moth: what larvae and caterpillars look like, main habitats, damage caused with photos, significance in biogeocenosis

Botanical description

The moth or surveyor is part of the Butterfly family, which has a huge number of species.

The butterfly is called a moth for the similarity of the way its caterpillar moves with a span, that is, a hand. The scientific name Geometridae is translated from Greek as “land surveyor,” which is also associated with the peculiarity of movement.

The moth, as seen in the photo, looks like a small or medium-sized butterfly with an elongated thin body and two pairs of wings - the upper ones in the shape of a triangle and the lower ones rounded. The wingspan of the moth depends on the type of butterfly and varies from 9–50 mm (usually 30). In females, the lower wings reach the end of the abdomen, while in the male they protrude slightly beyond it.

The coloring of the wings of most moths is protective, which gives them the opportunity to remain unnoticed on tree trunks and branches.

At rest, the moth folds its wings parallel to its body. Some butterflies lift them up and press them against each other. Both positions make them look like a folded piece of paper, which makes for good camouflage.

The moth has no eyes; the antennae of males are thread-like, while those of females are feathery or comb-like. The spiral proboscis is not well developed, the limbs are thin.

Caterpillars have a thin, long body with two underdeveloped pairs of legs, which are located in the middle part of the abdomen.

This structure determines the characteristic way of movement of the caterpillar - resting on the thoracic legs, it bends and lifts the middle part of the body and tightens the hind limbs. Then, resting his hind limbs, he stretches out the front part of the body.

Interesting! The presence of well-developed muscles allows the caterpillar to take a vertical position, standing on its hind legs.

Appearance of an insect

The moth is a small butterfly with a rather thick body. The wingspan of adults is 4-5 cm. It is curious that initially all butterflies of this species were light gray in color with many dark pigments. However, in recent years their color has undergone dramatic changes. Thus, the birch moth became much darker, and the once clear spots began to completely 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, because otherwise they would have become easy prey for birds. Those insects that live in the forest still remain true to their old war paint.

By the way, such metamorphoses are very useful for ecologists’ research. By observing the colors of butterflies, they can determine how polluted their region is. With this in mind, it's nice to know that even the worst pest has its positive sides.

Lifestyle

The moth's weak wings do not allow it to make long flights, so this butterfly moves short distances and mainly in the dark. Some species fly during the day, but only in dry, windless weather.

Interesting! The females of some species of moths do not fly at all, which greatly facilitates the fight against them.

Throughout its short life, the butterfly feeds on flower nectar or does not eat at all (this depends on the species).

After mating, the moth lays elongated oval eggs on the bark or vegetative parts of fruit and ornamental plants. The larvae hatching from the eggs begin to actively devour green buds and leaves, and by the time of pupation they descend to the ground. This pest overwinters in a pupa, from which a butterfly emerges in the spring, after which the process is repeated again.

Pest structure

Males and females have significant differences in appearance.

Male butterflies have short thin antennae and wings, the span of which reaches up to 3 cm. The front wings are complex in color - grayish-brown with dots, they are crossed transversely by wavy stripes of dark color. The hind ones are lighter, yellowish in color.

Male winter moth

Female winter moths have a different structure: a butterfly of this species can be recognized by its inflated abdomen and short wings, the length of which does not exceed 3 mm. They have 1–2 transverse stripes. Underdeveloped wings prevent females from flying. The body is grayish-brown in color, length - about 1 cm. The butterfly's antennae, unlike those of the male, are long.

The eggs are small, oblong in shape, covered with a thick shell. When the female just lays eggs, they have a greenish color, and after a while they become brownish-red, invisible against the background of the tree bark.

The eggs hatch into caterpillars with 5 pairs of legs (3 front, 2 back). The caterpillar's head is yellow or light brown, the body is greenish-yellow. There is a dark stripe running down the center of the back, and 3 light stripes on the sides. The body length reaches about 230 mm.

