The wildlife of planet Earth is so diverse that it’s hard for us to imagine. In his pride, man declared himself king of the earth, but as a biological species, he occupies an insignificant small place for the biosphere of the planet. Let's look at the endless variants of the world of the kingdom of mushrooms or the world of bacteria. We are only approaching an understanding of the laws of their existence.
A huge variety of insects that inhabit the planet. What do we know about this?
Moth family
Take a look at one of the most common butterflies Tineidae or real moth. Everyone begins to remember spoiled fur coats, grandmother's recipes - how to protect things from this unpleasant neighbor.
It is a nondescript flying insect with a wingspan of 7 to 30 mm. It seems whom she can offend. Why did our ancestors declare her a merciless struggle. All claims to the moth larvae. Her babies' jaws seem to instantly gnaw through everything. At stake were all woolen products, fur coats, carpets. Wherever these caterpillars appeared, holes appeared on things.
But, this is only the tip of the iceberg. The family of this moth has more than 2300 species. And everyone needs to be fed. Caterpillars fight the kingdom of mushrooms, eat down, feathers, everything that contains keratin, detritus. Become a threat to granaries. Settled near birds and animals. Even insects do not remain without their attention.
Large wax moth
There is a lover to feast on bee honeycombs - a large wax moth. It is larger than its distant relatives, its dimensions can be called gigantic, from 18 to 38 mm. Classic color - dun on the upper wings. Distributed all over the world. For living, they choose a dwelling of bees. Favorite menu is wax, which is reflected in the name.
Note: the word “feed” refers only to caterpillars. The butterfly itself does not eat at all. She doesn’t even have devices for this. Only rudimentary organs from his past life. The main task of the butterfly is to lay small whitish eggs. After a week, larvae with a length of about 1 mm already creep out of them. Eating everything in its path, they grow to 18 mm. After a month of destruction of the contents of the hive, such a caterpillar pupates and prepares to become a harmless butterfly. The circle closes.
Harm
Young wax moth larvae begin to feed on honey and bee bread. At older ages, they switch to wax honeycombs, and do not disdain the remnants of their own cocoons. With a large accumulation of caterpillars, this causes serious harm to the bee hive. Honeycombs are destroyed, brood is destroyed, stocks of honey are reduced, pork is eaten. Even hive frames and heaters get it. The jaws of insects seem to be able to grind everything. As a result of their life activity, all moves are drawn in silk.
A weak bee family without outside help is likely to die or be forced to look for a new home.
Opinion. Not everyone agrees that in relation to bees, moth is an absolute evil. It is believed that a strong bee family is successfully fighting for its existence. Only a sick colony perishes.
Fighting pests when they have populated the hive is very difficult. It’s easier to prevent them from appearing. To do this, not so much:
- Keep track of the apiary. Everything must be kept clean and tidy.
- Do not run hives. All necessary repairs are done immediately.
As a preventive measure, it is useful to use plantings of herbs such as mint and lemon balm. Pelargonium moths, wormwood and marigolds repel butterflies well.
At night, bait for butterflies. The scope is regularly checked for pests.
How to turn harm to good
The ability of the wax moth larvae to devour everything in its path a cunning man managed to turn to his advantage. It turns out that these insects are capable of devouring polyethylene. If 100 caterpillars are placed on a polyethylene heap, then after 40 minutes holes will begin to appear in the packets. Estimated: within 12 hours, polyethylene will become 92 milligrams less. At the same time, caterpillars do not just devour plastic, but also manage to split it. As a result, ethylene glycol - alcohol, which is used for technical purposes, including medicine, remains in place of an indelible polymer formula.
The unique property was discovered by chance and has not yet been elucidated that the insect itself has this ability or these are traces of the activity of bacteria that parasitize an insect. But the result is obvious.
Use for scientific experiments
The use of wax moth larvae for recycling plastic has attracted the attention of laboratories around the world. Butterfly has become an object of scientific research. Moreover, many scientific schools have already gained experience working with lepidopteran insects. In Russia, even before 1991, the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR paid much attention to this insect.
In addition to the problems of recycling polymers, caterpillars and the result of their vital activity have traditionally been studied in order to obtain biologically active substances. Since ancient times, the medicinal properties of tinctures on these insects have been known.
No less interesting to study were the constant mole companions - microorganisms parasitizing on them.
Living factory
If you look at the photo of the moth larva, you will see a nondescript caterpillar that attracts little attention. But how many mysteries lie in it! The rival of the beekeepers, a clear enemy to the hives, turned out to be a very useful neighbor.
Technologies for growing this insect on artificial media have long been developed. Often, black wax dust is used as the basis of nutrition, the product of the vital activity of bees, the problem of disposal of which for industrial beekeeping has not yet been solved.
