How dangerous is the soldier bug, how to get rid of them, what means to use?

External differences of the soldier bug

The body of the soldier bug is round, slightly flattened.
The insect has a bright color: the body is black, the pronotum and elytra have a red pattern. Bedbugs have no wings. The eyes are red, the mustache and paws are black. The length of the soldiers is 8–11 mm. The oral apparatus is equipped with a piercing-sucking proboscis, which is in a horizontal position. lenslenses adventurenaturetime dicdoc.macro

Red bugs often gather in groups in one place - adults and larvae, which is a distinctive feature of the species. The name “soldiers” comes from the property of being arranged into unique divisions and the colors of the chitinous cover.

Who is often confused with?

The red bug is often confused with two insects:

1. Firefighter beetle, soft beetle (Cantharidae). In fact, insects have nothing in common with each other, except for confusion in names. The fire beetle belongs to the order Coleoptera. It has a long body 1–1.5 cm - twice as long as that of the soldier bug. The elytra and tarsi are black, with filamentous whiskers. The mouthparts are gnawing. Insects have wings with which they move through the air. The beetle's abdomen is orange or red.

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2. Blackhead (Corizus hyoscyami). In appearance, the insects are very similar to each other. The differences are in the position of the head: triangular, slightly tilted, and the shape of the pattern on the back. The eyes are darker than those of the soldier bug - closer to brown. Insects live mainly on umbrella plants: onions, dill. The larvae feed on henbane and tobacco leaves.

Fanous

Fan whisker beetles are known precisely for their gorgeous mustache, consisting of at least twenty segments and resembling thickly painted eyelashes.

They are so rare that they are one of the least studied representatives of their species today. Fanwhiskers live in Australia and can only grow up to 25 millimeters.

Whiskers serve males to pick up pheromones from females of their species, and to understand how ready the female is for mating. The number of male fanwhiskers significantly exceeds the number of females, so they often have to fight among themselves for a fertile individual.

Methods for exterminating bedbugs in the garden.

Let's look at methods that will show how to get rid of soldier bugs. There are several ways to kill these parasites.

1. To avoid spraying pesticides on your crop, you can use safe folk remedies.
   For example, onion infusion or mustard solution. Onion infusion, which is prepared from onion peels that remain in water for several days, should be strained into a sprayer and sprayed every five days. The mustard solution is made like this: you need to mix dry mustard in a bucket of water. Then, just as in the case of onions, spray the entire garden. Treatment can be done using an aqueous solution with soap. Water the soil with plants with this liquid and cover with a cloth. Bugs from the soap will run to it.
2. You can collect them manually.
   But this process is labor-intensive and also not very pleasant. Similar to collecting Colorado beetles. Who will like it? This method can be used if there are still few soldiers on your land. Then in this way you can prevent them from multiplying. There is also a so-called soldier trap. These are special belts for protecting trees that are installed on the trunk. Since bedbugs spend a lot of time in trees laying eggs, these trapping belts can stop them. You can make a trap yourself or buy it in specialized stores.
3. Also, when exterminating plant eaters on garden soil, chemical insecticides are used.
   The most popular and effective is Bankol. To cultivate one hundred square meters of land, you need to prepare 5-10 liters of solution - the powder is diluted in a bucket of water. Carefully read the instructions for use written on the drug label. This remedy has paralytic properties. The parasite becomes immobilized and dies after 2-3 days. The insecticide is safe for humans, animals and those insects that are beneficial. This solution can be sprayed even on a hot day. The product is odorless and does not accumulate any toxic substances in the soil.
4. For prevention, it is better to plant everything away from alfalfa and legumes. Since bedbugs lay eggs inside weeds, their number on the ground should be minimal. It is better to mow them down or destroy them by the roots. There is an interesting plant - black cohosh. It looks nice and will also scare off soldiers. Therefore, it can be purposefully planted next to important crops.

A large number of these seemingly harmless bugs can lead to huge losses. To ensure that your gardening efforts do not go to waste, you need to be careful about protecting plants and treating them from soldier bugs.

Sacred Scarab / Scarabaeus sacer

In Ancient Egypt, if a scarab was encountered on the way of an army, it turned back. The most revered symbol in the mythology of Ancient Egypt.

Today, the habitat is limited to southern Europe, North Africa, and the steppe regions of Eastern Europe. It is found in Kazakhstan, Turkey, and on the islands of the Mediterranean Sea. The body color is black, and with age, adult specimens become shiny.