The pupa has a brownish color; at the end of its abdomen you can see forked small spines.

What does the winter moth breathe? Butterflies and caterpillars do this with the help of tracheas. On the sides of the body there are holes (stigmas, spiracles) into which air enters. There are 9 pieces on each side, making a total of 18. The first pair is on 1 chest ring, the others are evenly distributed along the abdominal rings.

Along the edges of the stigmas there are hairs that protect the respiratory organs of the winter moth from dust and other objects getting inside.

Types of moths

Among the variety of moths, not all are harmful. Several moth pests can be found in the Russian Federation.

Sosnovaya

Gray wings with a red tint, decorated with zigzags and small spots of white, black, and brown, make this moth inconspicuous against the background of tree bark. During the development period, caterpillars actively devour needles, which causes significant damage to coniferous forests, especially young plantings.

Berezovaya

Black spots on the wings allow this butterfly to remain unnoticed, blending in with the trunks of birch trees. Young caterpillars feed not only on birch leaves. They also like hazel and alder.

Black

The wings of this butterfly are black with a thin white edge along the upper edge. The caterpillar's body is green and velvety. Basically, these pests eat the leaves of chestnut trees, but they do not refuse other green spaces.

Fir

Thanks to its grayish wings with wavy lines, the fir moth on plants can be mistaken for a piece of a dry branch. This pest feeds on fir needles, but on occasion it can also devour other bushes and trees.

Gooseberry

A multi-colored butterfly whose white wings are decorated with alternating black and yellow stripes. The caterpillar of this moth also has a beautiful coloration.

The gooseberry moth causes trouble to gardeners more than its other relatives. The fact is that the caterpillar’s ​​list of victims includes not only gooseberry bushes, but also stone fruit trees.

Winter

An inconspicuous butterfly with black lines on grayish wings, called the winter moth, is no less dangerous for fruit and ornamental crops than the gooseberry moth. It causes great damage to all garden plants, eating away buds and young seeds from the inside.

Ripped off

A dark brown, cream or light green butterfly whose caterpillars damage almost all types of deciduous trees, as well as fruit and ornamental shrubs. The result of the activity of the peeler is lacerations on the leaf blades of plants.

Mulberry moth

Mulberry leaves are considered the favorite delicacy of the mulberry butterfly caterpillar. In the absence of such, it will feed on the leaves and buds of stone fruit crops.

Measures to combat the birch moth photo and video of butterflies and caterpillars

There are 15,000 species in the moth family.
It got its name because of some features of the caterpillar's method of movement. Insects have a dull color, the color of the wings is generally closer to the colors of the place of residence. The tight pressing of the wings and body to the bark of the trees allows the moths to blend into the general background.

It causes significant damage to forests and gardens, so it is necessary to start fighting them without delay.

Type of adaptation, form of natural selection, direction of evolution of the birch moth and transformation:

Like butterflies, moths and moths, this pest belongs to the order Lepidoptera. Description of appearance:

• The length of the wings is from 22 to 25 millimeters, their span is from 43 to 50 millimeters;
• Thick, cone-shaped body;
• The fore and hind wings are covered with chitinous scales;
• The body consists of three main sections: head, chest and abdomen;
• With the help of long antennae, which are sensory organs, they are able to perceive vibrations and smells;

REFERENCE: Sex differences are clearly visible in these pests. Males have more developed wings, females have smaller ones, and sometimes they don’t have them at all. The moth has a full development cycle.

• Has a light color;
• There is a pattern on the wings - black dots and longitudinal stripes;
• They are nocturnal.

Its stages of development:

• Egg;
• Larva (caterpillar);
• Pupa;
• Adult (imago).

Birch moth caterpillar:

The birch moth is capable of changing its color. The acquisition of this feature was influenced by external factors caused by human activity. The process of natural selection that caused the appearance of dark coloration is called industrial melanism.

