Friday, March 29, 2013

An Egg Quiz...

Spring holidays are all about eggs, but somehow chicken eggs seem to get all the attention. OK, we get it, they're great for coloring, and they taste pretty good too. Still, there are some pretty great eggs out there in the world of Lepidoptera, so as folks around the world celebrate and commemorate springtime, here's a little quiz to see just how well you know your Florida butterfly and moth eggs. Take a look at the pictures below and see how many you can identify. Answers are found below.


Now before we get to the answers (you didn't think we'd let you get to those too easily, did you?), here are a few facts about butterflies (and moths) and their eggs:

  • The thin shell of the egg is called the chorion. This shell is lined with a thin layer of wax, to protect the egg from drying out.
  • The shell of the egg isn't just there for protection; it also contains the first nutrients most caterpillars will consume. Many species of caterpillars eat their egg shells as their first meal, before moving on to the vegetative matter nearby.
  • Most eggs hatch in a week or two, but some species overwinter in the egg stage, waiting until warmer weather arrives in the spring to hatch. Moth eggs frequently take many weeks to hatch.
All right, now that you've gotten a little bit smarter, here are the answers to the quiz (each row left-to-right):

Row 1: Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes), Io Moth (Automeris io), Long-Tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)
Row 2: Polydamas Swallowtail (Battus polydamas), Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charitonius), Sulphur (Phoebis spp.)
Row 3: Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis), Monarch (Danaus plexippus), Great Southern White (Ascia monuste)

How did you do? Do you need tips for telling eggs apart, or have other questions about the ova stage? Drop us a line in the comments below, and we'll try to answer your questions in future posts!

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