One of the features is the ability to roll manure balls. In many European countries, the scarab is listed in the Red Book.

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How to get rid of a fireman's beetle?

Despite the fact that the firefighter beetle is a beneficial insect, some people want to get rid of it for some reason. In particular, if there are too many of them in the garden, because the beetles can begin to feed on plant foods, which means they can harm fruit garden crops.

There are different methods for killing beetles:

In the first case, you need to collect the beetles manually. This method is ineffective, because with this method you will only remove adult beetles, the larvae and pupae will remain in place, so there is a high probability that the beetle population will quickly recover.

Traditional methods of fighting fire beetles will help you effectively get rid of insects, while they are safe for plants, people and pets.

To get rid of beetles, you need to prepare a tobacco-based mixture. To make it, you need to mix tobacco and wood ash in a ratio of 1:3, and also add a pinch of red hot pepper and aromatic seasonings (Provencal herbs, suneli hops, cumin).

This powder should be sprinkled in places where beetles accumulate; the pungent smell will repel fire beetles.

But keep in mind that water will wash away the resulting powder, so after rain it will need to be sprinkled again.

If we talk about the chemical method of controlling insects, it involves the use of various drugs. For example, Mashenka chalk, which is usually used against cockroaches, is suitable. It needs to be crushed into fine dust and sprinkled on the borders of the quarantine area.

But keep in mind that chalk has no effect on beetle eggs at all. In addition, the drug is poisonous, so it cannot be applied to plants with fruits, otherwise there is a risk of poisoning.

Living insects in the neighborhood

It often happens that no one notices the presence of parasites until the beetle, during its flight, crashes into someone’s forehead by mistake. It's better to find insects before they destroy things.

These insects love warmth and dryness. Therefore, you need to look for them in precisely these places: radiators, window sills, cabinet drawers, under mattresses and carpets, in sofas, etc. Of course, you also need to inspect the kitchen. Housewives often find lifeless bugs on the stove with their paws raised up.

Bugs are not that easy to spot. There are actually much more of them than might seem at first glance. Most of them are still in the state of larvae. They are the ones who chew valuable things. To get rid of parasites and destroy the outbreak, you will have to rack your brains about what nutritional value attracts them to the house.

Sometimes it happens that there is simply no specific focus. Here you will have to focus on the type of bug. Carpet individuals love places where dust and dirt accumulate, which are rarely cleaned. These include spaces under furniture and carpet. Their larvae feed on small particles of various materials - dust, lint, hair, paper and other organic debris.

Carefully check the sofa upholstery and baseboards. Sometimes insects simply have nowhere to hide but there.

Interesting Facts

In addition to its bright color, the insect is interesting because:

• The venom of the soft belly has a specific odor;
• the red spot on the pronotum is individual for each beetle, like fingerprints or the auricle of a person;
• the insect is not afraid of temperature changes; in temperate latitudes the beetle feels great;
• not afraid of insects and birds of prey, the main defense is poison;
• The saving grace for a firefighter can be the ability to pretend to be dead in case of danger;
• the insect is an excellent analogue to the chemical treatment of garden plants against pests;
• the beetle has no upper lip;
• It is not difficult to catch a beetle in flight; its movement speed is not high.

The fireman beetle will bring a lot of benefits in the garden and on the plot: it will rid plants of aphids and help cope with caterpillars and flies. However, large numbers of insects can destroy the harvest of some stone fruits; it is advisable to monitor their numbers.

Fruited nut

This is a very small bug with a very long proboscis, which is also often called the nut weevil. The nut fruit can be found in the European part of Russia and the Caucasus. The beetle's body is completely covered in brownish-yellow hairs, making it look like a miniature version of a sparrow.

Fruit veins emerge at the end of spring, when the weather is warm enough. They feed on leaves, hazel fruits, hazelnuts and acorns. Weevil larvae eat the nut kernel and fill its cavity with excrement. They are considered pests and are actively destroyed by owners of summer cottages.

Biological characteristics

Description

If you look closely at the picture presented above, you can see its similarity to a fire truck, most likely this is the answer to the question why the fireman beetle is called that. And if we turn over this small insect, which is only one and a half centimeters long, we will see a red belly, once again reminding those who want to eat it of the danger.

The description of the fireman's beetle should be supplemented by the fact that its body consists of seven joints, and its antennae have eleven. The pronotum, the first segment of the red body, has a black spot, and the soft wings are dark gray.