Until the middle years of the 19th century, insects had white wings with black spots. Using this color scheme, butterflies were perfectly camouflaged on birch bark.

They could also hide in lichens and enemies would not notice them. Later, colonies of moths of the same color began to appear near the large industrial centers of Europe and North America.

The pests changed their main color to black.

REFERENCE: In areas without developed industrialization, the color of butterflies remains light. There is also an intermediate species of butterflies that live in the border strip of industrial areas; their color is gray with a black pattern.

What does an insect eat:

• Leaves of fruit trees (plum, cherry, apple trees);
• Leaves of maple, birch, willow, oak, beech.

Blackthorns and roses may also be at risk.

How to fight?

How to fight correctly:

• Females with underdeveloped wings are fought using adhesive trapping paper belts. They have garden glue on their surface that does not dry out. These belts help prevent female moths from crawling into treetops to lay eggs there. These belts are applied to the top and bottom of the trunk. Adhering insects and their eggs are destroyed;
• In late autumn, it is necessary to dig up the soil in the tree trunk area. It is necessary to dig up the soil from June to July, during the pupation of caterpillars. This will prevent insects from being born;
• Pests can be controlled quite effectively using biological methods of protection. One of the ways is to create suitable conditions for the life of the moth’s natural enemies - takhin flies and parasitic ichneumon flies;
• You can get rid of the pest if you treat the plants before or at the beginning of flowering, using insecticides (gomelin, lipocide, dendrobacillin).

HELP: To attract them, you need to plant umbrella plants (dill, celery, carrots) in the area.

Other ways to fight:

• Collect caterpillars and their nests by hand and then destroy the pests;
• Constantly clean the bark of lichens and mosses, whiten the trunks;
• Deeply loosen the soil in the tree trunk area and between the rows;
• Spray with biological preparations and pesticides during a massive pest invasion.

The birch moth is the most common pest. It is capable of infecting trees, devouring leaves; a huge number of parasites completely destroys tree crowns.

Agrotechnical, biological and mechanical methods also help fight the birch moth.

It is necessary to choose a method of control depending on the time of year, the extent to which the trees are affected by parasites, and the characteristics of the site.

Harm of the moth

It is not the moth butterfly itself that poses a danger to the garden, but its caterpillar, which actively devours both generative and vegetative parts of the plant and is capable of infecting large areas of green spaces in a short time.

The result of the caterpillars' activity is:

• deterioration in fruit quality;
• decrease in yield;
• decreased resistance to cold and disease;
• deterioration of ornamental plants.

To save your garden from this pest, you need to know how to get rid of butterflies and moth caterpillars.

Moth butterfly - description

The moth butterfly has a wingspan from 9.5 to 51 mm, but in most insects it reaches 30 mm. The body of butterflies is weak, the wings are wide and tender, although among moths there are species with both a thick body and underdeveloped wings. Moths have no eyes, the proboscis is weak and spiral, and the legs are thin. The front wings are usually broadly triangular, and the hind wings are rounded and pinched. Moths fly mainly at night; their flight is weak and uneven. At rest, the wings are most often spread flat or folded into a house. In males they are well developed and have a protective coloring, and the antennae in males are feathery. Many female moths have shortened wings or no wings at all, and thread-like antennae.

The moth caterpillar is most often naked, long, thin, worm-shaped, usually colored to match the color of the leaves, stems or bark. The two front pairs of legs of caterpillars are undeveloped, and because of this they crawl strangely, as if measuring space with their body, like a measuring chain, or a span - hence the name of this family. The moth larva has such developed muscles that it can stand on its hind legs for a long time, with its body extended: at these moments the caterpillars look like leaf petioles or broken twigs.

