There are indoor plants in almost every home. They give people positive emotions and purify the air. To continue to benefit from green crops, they need to be properly cared for. Its important component is pest control. If you find flower flies or larvae in indoor plants, you need to immediately begin solving this problem.
Protecting indoor plants from flower flies
Features of the flower fly
In order not to mistake the worst enemy of flowers for another insect, you need to know what a flower fly looks like. If you waste time and do not take the necessary measures, the voracious larvae will destroy the flower growing in the pot.
The flower fly is an insect with a yellow-brown striped abdomen and a semicircular head. She has small antennae and paws covered with hairs. These insects are dangerous to people - a larva accidentally swallowed with fruits or leaves causes intestinal myiases.
Flower flies lay their eggs in the top layer of moist soil. The hatched larvae eat the roots and young shoots of the plant. If measures are not taken, the flower deprived of nutrition will quickly die.
Why do flower flies appear? There are several reasons:
- The plants were watered too often and abundantly, and in warm weather the top layer of soil turned sour. Such conditions are ideal for flower breeding.
- The soil from the flower shop was initially infested with a fly. Under favorable conditions, the larvae began to actively feed.
- Rotting parts and drying leaves were not removed from the plant in a timely manner. Insects like to lay eggs in such places.
- As natural fertilizers, some people use the water in which they washed meat, or pour the remains of coffee and milk into pots. Flower flies readily breed in such an environment.
Childbirth
In Europe there are 36 genera, of which the Nearctic has about 40 genera, about 640 species.[1] The following is a list of genera found in Europe:[2]
- Aklandia
- Acridomia
- Aciglossa
- Adia
- Alliopsis
- Anthomyia
- Boreophobia
- Botanophila
- Kallithea
- Chiastocheta
- Chirosia
- Delia
- Egle
- Emmesomia
- Enneastigma
- Eustalomia
- Eutrichota
- Fucellia
- Heterostylodes
- Hydrophoria
- Hylemya
- Hylemyza
- Hyporites
- Lasiomma
- Leucophora
- Mycophaga
- Myopina
- Paradelia
- Paregle
- Pegomya
- Pegoplata
- Forbia
- Strobilomia
- Subhylaemia
- Tettigoniomy
- Zaphni
How to prevent parasites from multiplying
It is much easier to prevent the appearance of flies on flowers than to deal with the larvae that have multiplied. First of all, water stagnation in the top layer of soil is eliminated. To do this, remove the soil from above, mix it with small fractions of expanded clay or vermiculite, and then pour it back into the pot. This is done carefully so as not to damage the roots of the plant. Then the soil is watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
Flower shops often sell soil from greenhouses, enriched with peat and fertilizers. Sometimes it is infected with pathogenic bacteria, fungal spores, eggs and larvae of pests, including flower flies. Before adding to pots, soil from the store is disinfected. To do this, it is calcined in the oven, steamed in a water bath or treated with fungicides.
Other species of Diptera
What a fly eats and its favorite delicacies depends on the specific species. For example:
- Drosophila feed on rotten fruits and lay eggs in them.
- Fruits are found in those apartments where sour foods are found. These are small midges that reproduce very quickly. They can also grow in baskets where onions, carrots, and other vegetables are stored.
- Carrion eats decaying food.
Thus, the question of what a fly eats cannot be answered unambiguously; it all depends on the specific species.
Methods of dealing with flower beds
If larvae of flower flies appear in containers with seedlings, then healthy plants are immediately separated from the affected ones. They are taken out of the pots, cleaned of soil and the roots are washed. The soil is poured out of the containers, washed with soap, then scalded with boiling water or a saturated solution of potassium permanganate. Add a layer of drainage and fresh disinfected soil.
Flowers are planted in a pot, and a layer of expanded clay mixed with soil is poured on top. The topmost layer is a mixture of wood ash and sand. Such protection will prevent the accumulation of moisture and the reproduction of larvae.
Chemicals are used to kill insects: Grom-2, Aktara and others. These products are not suitable for preventing the appearance of pests; they are used to treat soil infested with larvae. The drugs are used according to the instructions.
Fitoverm, Inta-vir, Actellik are also used to control pests. These products not only exterminate insects, but also make the plants unsuitable for feeding the larvae for a long time. The treatment is done 2 times with an interval of 7 days. After it, the plants are not watered for several days, so as not to wash out the insecticides from the soil.
Classification
Annoying insects can live both in nature, obtaining their own food, or settle closer to human habitation and use those products that people forget to remove or throw away. Let's consider what flies eat, and what groups are divided into in science depending on the organization of nutrition. The information is presented in the table.
Adults are bloodsuckers and also consume ichor and sweat. Larvae feed on excrement
Food consists of food waste and excrement of people and animals. In nature they can consume plant juices
Omnivores: feed on waste, food products, and excrement
Most often in houses and apartments you can find house flies and house flies, but autumn flies and some other species often fly in as well.
