To date, about 25 thousand different types of bugs have been identified . Most insects live on land, all of them have odorous glands. As a rule, bedbugs leave an unpleasant odor in case of danger. A common feature of all species is the presence of a piercing-sucking mouth apparatus. Accordingly, all insects feed exclusively on liquid food, piercing the plant or the outer integument of the victim and extracting cell sap or blood. But most of the bugs feed on plant foods, and some even bring real benefits. In our country, in addition to a linen tick, the most common bug is a soldier bug (Pyrrhocoris apterus) or a Cossack, as the people say - an insect from the redbug family.
In countries where English is spoken, this beetle sounds much brighter than the name - “fire bug”, and literally, it translates as “arsonist”. But all of them are connected exclusively with the color on the back, a black and red ornament.
general description
As people say, if this bug appeared on the street, then it will already be warm.
The body of the bug is from 7 to 10 millimeters in length, rounded in shape. The insect has no hind wings. Sometimes you can meet a beetle not with red, but with a yellow color, but there must be a black pattern on the back.
The life cycle of the insect is small, from 6 to 12 months.
What eats
The bug soldier prefers cellular juice. For its prey, the insect has a mouth in the form of a trunk with which it pierces the shell of vegetation. The proboscis is piercing-sucking, so a beetle can even bite through the shell of an insect that has died.
In addition, the bug eats seeds of all kinds of plants, fruits that have fallen from the tree and small weed grass.
Habitat
Beetle is most often found on the Eurasian continent. In North America, the beetle was noticed only 50 years ago, in all probability, it was accidentally brought there. In countries where it is too dry and hot, in Australia, South America and Africa, the bug soldier does not occur at all, in all probability, due to the peculiarities of the climate.
Habitat
Beetles live in few colonies, usually around stumps, fallen trees and around the perimeter of wooden fences. Places are sunny and open.
The hibernation of an insect lasts from December to March. Beetles go to bed in secluded places that are prepared in advance. Usually these are cracks in fences and old trees, in wooden buildings.
Pairing
Beetles bugs, soldiers, in an interesting way, give life to their descendants. Individuals of both sexes are connected by the back of the body. As soon as the seminal fluid enters the body of the female, fertilization immediately occurs. Egg development takes up to 10 days. At one time, the female can lay up to 30 eggs. After the larvae hatch, they have a pale red color, which changes over time.
The bug develops according to an incomplete type of metamorphosis, that is, there is no transitional stage when the insect is in a pupal state.
Fire bugs
Unknowingly, many people confuse the insect of a bug-soldier with a bug-fireman. In fact, the difference is huge. First of all, a firefighter has an elongated body, when compared with a bug. In addition, the bug leaves a trail with an unpleasant odor and is not a flying garden pest. A firefighter beetle, on the contrary, can fly and protects gardens from harmful insects.
Bedbug harm
Despite the attractive appearance, the bug practically literally sucks the vital juices from the plant. On the inner parts of plants actively lay their eggs. As soon as a young bug hatch, it immediately begins to feed on plant sap. As a result of this, the plant gradually but surely withers away and eventually dies.
In early spring, the insect feeds on weeds, but with the advent of a second green, it passes to it. In principle, the bug does not disdain any vegetation. These insects do most harm to vineyards, especially young ones, since even the berries of a plant are damaged.
Danger to humans
A bug soldier is absolutely harmless to humans and animals. He will never settle in a dwelling, and even if he gets there, then after taking him out, he will never return. Bedbugs do not bite people and animals, as they are not blood-sucking.
How to get rid of a pest
Do not underestimate the damage from a bug-soldier, it’s hard even to imagine how much damage will be done to the garden or the garden if insect colonies appear throughout the territory. Therefore, it is recommended that when at least one bug appears, immediate measures are taken to destroy it and prevent reproduction.
First of all, it is necessary to clearly determine that the bug is causing vegetation damage, and this is determined by some signs:
- buds or flowers fall almost immediately after the appearance;
- beets and carrots do not have time to rise, all shoots disappear immediately after appearing above the ground;
- yellow spots appear on the cabbage, the leaves gradually die off;
- dill and coriander, a number of other umbrella plants die completely almost immediately after planting.
It will not be superfluous to examine all the places where insects can accumulate, these are old stumps and wooden fences.
Measures to combat bedbugs must begin in early spring. First of all, all plants that are at risk must be planted away from perennial legumes and alfalfa. It is these plants that the insect chooses for wintering. All weed grass must be cut almost at the root to destroy the eggs and larvae of the pest. It is recommended to remove weed grass, especially from the flowerbed, every week.
If possible, between a weed and planted plants, it is better to make a strip of land on which nothing will grow. Since the bug does not fly, he will not be able to overcome such an obstacle.
If the bug soldier nevertheless "got" to some plant, then it can be treated with the preparation "Bankol". The product is absolutely safe for humans and animals, it does not have a pungent odor and helps in the fight against the Colorado potato beetle.
There is still such a plant as black cohosh. It really repels the insect with its smell. Therefore, black cohosh is planted between crops that are important to the owner of the garden. Tansy is suitable; bedbugs do not like its smell either.
In cases where there are few bugs in the garden, you can get rid of them mechanically, that is, simply collect manually adults and larvae.
These insects do not like the smell of onions. Therefore, if you grow environmentally friendly products in the garden, you can make tincture of onion husks. For 10 liters of water will require 200 grams of husk, which are mixed and insisted for 5 days, then sprayed with plants. The procedure will have to be repeated after a few days. According to the same principle, dry mustard is used.
To combat the pest, a soap solution is suitable. To do this, use the "green soap" or household. Soap with water is diluted and crops are processed.
Interesting Facts
In the bedbug colonies, males are 3-4 times more likely than females. In official sources, the insect does not appear as a pest, although with a massive accumulation it can cause serious damage to the crop. Although recently there is information that the insect mutates and the harm from it becomes stronger.
In Ukraine, the insect is called a mosquito bug, since the color of the elytra is very similar to the caftans of Moscow archers.
The bug has no natural enemies, as it leaves an unpleasant odor after itself. Even spiders eject bedbugs from the web precisely because the insect emits a strong unpleasant odor. Do not eat bugs and birds.
In the description of bugs, soldiers rarely find information that they are cannibals, but this is a reliable fact.