In the photo: Moth caterpillar

Smooth, without a cocoon, red-brown, gray, green or yellow pupae overwinter in cracks in the bark, in spider nests in trees, in the ground or on its surface. After emerging from the pupa until mating, adult moths are nocturnal and feed on flower nectar, but there are species that do not need food. After mating, females lay eggs on seed pods, buds, branches, leaves or needles. The caterpillars that hatch from the eggs feed very intensively and then pupate.

• Spider mites: control measures

Moths are leaf-eating and pine-eating pests that eat the generative and vegetative organs of plants and can cause serious damage to fruit trees and shrubs over large areas. As a result of their pest activity, the quality of fruits deteriorates, crop yields decrease, and the winter hardiness of plants and resistance to other unfavorable factors are weakened. Moths are characterized by periodic outbreaks of mass reproduction, the consequences of which can last for several years, and during such periods moths can completely destroy leaves on plants.

Ways to fight

There are 4 methods of combating moths - agrotechnical, mechanical, biological and chemical. A competent combination of all four methods helps to permanently cleanse the garden of this pest.

Agrotechnical

The list of agricultural activities includes:

• systematic examination of the vegetative parts of trees and shrubs in order to identify pupae and caterpillars;
• regular loosening of the soil in spring and autumn in the root zone of trees and shrubs. This helps destroy pupae overwintering in the soil;
• removing moss deposits from the stems, as well as dead parts of the bark (the removal sites are treated with a solution of copper sulfate);
• spring and autumn whitewashing of trunks of bushes and trees.

Mechanical

The most labor-intensive method of combating moths, which involves:

• manual collection of pupae, caterpillars, and spider nests in which butterflies gather to winter;
• use of catch belts of different designs.

The chemical method is the treatment of plants with chemicals, and the biological method is the attraction of natural enemies of caterpillars - birds, riders, and tahina flies - into the garden. In order to attract the latter, decorative onions or clover are planted on the site.

The list of sanitary measures also includes the treatment of vegetative parts of plants and soil in the root zone with biological preparations.

How to get rid of moth

Fighting the moth

It is necessary to combat moths using a combination of agrotechnical, mechanical, chemical and biological methods. Agrotechnical control methods include:

• regular inspection of plants for pests;
• loosening the soil in the trunk circles of trees and shrubs from early spring to the end of April, and then from the first ten days of September until the onset of frost;
• digging up the soil around trees in summer and autumn;
• mechanical removal of dead bark and moss from trees;
• whitewashing of trees in early March and October.

Mechanical control measures - the most labor-intensive, but also the safest - include:

• morning collection of caterpillars by hand or shaking them onto the litter and subsequent destruction;
• use of adhesive belts against insects;
• collection and destruction of spider nests on bushes and trees and plant debris in their tree trunks.

The chemical method involves treating fruit storage facilities, plants, and containers with pyrethroids, organophosphorus compounds and neonicotinoids. And the biological method of combating moths means attracting their natural enemies to the garden, which are ichneumon flies and tahina flies, for which phacelia, clover, ornamental onions and sunflowers are planted on the site, as well as spraying trees and shrubs with biological pesticides.

• Cabbage armyworm: control and prevention

In the photo: Garden pest moth

Remedies for moths (drugs)

It is advisable to use insecticidal preparations against moths for preventive spraying of the garden in the spring. If there is a need to treat plants during the season, then in the case of even a very large number of pests, only preparations of biological origin are used. Preventive spraying of fruit trees and berry bushes is carried out before flowering begins. The following drugs are used for treatment:

• Akarin is an insectoacaricide, a biological preparation of contact-intestinal action, effective against a complex of pests;
• Karbofos is a broad-spectrum insecticide and acaricide belonging to the class of organophosphorus compounds and used for the rapid and complete destruction of sucking and leaf-eating insect pests;
• Zolon is a contact-intestinal insecticide and acaricide that remains highly effective even at low air temperatures. However, the drug is highly toxic to warm-blooded animals;
• Kinmiks is a contact-intestinal insecticide for the control of gnawing and sucking pests;
• Decis is a contact-intestinal insecticide, part of the group of synthetic peritroids and used to control sucking and leaf-eating pests;
• Fitoverm is an insectoacaricide of biological origin with enteric contact action to protect plants from pests in open and closed ground;
• Bitoxibacillin is a biological insectoacaricide for protecting plants from pests. The period for the last treatment with the drug is five days before harvesting any crops and 10 days before harvesting medicinal plants;
• Lepidocide is a highly effective insecticidal biological preparation with intestinal action that can be used at any stage of plant development;
• Dendrobacillin is an insecticide recommended for spraying plants during the growing season against leaf-boring and other pests. The last treatment period is five days before harvesting any crops and 10 days before harvesting medicinal plants.

Pest control products

In the process of fighting voracious caterpillars, both ready-made store-bought preparations and folk remedies for moths are used.

Biological and chemical preparations

It is easier to prevent an invasion of caterpillars than to get rid of them later. To do this, in the spring (before flowering), trees and bushes are treated with insecticides (Aktellik, Karbofos, Zolon, etc.)

If there is an urgent need to spray plants during flowering or fruiting, for example, if there are too many caterpillars, only biological agents such as Bitoxibacillin, Fitoverm, etc. can be used to treat moths.

Folk remedies

Compared to chemicals, homemade products are less effective, but also less toxic. Therefore, if the situation is not critical, you can use the following to destroy the moth:

Tomato tops. 1 kg of fresh tops is poured with water and left to infuse for 24 hours. Then cook it all over low heat for a couple of hours and filter. The cooled product is used for spraying fruit and ornamental crops.

Spurge. Fresh grass is poured with water so that it covers it completely, and left for 2-3 days. The finished infusion is filtered through cheesecloth and sprayed on the trees.

Hot pepper. 10 pieces. Finely chop the pepper, add water (about 1.5 liters) and cook for 1 hour. The finished broth is left for 2 days, then filtered and used for processing garden crops.

By the same principle, you can use burdock leaves, tansy and wormwood. Treatment with herbal remedies is absolutely safe for human health, so it can be carried out an unlimited number of times.

The moth, if not dealt with, can cause great harm to fruit and ornamental plants. Properly organized plant care, which includes preventive treatment of garden crops and timely destruction of pests if they appear, will help prevent trouble.

Prevention of moths

To prevent the moth from ruining your harvest, you need to start fighting it in the fall: collect fallen leaves under the plants and burn them, then dig up the soil in the trunk circles of bushes and trees. From the beginning of the season, carry out two preventive treatments of the garden with a solution of Karbofos or another preparation of a similar effect: the first - before the buds begin to bloom, the second - after flowering. When fruits appear on the plant, it is advisable to carry out treatments only with folk remedies.

Timely care of plants can also be considered as a preventive measure against moths, since all gardeners know that pests do not parasitize healthy and strong plants. Therefore, take care of your garden, keep the soil in the tree trunks clean, destroy weeds in a timely manner, water and feed trees and shrubs, and then you will not have to fight pests.

Pyadenitsa Photos

Pests of pine needles

Insects that feed on pine needles are considered the safest. They also weaken the defenses of trees, slow down their growth and development, but it is easier to restore needles than bark or roots. These pests are caterpillars that, during certain development cycles, feed exclusively on pine needles.

Pine silkworm

This pest often appears on Crimean and mountain varieties of pine. In its dangerous phase of development, it looks like a gray-red caterpillar (the color of pine bark), and the largest representatives can grow up to 9 cm.

The development of the pine silkworm takes place in several stages:

• in July large butterflies appear with wings the color of tree bark, wingspan up to 7-9 cm;
• butterflies lay eggs on bark and needles;
• after 2-3 weeks, caterpillars emerge - pests of pine needles;
• At the end of summer, the caterpillars form cocoons on trees.