Let’s complete the description of what a firefighter beetle looks like with information about sexual dimorphism, the differences between individuals of different sexes. In a particular case, you can see that the male red-legged softy calf is noticeably smaller than the female.

Mating of firefighters. There is sexual dimorphism in the size of individuals

Reproduction

After the sun warms the air and soil well, the soft-bodied animals mate. Typically the breeding season occurs in mid-summer, July. Soon after mating, the female lays fertilized eggs in a soft substrate. It can be leaf litter on untouched soil, or decomposing plant debris: rotten tree branches, boards, stumps and other wood debris left to rot.

The eggs are incubated for 15-20 days, depending on the ambient temperature, and emerge into a furry larva that looks a bit like a piece of a fashionista's necklace.

Fireman beetle larva

The fireman's beetle larva is interesting in several ways. Firstly, it is characterized by extraintestinal digestion. Secondly, she herself is a predator, like adults.

By winter, some of the larvae pupate, while others overwinter in rotten leaves or rotten wood. I call the red-legged softworm caterpillars crawling out into the sun in the spring “snow worms.”

Soon after warming in nature, the larvae pupate and two weeks later young firefighter beetles emerge from them.

Nutrition

It's time to tell you what firefighter beetles eat. This point is especially important in the sphere of understanding who this insect really is - a friend who protects our cultivated plants, or an enemy - a pest of the garden.

The diet of soft-bodies includes all insects that are smaller in size and also have a soft body, due to the fact that the hard chitinous cover is too tough for a firefighter. By biting through the flesh of the victim with their jaws, similar to a snake's mouth, they inject poison and digestive juice into them.

Victims of an adult firefighter beetle can include:

• aphids;
• small caterpillars;
• various larvae;
• leaf beetles on different crops.

The larvae feed on small worms, centipedes, and various larvae. In terms of the number of pests destroyed, they can exceed adults.

The fireman spread his wings

There are obvious benefits from firefighter beetles, because by destroying pests, they save the plants we cherish.

At the same time, if there are enough soft beetles, they are able to spread to plant food, they damage the flowering buds, petals and leaves of some fruit crops. In this regard, the obvious harm of firefighter beetles is visible.

Despite this, most experts are inclined to believe that the benefits of these insects significantly outweigh the harm that is small by garden standards, and only if it occurs in some years. It is indicative that earlier in the villages they fought cockroaches with the help of the red-legged softy. It was enough for the firemen to launch a few beetles into the house, and the Prussians soon left it.

Fireflies / Lampyridae

They may not be the most beautiful, but they have a feature that, in the opinion of most-beauty, makes them stand out in a huge family. These bugs glow in the dark.

They have special luminous organs - lanterns. Glow acts as a means of communication between individuals. Signals are divided into groups - protective, attractive, signals of agreement and refusal. The glow itself is a complex process of several chemical compounds.

The firefly family has more than 2,000 species. They settled on all continents except Antarctica. In Japan, there is even a special holiday in honor of these insects - Hotarugari.

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The silent employee's original menu

If you take a closer look at this cute creature, you will notice that it has strong jaws, which are given to it for special nutrition. And, of course, these are not flower petals. Biologists classify the insect as a predator due to its formidable disposition. What does the fireman beetle eat as it travels through the garden? The predator's menu includes:

• small caterpillars;
• insect larvae;
• aphids;
• small chafers that feed on leaves;
• sleepy flies.

The fireman tracks his prey from the height of his flight, after which he lands directly on it or very close to the victim. He then bites her, releasing a burst of venom. As a result, the insect dies.

Digestion of food occurs due to the injection of a special substance into the victim’s body. It softens hard tissues, and the beetle simply sucks up the prepared food.

It is worth noting that the beetle’s menu includes insects that are much smaller than this garden predator. They also often have a soft body surface. He cannot bite through the hard cover of glossy wings, so he “takes off his hat” in front of them and moves away.

Fireman's beetle larvae feed on small worms and centipedes that live in rotten wood. Therefore, there is no need to rush to remove old trees and stumps from the garden.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=OFCE64B2Yao

Alpine barbel

This beetle can be found not only in the Alps - it lives in the Caucasus, the Carpathians, and the Crimea. Handsome longhorned beetles prefer to live in mountain forests.

They live, as a rule, on old and decaying beeches, maples and oaks. Unfortunately, the alpine longhorned beetle is now on the verge of extinction, and its population is constantly declining. This beetle can have not only a blue color - there are individuals with black, gray, and even pale pink hair.