Folk remedies for getting rid of pests
Traditional methods also show good results. How to get rid of flower flies:
- The top of the soil in the pots is sprinkled with ash. You can buy it at plant supply stores or make it yourself by burning dry branches. This product not only fights pests, but also feeds flowers.
- Regular sulfur matches will help destroy the larvae. To do this, 4-6 pieces are stuck into the pot with their heads down and the soil is watered. After 2 days, the matches are replaced with new ones. Sulfur has a detrimental effect on parasites.
- Flower flies cannot tolerate the strong smell of garlic. To drive them away, the cloves are cut into pieces and laid out on the surface of the soil. Having smelled garlic, insects will not want to approach the plants.
- The peel of citrus fruits: lemon, orange, grapefruit repels flower flies. To protect the plant, pieces of the peel are stuck into the soil.
- Tobacco, which is sprinkled on the soil in a pot, helps.
- To kill insects, use cockroach chalk to draw lines inside the pot.
- An effective remedy for larvae is prepared from laundry soap. 20 g are grated and stirred in one liter of warm water. The resulting solution is used for spraying flowers and soil.
The flower fly is a dangerous pest of potted plants. To prevent its occurrence, preventive measures are used. Infected flowers are treated with insecticides and folk remedies.
Taxonomy
Flower flies are generally divided into three subfamilies. Syrphinae, Eristalinae and Microdontinae and about 190 genera. Sometimes, however, Microdontinae is considered a separate family, and sometimes the tribubus is broken. Pipizini into a separate subfamily. The division into tribe and genus is constantly revised in accordance with new discoveries by researchers, not least with the help of DNA analyses.
Together with the eye-fly family (Pipunculidae), flower flies form the superfamily Syrphoidea.
Family in the Nordic countries
Below are all 78 genera found in Norden. Table columns can be sorted.
Subfamily Syrphinae
| Swedish name | Scientific name | Tribus | Author | Number of species in the Nordic countries |
| Needle flower flies | Vaccha | Bacchini | Fabricius, 1805 | 1 |
| Grass flower flies | Melanostomy | Melanostomini | Shiner, 1860 | 3 |
| Fly leg flower | Platycheirus | Melanostomini | Lepeletier and Serville, 1828 | 44 |
| Malblom flies | Xanthandrus | Melanostomini | Verrall, 1901 | 1 |
| Steppe flower flies | Paragus | Paragini | Latreille, 1804 | 8 |
| Wasp flower flying | Chrysotox | Chrysotoxin | Meighen, 1803 | 10 |
| Forest flower flies | Dasisirf | Sirfini | Enderlein, 1938 | 10 |
| Corner flower flies | Didea | Sirfini | Makkar, 1834 | 3 |
| Petals | Doros | Sirfini | Meighen, 1803 | 1 |
| Sunflower flies | Epistrophe | Sirfini | Walker, 1852 | 11 |
| May flowers | Epistrophella | Sirfini | Dushek and Laska, 1967 | 1 |
| Moving flower flies | Episirphus | Sirfini | Matsumura and Adachi, 1917 | 1 |
| Conifer flies | Eriozone | Sirfini | Shiner, 1860 | 1 |
| Wildflower flies | Eupeodes | Sirfini | Osten-Sacken, 1877 | 16 |
| Flies with wedge-shaped flowers | Fagizirf | Sirfini | Dushek and Laska, 1967 | 1 |
| Scented flower flies | Leucozona | Sirfini | Shiner, 1860 | 4 |
| Conifer flies | Megazirf | Sirfini | Dushek and Laska, 1967 | 1 |
| Flower girl flies | Melangina | Sirfini | Verrall, 1901 | 9 |
| Flower girl flies | Meligram | Sirfini | Frey, 1946. | 2 |
| Flower girl flies | Meliskaeva | Sirfini | Frey, 1946. | 2 |
| Bush flying flower | Parasirph | Sirfini | Matsumura, 1917. | 10 |
| Glass wing flower flies | Skaeva | Sirfini | Fabricius, 1805 | 3 |
| Dragonflies | Sphaerophoria | Sirfini | Lepeletier and Serville, 1828 | 17 |
| Sunflower flies | Sirf | Sirfini | Fabricius, 1775 | 6 |
| Flies with wedge-shaped flowers | Xantogram | Sirfini | Shiner, 1860 | 3 |
Subfamily Eristalinae