Measures to combat the pine silkworm include the use of insecticides based on chitin synthesis inhibitors (Decis, Aktara and others).

Pine sawflies

This group of pests includes several species of insects that feed on pine needles. Less dangerous are those who consume last year's leaves. Other species damage the needles of the current year, significantly affect the growing season and can lead to the death of the pine.

Sawflies also develop in several stages and differ visually:

1. The red pine sawfly is more often found on common, mountain and Crimean pines. Butterflies of this species reach 7-8 mm in length and differ in gender: the female is red with a yellow tint on the wings, the male is black. The caterpillar (false caterpillar) is gray with a green tint, with a light stripe along the body and a dark head. The older larvae eat the needles completely, leaving the younger ones with dry, deformed leaves.
2. The common pine sawfly is one of the especially dangerous representatives, since it also feeds on young pine needles. Male butterflies are black with yellow limbs; the color of females may vary. Females lay up to 150 eggs, from which caterpillars develop.
3. The red-headed weaver sawfly is one of the pine pests that prefers common and Weymouth tree species. The butterflies of this insect are blue in color, with a black or red head.

When black caterpillars appear on a pine tree, you should immediately treat the trees with insecticides (Decis, Karate, Bliskovka and their analogues). Large individuals can be collected and destroyed manually. There are both specialized products for pine sawfly and complex preparations on sale.

Other pine pests

Most pine needle pests are caterpillars. They appear in the summer, after the butterfly's flight period, and persist until pupation. If you do not get rid of them, the life cycle of these insects then repeats, which significantly harms the trees.

The most common pine needle-eating pests include:

• pine hawk moth - a caterpillar with a greenish tint and darkening on the back, rarely appears in large numbers;
• pine cutworm - bright green larva with 5 white markings and a contrasting yellow longitudinal stripe;
• The pine moth is a gray-green caterpillar with 5 white stripes on its back.

Winter moth

Male winter moths have well-formed wings. They have two pairs of yellow-gray wings with longitudinal lines and stripes. The fore wings are darker than the hind wings. The wingspan of the winter moth reaches 2.5 centimeters.

Females have shortened gray-brown wings with noticeable dark transverse stripes. These wings are not suitable for flight.

Caterpillars crawl in a very unique way: having strengthened themselves with their thoracic legs, the caterpillar bends the middle part of its body.

Green caterpillars. On the sides they have 3 longitudinal white lines.

There is a black stripe on the back.

Butterflies appear in autumn in October-November. Females that cannot fly climb up tree trunks and lay eggs in a bud. Caterpillars develop in almost any tree species, but moths cause the most serious damage to gardens. After the buds open, the caterpillars begin to feed on the leaves. In May-June, mature caterpillars burrow into the soil, where pupation occurs.

The caterpillars of many moths eat various economic plants and damage forests and orchards.

During a massive attack of caterpillars on trees, they can completely eat up all the foliage. Also common in our area are: tailed moth, pine moth, walking moth and April moth.

Control measures

Spraying plantings with insecticides for younger caterpillars.

BIRCH MOTH

(Bistort betularia), butterfly of the family. moths Distributed in Eurasia, in the USSR - in Europe. parts, in the Caucasus, Southern Siberia and the Far East. The wingspan is 45-52 mm. Caterpillars length. up to 60 mm, their body is flattened, color varies greatly; there are white warts on the 5th and 8th abdominal segments; live on deciduous trees (birch, poplar, oak, linden, elm, ash, acacia, etc.), shrubs and shrubs (blueberry, wormwood, gorse). Flight in May - July. B. p. - classic. an example of industrialism, melanism and the action of nature. selection in modern conditions. Until sep. 19th century In England, the light form of butterflies predominated, imitating the spots of vetch on the trunks of birch trees. A sharp increase in the emission of soot and smoke into the industry. districts over the next 50 years led to the death of lichens and darkening of tree trunks, i.e., a change in the hiding places of butterflies. As a result, in such a relatively short period of time, the dark form of butterflies became predominant, since the blackish coloration turned out to be protective (in new conditions, light-colored individuals are more often pecked by birds).