Longhorned beetles are extremely thermophilic, so they can only be seen from July to September.

Biological description

Our firefighter beetle has a long body. It reaches 1.5-2 centimeters in length. His paws are black. The antennae look like threads and consist of 11 segments.

The soft beetle can most often be found in the grass. Photo by: Will George.

Softshells were given this name due to the presence of soft integuments and weak flexible elytra. This feature distinguishes them from other representatives of the order of beetles, which have hard chitinous covers. It would seem that softies are easy prey for birds and other insects. But due to the presence of poison (cantharidin), birds and other predatory insects do not touch these beetles.

A characteristic feature of the fire beetle is its red or orange abdomen. The elytra are painted black or dark gray. Thanks to this coloring, the beetle resembles a fire engine. This is most likely why the beetle was called a fireman. However, in English-speaking countries, the village soft beetle was nicknamed the Soldier beetle, apparently again because of their bright red color, similar to the uniform of the English Royal Guards and Beefeaters. Sometimes in our latitudes you can hear such a name, and sometimes you can get confused, so it is best to focus on the names from the taxonomy - rustic soft-bellied, red-legged. But as for coloring, in nature the red color always means danger; with its coloring, the fire beetle seems to inform its enemies that it has a dangerous weapon and it is better not to touch it.

On the pronotum of the soft calf there is a dark symmetrical spot, similar to a heart, but with an individual shape for each representative of the species.

Sexual dimorphism is expressed in size: the male is smaller than the female. In addition, females and males have differences in the structure of the claws; in females they are more tenacious and larger.

In this photograph you can clearly count the number of segments that make up the soft bean's whiskers - there are 11 of them. Photo by: Maryline Roher.

Zlatka

The goldenrod is a beetle with a very beautiful bright green metallic color, which is how it got its name. They even make jewelry from these beetles, and the British call the golden beetle nothing more than a jewel beetle, which translates as “jewelry beetle.”

Zlatki are distributed mainly in southern Asia, but they can also be found in Russia - in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk territories. The favorite habitats of borers are ash and walnut.

Most often, borers appear in June, and their lifespan does not exceed three weeks. These beetles can cause damage to trees, but their numbers are kept in check by predators and parasites.

Meet the fireman beetle (8 photos + 1 video)

A little biology

The fireman beetle or red-legged soft beetle (Cantharis rustica), a small beetle 1.5-2 cm long. The abdomen is red or orange, the elytra are black or dark gray. On the pronotum, the soft calf has a dark symmetrical spot, similar to a heart, but has an individual shape for each representative of the species. On the head there is a pair of thread-like antennae, consisting of 11 joints. Sexual dimorphism is expressed in size: the male is smaller than the female. In addition, females and males have differences in the structure of the claws; in females they are more tenacious and larger. Soft beetles and their larvae are predators, eating as many small insects as they can handle.

The lifespan of the fire beetle is very short. Typically the breeding season occurs in mid-summer, July. Soon after mating, the female lays fertilized eggs in a soft substrate. It can be leaf litter on untouched soil, or decomposing plant debris: rotten tree branches, boards, stumps and other wood debris left to rot.

The eggs are incubated for 15-20 days, depending on the ambient temperature. The eggs hatch into larvae that overwinter in the soil. In the spring they pupate.

Because of their special body segmentation, insect larvae closely resemble a bunch of beads. Under natural conditions, they can be found in the spring under the bark of rotting trees. Fire beetle larvae are also predators. They look for small centipedes and worms in wood dust. Inside the sharp dagger-shaped or sickle-shaped jaws there is a special channel. In general, the jaws of larvae are designed to hold prey, and not for chewing. They resemble the teeth of a poisonous snake. The similarity is enhanced by the fact that when bitten, poison passes through the canals in the beetle’s jaws and is injected into the victim’s body. In addition, part of the digestive fluid is poured onto her body, due to which the tissues soften and dissolve. The resulting semi-liquid pulp is sucked in by the larva.

Interesting Facts

— The beetle is a predator and preys on small insects such as aphids, flies, various larvae, caterpillars, attacking them, biting and injecting poison, like a snake. After this, they release a digestive fluid that liquefies the tissues of the victim, and then absorb the food into themselves. — If you try to take a red-legged soft beetle in your hand, the beetle will instantly release a poisonous liquid with a specific odor and may bite to consolidate the effect. - If cockroaches have settled in the house, then it is enough to let a few soft-bodied insects into it to get rid of the annoying insects. — On the pronotum of the soft calf there is a dark symmetrical spot, similar to a heart, but with an individual shape for each representative of the species.