A small living factory mainly attracts the attention of scientists because of the ability to produce a biologically active substance with antimicrobial properties. They are successfully able to compete with antibiotics in the fight against infectious and fungal diseases.
Application in traditional medicine
Faced with wildlife, you often recall the words: "Everything is new, well-forgotten old."
The extract of wax moth larvae has long been used by traditional healers. Tinctures are credited with the therapeutic effect in a variety of diseases:
- The eternal problem of unsanitary living conditions is tuberculosis.
- Inflammatory processes in bronchitis.
- Headaches with migraine.
- Dangerous manifestations of coronary heart disease.
- Diseases of big cities are a disorder of the nervous system.
- As a consequence of the previous disease - impotence and premature ejaculation.
- Even thrombophlebitis and varicose veins are powerless before this medicine.
- What is most surprising, some types of allergies are treated.
Of course, without serious scientific justification, official science does not yet recognize all this. However, the benefit has already been proven in certain diseases:
- Atherosclerosis of blood vessels.
- Restores the vital activity of the cardiovascular system.
- Significantly lowers blood pressure.
Caterpillars for treatment
Tincture of wax moth larvae at home is not very difficult. But waiting for the hive to be infected and destroying the bees is, of course, a crime. Fortunately, the larvae develop well in an artificial environment. There are a number of proprietary recipes. Beekeepers often use a simple and effective method. In early summer, when the moth rises for egg laying, old bee hives are exposed, I put frames with black sushi in them.
Important. Sushi should be stored for no more than 4 years. Frames with fresh bread are also not used.
The house is insulated and all entrances for bees overlap. We check in thirty days. Usually at this time the room is populated by caterpillars. Accurately collected individuals with a length of 1 to 1.5 centimeters. Before harvest frosts can be approached regularly. Thus, the collected individuals are an excellent material for obtaining 20% ​​alcohol tincture.
DIY tincture
Fresh moth larva is poured with 70% ethanol. We put in a cool dark place and wait a week. This completes the cooking procedure.
If there is no time to cook from fresh caterpillars or there are few of them going, then another recipe is proposed:
- Caterpillars are dried in the shade under a canopy.
- On a pharmacy scale measure 20 grams.
- The porcelain mortar is well frayed.
- Powder is poured with alcohol.
- The mixture is put in a dark place for 10 days.
- During this time, at least 2-3 times a jar is shaken every day.
- Over time, the tincture of moth larvae is filtered and poured into dark glass bottles.
- Carefully close the cork and rearrange in a cool place.
Application rules
If there is no consensus on the therapeutic properties of tincture, then there is no doubt about its preventive properties. The main thing is to ensure that allergies do not occur. In this case, its use should be stopped immediately.
For the prevention of diseases, it is recommended to take a tincture of the moth larva at the rate of 3 drops per 10 kilograms of weight once a day. There are no restrictions on what to drink. It is important that the liquid product is less than 70 ml. If tincture is given to children under the age of 14, then the dosage is calculated from the ratio - one drop for every year that has passed. Three weeks later, a 3-week break is made. Repeat four times.
Pharmacological production
The extract of moth larvae is rich in a wide variety of trace elements and vitamins. Its useful properties are not in doubt. The modern pharmacological industry has established production quite well. The drug is commercially available and is often used as a dietary supplement.
The composition of the therapeutic tincture includes:
- One of the essential amino acids for humans is valine.
- Amino acids such as glycine, leucine, serine.
- Source of glucose is alanine.
- The basic amino acid necessary for the growth and restoration of tissues, without which antibodies simply cannot be produced, is lysine.
- Important elements are aspartic and gamma-aminobutyric acids.
- Also glutamic acid.
In a word - a complete set. This composition makes the drug useful in the treatment of many diseases.
Reviews about the drug
About the drug based on the wax moth larva, the reviews are always only positive with its use. Regular use allows you to strengthen a weak children's body, develop the immune system, and in combination with hardening, a healthy child grows.
It is no less useful for people at an age when the body's natural forces begin to weaken. The antibacterial and antiviral properties of the extract help to overcome the peaks of the epidemic without disease.
For people of active age, the drug helps fight fatigue, overcome great physical exertion. Strengthens blood vessels, helps normalize heart rhythms. Naturally, this is not a panacea for all ills. In case of serious illness, a doctor’s consultation is required. Only a specialist can correctly map a treatment. But, without any doubt, in almost any chronic diseases, tincture has a restorative effect.
The larva of the moth of the Ognevka butterfly , or wax moth, is a dangerous agricultural pest. Moreover, if used correctly, it becomes useful in many cases. The human right to turn poison into a medicine. This is how the world works.