.(Source: “Biological Encyclopedic Dictionary.” Editor-in-chief M. S. Gilyarov; Editorial Board: A. A. Babaev, G. G. Vinberg, G. A. Zavarzin and others - 2nd ed., corrected - M.: Sov. Encyclopedia, 1986.)

• — — Boletus edulis f.
  beticola Vassilk. see also Genus boletus, boletus - Boletus Fr. — V. edulis f. beticola Vassilk. The cap is whitish, ocher-yellowish or light brownish. In birch forests. June-October... Mushrooms of Russia. Directory
• — “Birch Grove” is a park in the northern part of Moscow, stretched along Kuusinen Street.
  The total area is 31 hectares, of which 27 hectares are occupied by lawns and flower beds. Birch predominates among green spaces... Moscow (encyclopedia)
• — This street is located in Kolomyagi...
  St. Petersburg (encyclopedia)
• — the city of Transbaikalsky district is a high mountain in the open steppe, on the northern slope of which there is a small birch forest, which served as the definition of the name.
  The ancient name of Mount Soktui... Geographical names of Eastern Siberia
• - the name of several mountains in Europe...
• - see Polypore...
  Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron
• - places
  Poltava city, Mirgorod district, 45 versts, west of Mirgorod, near the river. Khorole, number f. 4200 d.v. n., 745 yards; fair. In B. l. 2 Orthodox churches, school, 3 shops, 4 brick factories, 2 water... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron
• - moth
  A pest butterfly whose caterpillars move, moving their abdominal legs towards their thoracic legs, as if measuring the traversed space with a span... Efremova's explanatory dictionary
• — …
  Spelling dictionary of the Russian language
• — -s, female
  Twilight or nocturnal butterfly, pest of trees... Ozhegov’s Explanatory Dictionary
• - birch
  decomposition 1. Vodka infused with birch buds; birch 1.. 2. Tincture of birch buds, used as a medicine; birch tree 2…. Explanatory Dictionary by Efremova
• “God created the fool, and he also created the birch tree.”
  Birch gives intelligence. Wed. Here's how to sprinkle with birch porridge, so they won't forget until the new brooms. M.E. Saltykov. Monrepos Shelter... Michelson's Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary
• - Feed him birch porridge.
  God created a fool, and he also created a birch tree. Birch gives intelligence. Wed. Just as you sprinkle it with birch porridge, they won’t forget until the new brooms arrive. M. E. Saltykov. Monrepos' Shelter... Mikhelson's Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (orig. orf.)
• - Iron. Rozgi. - Send him here: I’ll give him, the robber, some birch porridge...
• — Outdated.
  Iron. Rozgi. I don’t bark those yet, I bark those with birch noodles... Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Literary Language
• - Simple.
  1. Caning. BMS 1998, 255. 2. Rods. FSRY, 196; F 1, 235; Yanin 2003, 26. 2. Simple. Outdated Rozgi. ShZF 2001.19. // Kar. Joking. Twig, branch, thin flexible stick. SRGK 2, 306... Large dictionary of Russian sayings

Gooseberry moth

The gooseberry moth is distinguished by its white forewings, on which bright orange stripes and large spots are visible in large numbers. And the hind wings are covered with black spots. The body is black and also covered with spots.

The moth family includes a huge number of species of butterflies with unique colors.

When a gooseberry moth sits on a branch, it looks like the excrement of small birds, so predatory insects do not notice it.

The wingspan of the gooseberry moth reaches 3 centimeters.

The caterpillars are light-colored and have large black spots on their backs. The caterpillars of these butterflies live mostly on gooseberries, but also settle on red currants and bird cherry.

Flight of gooseberry moths occurs in June-August.

Moths have wide, delicate wings.