— This beetle is not afraid of cool weather, and in summer it can be seen in all areas of temperate and cold climates. — Soft-bodied animals are not afraid of birds of prey and insects, from whose attacks they are reliably protected by the poison produced in their body (cantharidin). — In case of danger, when the firefighter beetle is frightened by something and does not have time to fly away, it pretends to be dead, tucking its limbs under itself. — In our latitudes you can find three more representatives of the soft-bodied family. In the photo below from left to right: Flower soft beetle (Cantharis livida), Bright soft beetle (Cantharis pellucida) and red-legged or country soft beetle (Cantharis rustica)

— If there are too many soft beetles, they eat the buds on the trees and the fruits of the cherry trees, causing significant damage. — The fire beetle does not have an upper lip. — In English-speaking countries, the village soft beetle was nicknamed the Soldier beetle, apparently again because of their bright red color, similar to the uniform of the English Royal Guards and Beefeaters. — During the thaw in the spring, the larvae of firefighter beetles crawl out into the snow to escape flooding, which is why they are called “snow worms.” — Firefighter beetles can be used as an environmentally friendly defense against garden pests. It is enough to leave fallen leaves under the trees and not dig up the tree trunks.

— It won’t be difficult to catch a softie in flight; it has a low speed, due to its confidence in its own safety. — There are approximately 4,000 species of soft-bodies. These are beetles with relatively soft body coverings. Even their elytra, which in most beetles are usually hard, are very weak and flexible. — This species is widespread in the temperate and subtropical zone of Eurasia from the shores of the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. — The life expectancy of a firefighter does not exceed 2 months.

Scented beetle / Calosoma sycophanta

The ground beetle family is represented by the beetle, which received its specific name due to its unusual color. Emits a sharp, unpleasant odor in moments of danger.

It has a characteristic greenish-blue color with a bright golden tint. They grow up to 35 mm in length. The beauty lives from 2 to 5 years. Leads a daily lifestyle. This is a dangerous predator that eats caterpillars and silkworms. Over the summer it can eat up to 300 caterpillars.

Settled throughout the south of Europe, Western Asia, and the countries of Southeast Asia. It is protected in many countries. The number directly depends on the number of caterpillars.

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Social structure and reproduction

Photo: Insect fireman beetle

Soft cows mate only when warm weather arrives. The sun should warm the air and soil well. Typically, the period of procreation occurs in the summer - July. First, females and males split into pairs, then mate. After some time, the female lays eggs in the substrate. It should be soft and warm. Leaf litter on the soil, decaying plants, stumps, wood debris, and rotten branches are ideal for this.

To mature, eggs need some time - from fifteen to twenty days. The incubation period largely depends on the air temperature. After maturation, larvae are born. Outwardly, they very much resemble beads. The larvae are completely covered with hairs. They are small and have three pairs of legs. The larvae of fire beetles are very cute and interesting. The beetle larvae develop quickly, but at this stage they live for quite a long time.

Firefighter larvae, like adults, are predators. They eat small worms and centipedes as food. Also very interesting is the fact that larvae are characterized by digestion outside the intestine. How does this happen? Extraintestinal digestion involves the use of a special substance, poison. The larva injects this poison directly into the body of the victim, it almost instantly dissolves the tissues of the prey. Then the larva just needs to suck up the liquid food.

Closer to winter, pupation of larvae occurs. But only some of the larvae turn into pupae. The other part simply spends the winter in their shelter. In spring, the pupae turn into caterpillars and crawl out. People nicknamed the furry caterpillars “snow worms.” Then, with the onset of warmth, young firefighter beetles appear.

Why are moths dangerous not only for clothes?

When analyzing what other insects may live in your apartment, it is worth stopping at moths. The domestic pest causes significant damage not only to fur and wool items, but also to food products - mainly cereals. Clothes moths like to feast on clothes, and food moths like to feast on human food.

It is not difficult to recognize an adult moth - it is a miniature dark-colored butterfly. It should be remembered that the danger is not the butterfly in adulthood, but the caterpillars before the pupation period. It is the caterpillars that leave traces of their presence on food and clothing.

The easiest way to remove clothes moths from the house is with proven insecticidal agents, and also, if conditions allow, by increasing the air temperature to 70 degrees, or reducing it to a noticeable minus. Among the folk methods, it is worth noting those based on lavender, which will have an effect only at the initial stage of infection.

It’s easy to get rid of food moths by limiting access to food and removing infested ones.

Why is the soldier bug harmful?

Soldier bugs are far from harmless animals, as is commonly believed. They feed not only on seeds and remains of dead insects. Pests suck the juice from young shoots, leaves, and fruits, causing great damage to garden crops.

Damage caused by firebugs:

• they like to suck the juice from grape fruits, as a result, the yield of the bushes is significantly reduced. Damaged berries become unsuitable for food;
• The insect's proboscis is quite powerful, so it can pierce hard seeds and thick shoots. The plant from which bugs suck out beneficial juices gradually stops blooming, bearing fruit and dies;
• affects tree trunks and branches;
• damages cabbage and beet leaves, leaving small punctures on them;
• destroy seeds sown in the soil;
• are dangerous pests for emerging seedlings. The bugs suck out the nutritious juice, causing the sprouts to dry out.

Ground beetles

Ground beetles (Carabidae) are mostly voracious predators. Strong legs and powerful jaws allow them to hunt successfully, destroying caterpillars, slugs and beetles. They live everywhere. The fauna of Russia and neighboring countries includes approximately 3,000 species.

A significant portion of ground beetles are black, but there are also colorful, bright exceptions

Use of entomophages on the site (with video)

In order for entomophagous insects to settle on the site, it is necessary to constantly carry out activities that can be roughly divided into two groups.

The first group of measures is aimed at attracting these creatures to the garden, and the second is aimed at keeping them on the site.

In order to attract beneficial insects, you need to plant honey plants. Moreover, it is best to plant these crops in 2-3 terms - so that they bloom throughout the season. Insects that are beneficial to hell and the garden prefer crops with small, “nondescript” flowers. In many cases, wild plants or perennial ornamental plants are used for this.

You can build flower beds on the site or plant the necessary crops between the rows (for example, dill).

It is best if the area is surrounded by a hedge consisting of wild shrubs at the flowering stage. It is not recommended to mow the grass, since you need to create a kind of ring from the grass growing in the area.

Sometimes you need to organize an “oasis” of wildlife on your property, which is a piece of uncultivated land with two or three flowering shrubs and one tall old tree.

There should be a non-drying shallow body of water, next to which insects will definitely settle.

Another effective way to “settle” entomophagous insects in your garden is to make wintering houses for them that imitate natural shelters.

Dry grass or leaves, pieces of tree bark and twigs are usually placed inside them. Houses are usually located near plants affected by pests - both garden crops and fruit and berry crops. Such structures, if approached creatively, can become an excellent decoration for the site.

Watch the video on how you can attract beneficial insects to your site:

The importance and economic feasibility of work on the introduction of beneficial organisms for the purpose of using their entomophages against pests and weeds is indisputable. However, this area of ​​plant protection already requires new methods

It is necessary to purposefully unite research in the field of introduction under the leadership of a single scientific center equipped with modern equipment. This center, in addition to coordination, also performs control functions aimed at preventing the entry of new species of pests into a certain territory. At the same time, it is also necessary to organize expeditions to search for new useful species. In addition, it is important to expand the interstate exchange of beneficial organisms. All these actions will lead to a further increase in the share of the biological method in the system of measures that ensure plant protection.

The following describes in detail which beneficial entomophagous insects protect plants from pests and how to attract them to the garden.

Bottom line

Here we have presented a photo with the names of representatives of the Coleoptera order. To summarize, let us turn to the etymology of the word “beetles”. It comes from two ancient Greek words “scabbard” and “wing”. But Slavic is logically derived from the verb “buzz.” The editors of most-beauty.ru ask you to write in the comments what other beautiful species of beetles, in your opinion, should be included in this list.

And below we decided to post a few more beautiful photographs with different types of beetles:

That's all for now! We look forward to your comments.

How is the fireman beetle useful, harmful activities

The adult and larva of the fireman's beetle are predators; their main diet consists of small garden pests. Favorite delicacies are:

• aphid;
• flies;
• larvae;
• small caterpillars.

The fireman beetle will attack them and inject a specific poison, cantharidin. Along with the toxic substance, digestive fluid enters the victim, which softens the tissues and the individual can only absorb the food.

If garden firemen have become very numerous in a small area, then in addition to pests, they begin to eat the buds and foliage of garden plants. They love to eat cherries, especially before and during flowering.

Whether a firefighter is a pest or not, everyone decides for himself, but he brings a lot of benefits, and the harm from him can be said to be insignificant.

Bronzovka

Another beautiful shiny bug. The bronze beetle also includes the well-known inhabitant of summer cottages - the cockchafer.

Some bronzes have the most common black color, without any hint of a beautiful metallic sheen. These beetles are much faster than their other flying counterparts. Shiny bronzes can be green, blue, copper and purple and gold.

Unfortunately, these beautiful beetles are pests - they eat young fruits of fruit crops, cabbage, carrots, and beet leaves, and also gnaw out the stamens and pistils of flowers, which makes their further pollination impossible.

Attracting soft beetles

In order for firefighter beetles to become regulars and defenders of your site, there is no need to apply particularly complex measures. All natural farming activities are great for attracting these beneficial insects. We just need to act as it happens in nature:

1. Do not dig the soil on the site.
2. Do not rake leaves under wintering trees and shrubs, and certainly do not burn them, losing not only useful organic matter, but also natural protectors.
3. Do not use pesticides in the garden, which destroy all living things, and ultimately us and our loved ones.

Look at nature, act according to the scenario of harmony and mutual assistance outlined by it.

Brazilian bigtooth lumberjack

One of the largest beetles in the world - the size of the largest individual of the Brazilian bigtooth woodcutter is 17.8 cm. It lives in the forests of Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.

This insect spends up to ten years in the larval stage, but the life of an adult woodcutter, alas, is limited to several months. Thanks to its very impressive size and beautiful colors, this beetle is a dream for any collector.

Dried specimens are considered an excellent interior decoration. Beetles are very expensive, but this does not bother exotic lovers - they like the opportunity to frame this rare and beautiful insect, and they are ready to pay any money for it.

Lamellaridae

Lamellar beetles (Scarabaeidae), like many other beetles, are diversely represented in the tropics. 435 species of scarabaeids have been identified in the fauna of Russia. The largest tropical species is the African goliath, which was previously considered the largest among beetles. But later, a giant creaking creature larger than a goliath was discovered in the tropical forests of America.

Tropical bronze

Narynniki

Blister beetles (Meloidae) have bright, often spotted warning colors. The blood of these beetles contains cantharidin, a substance that causes deep ulcers on the skin.

Epicauta hirticornis

T-shirt scarred

What harm do insects and their larvae cause?

Usually the soldiers appear as soon as the sun melts patches of snow to the ground, but here and there there is still crust, and in the thawed patch the soldiers are already scurrying around, huddled together. The primary habitat of the soldier is Eurasia, and the European continent is most preferable for him.

Usually the larvae rush to young plants, the shoots of which have just emerged from the buds, are tender and full of delicious juice. The proboscis pierces the tissue, permanently distorting the growths and sometimes causing them to dry out completely. Why do they feed on the juice of young shoots? Because their proboscis is still very weak and is only suitable for piercing only the most delicate part of the plant.

Some time ago, the soldier bug was not considered a harmful insect at all: it crawled and crawled on its own, without bothering anyone. But science, studying an increasing number of plants, insects and animals, got to him and delivered a verdict - guilty!

With soldiers, everything ends up the same as with aphids, the leaves become bent, the shoots stop growing. Photosynthesis decreases, the plant’s consumption of nutrients is reduced, hence the reduction in yield. It often happens that plants attacked by hordes of beetles simply die. And fruits and berries, speckled with bites from such insects, look, to say the least, not at all attractive.

Grape plantings are at particular risk, and, by the way, these bugs are seen there most often. The strength and durability of the soldiers' proboscis is quite enough to pierce the grape stems and the fruits themselves, turning them into something wrinkled and completely unattractive. You need to constantly fight soldier bugs, and now we will tell you how.

Killer Cow

We have already mentioned enough species of black beetles . Ground beetles, whirligigs, some longhorned beetles and cockchafers may have this color. And even the firefighter beetle just described has extensive dark areas in its outfit.

But few of us have seen black ladybugs. However, they exist. This is a type of Asian ladybird. It may be black, decorated with red dots; it can also be yellow-orange with numerous blurry spots of black.

Such creatures are usually larger than other cow relatives, measuring about 7 mm. They are given the nickname killer cows because among insects they are fearsome and insatiable predators. We have already noticed that carnivorous beetle species tend to be beneficial.

And here we can assume that the more active the predator, the more positive its activity is for humans. The Americans thought the same thing about a quarter of a century ago. But they made a mistake by bringing the Asian ladybird to their lands, in the hope that it would become a successful destroyer of annoying midges and aphids.

The fact is that such cows, called “harlequins,” in addition to harmful insects, devour their fellow cows, other types of cows, which are very useful and valuable. Moreover, they damage grapes and berries. Now, having realized their mistake, they are fighting them, however, it is useless, because the dangerous species is spreading more and more widely.

European countries have already suffered from it, in particular Belgium, France, and Holland. In winter, Asian women climb into human homes, causing allergies in their owners. But no reliable means of combating killer cows have yet been invented.

Where is it distributed?

The soldier bug is widespread in Eurasia, northern Africa and the USA. Countries with temperate climates favor the breeding of insects. Bedbug habitat:

• under the bark of trees;
• on the stumps;
• in piles of dry grass and leaves;
• at the foundations of houses, resorts, gazebos and other outbuildings;
• in the fence and its foundation.

During hibernation, insects are found under heaps of garbage, in humus, on trees - under the bark or in hollows.

Prevention

In short, fire beetles feel comfortable where they are warm and dry, where they find enough food. If you don't want to kill the creatures, you can collect them in a sealable container and leave them somewhere away from your home in nature.

Since beetles appear again and again under optimal conditions in the garden, their livelihoods must be removed. Leaves need to be cleared from the ground, dead branches removed from trees and bark removed to make it difficult for red bugs to find a suitable place to overwinter. If foliage must be left in the garden, at least an inspection is necessary. The same applies to compost, especially if it is open (without a lid).

A check is also needed in the spring. A yellow fallen leaf is a good winter hotel for an insect. Anyone raking old leaves or trimming bushes should look at the ground. You can often find whole clumps of overwintering bugs under broken bark or rotten leaves. They can be easily collected and displayed forever in a sunny location at the edge of the forest. Since firebugs overwinter directly at the base of the host plant, they are mainly found under the flooring of linden or mallow trunks.

Natural enemies

The main enemies of stink bugs are telenomines, which parasitize eggs. The phasia fly can also destroy the future legacy of the bug. She lays her offspring directly in their eggs, and the hatched larvae eat the remains of organic tissue. Hedgehogs eat both embryos and adult bedbugs. Toads and frogs are not averse to eating stinkers.

Birds, both forest and domestic, can be added to the ranks of ill-wishers who will help eliminate the stink bug. Chickens, for example, are often let out to walk around the garden, and they do not miss the opportunity to taste the bugs. Less commonly, insects become victims of small rodents and dogs.

The stink bug can be called a controversial insect. On the one hand, it helps a person in the fight against pests, on the other hand, stink bugs can cause enormous harm. In most cases, it does not pose a danger to people. Therefore, you need to act prudently and start fighting bedbugs only if there is a real threat.

Various chemicals

How else can you get rid of wood bugs? In addition to folk remedies, people use various chemical remedies against specific types of parasites to preserve their own harvest.

In such a situation, they use the following drugs:

• Phosfamide;
• Karbofos;
• Chlorophos;
• Aktar;
• Karate Zeon;
• Talstar et al.

At the same time, they begin to treat the garden with these chemicals in the spring. As a result, summer residents completely destroy all stink bugs.

In addition to the summer cottage, bedbugs also appear in kindergartens. Then only specialists from the SES in such a situation poison and destroy these parasites.

Before the exterminators arrive, the infected group of children and teachers take the following measures to combat bedbugs:

• cleans your bed linen, towels, and hygiene products from them;
• gets rid of insects, and then removes food as far as possible from the infected room;
• provides exterminators with full access to all crevices in beds, furniture, sofas, etc.

Dead eaters

The orderlies of our fields and forests are carrion eaters (Silphidae). A large number of these beetles accumulate near the corpses of dead animals, dig under the corpse, scooping out the soil from under it. Thus, they lower the corpse into the ground, where they then eat it together with their larvae. One of the few beetles that care for their offspring: adults feed the larvae, although they are capable of feeding on their own.

Gravedigger, or black-whiskered gravedigger (lat. Nicrophorus vespilloides)

Bark beetles

Previously, bark beetles were considered a separate subfamily, but now they are classified as weevils. Small beetles, pests of tree species. Adult beetles can make “ticking” sounds by tapping their heads against the walls of tunnels they have gnawed into wood - they can often be heard in old wooden houses at night. A number of species have a device for removing debris that interferes with movement along the passages - a depression in the elytra, which is called... a wheelbarrow! Yes, yes, friends, these are the only bugs with cars.

Great spruce beetle (lat. Dendroctonus micans)