| Swedish name | Scientific name | Tribus | Author | Number of species in the Nordic countries |
| ? | Arbustorum | |||
| Bronze flower flies | Callicera | Callicherini | Tank, 1809 | 2 |
| Griffelblomflugor | Ceriana | Cerioidini | Rafinesque, 1815 | 1 |
| sawdust flies | Sphyxiemorph | Cerioidini | Rondani, 1850 | 1 |
| Flower grass flies | Cheilosia | Ringiini | Meighen, 1822 | 54 |
| Golden flower flies | Ferdinand | Ringiini | Rondani, 1844 | 2 |
| Flower grass flies | Portevinia | Ringiini | Goffe, 1944. | 1 |
| Beak flower flies | Ringia | Ringiini | Scopoli, 1763 | 2 |
| Ear flower flies | Pelecocera | Ringiini | Meighen, 1822 | 4 |
| sawdust flies | Braciopa | Chrysogastrini | Meighen, 1822 | 10 |
| Meadow flower flies | Chrysogaster | Chrysogastrini | Meighen, 1803 | 3 |
| Mountain flower flies | Chrysosyrphus | Chrysogastrini | Sedman, 1965. | 2 |
| Bark flower flies | Hammerschmidtia | Chrysogastrini | Schummel, 1834 | 1 |
| Metal flower flies | Lejogaster | Chrysogastrini | Rondani, 1857 | 2 |
| Meadow flower flies | Melanogaster | Chrysogastrini | Rondani, 1857 | 4 |
| Park flower flies | Myolepta | Chrysogastrini | Newman, 1838 | 1 |
| Dwarf flower flying | Neoascia | Chrysogastrini | Williston, 1886. | 8 |
| Glossy flower flies | Ortoneur | Chrysogastrini | Makkar, 1829 | 8 |
| The flower on the waist flies | Sphegina | Chrysogastrini | Meighen, 1822 | 6 |
| Dusty flower flies | Anasimia | Eristalini | Shiner, 1864 | 5 |
| Il flies | Eristalin | Eristalini | Rondani, 1845 | 2 |
| Il flies | Eristalis | Eristalini | Latreille, 1804 | 18 |
| Swamp flower flies | Helophilus | Eristalini | Meighen, 1822 | 7 |
| Sävblom flies | Lejops | Eristalini | Rondani, 1857 | 1 |
| Hole flower flies | Mallota | Eristalini | Meighen, 1822 | 2 |
| The skull is flying | Myathropa | Eristalini | Rondani, 1845 | 1 |
| Beach flower flying | Parhelophilus | Eristalini | Hirschner, 1897 | 3 |
| Bear flower flies | Arctophila | Eristalini | Shiner, 1860 | 2 |
| Peat flower flies | Sericomia | Eristalini | Meighen, 1803 | 5 |
| Moon flowers | Eumerus | Eumerini | Meighen, 1822 | 8 |
| Soot flower flies | Psilota | Eumerini | Meighen, 1822 | 2 |
| Narcissus flower flies | Merodon | Eumerini | Meighen, 1803 | 2 |
| The gall flower flies | Goeringia | Pipizini | Rondani, 1856 | 8 |
| The gall flower flies | Pipisa | Pipizini | Fallen, 1810 | 8 |
| Floral flowers Rotlus | Pipizella | Pipizini | Rondani, 1856 | 3 |
| The gall flower flies | Trichopsomia | Pipizini | Williston, 1888. | 2 |
| The gall flower flies | Triglyph | Pipizini | Loew, 1840 | 1 |
| Bumblebee flies | Volucella | Volucellini | Geoffroy, 1762 | 3 |
| Stump flower flies | Blair | Xylotini | Billberg, 1820 | 2 |
| Mulberry flies | Brachypalpoides | Xylotini | Gippa, 1978 | 1 |
| Mulberry flies | Brachypalp | Xylotini | Makkar, 1834 | 1 |
| Magnificent flower flies | Caliprobola | Xylotini | Rondani, 1845 | 1 |
| Mulberry flies | Chalkosirf | Xylotini | Curran, 1925 | 5 |
| Fur flower flies | Criorhina | Xylotini | Meighen, 1822 | 4 |
| Firewood is flying | Lejota | Xylotini | Rondani, 1857 | 1 |
| Fur flower flies | Pokota | Xylotini | Lepeletier and Serville, 1828 | 1 |
| Bloody flower flies | Houndmaster | Xylotini | Latreille, 1804 | 1 |
| Taigablomflugor | Sphecomia | Xylotini | Latreille, 1829 | 1 |
| Tree flower flies | Spilomia | Xylotini | Meighen, 1803 | 2 |
| Compost flower flies | Syritta | Xylotini | Lepeletier and Serville, 1828 | 1 |
| Tiger flower flies | Temnostoma | Xylotini | Lepeletier and Serville, 1828 | 7 |
| fireflies | Tropidia | Xylotini | Meighen, 1822 | 2 |
| Firewood is flying | Xylota | Xylotini | Meighen, 1822 | 12 |
Subfamily Microdontinae
- Marsh flies ( Microdon
), (Meigen, 1803), 5 species
Spawn Locations
But midges don’t like every flower. They are not averse to showing their taste preferences.
Thus, white midges prefer plants with soft leaves: begonias, fuchsias and similar flowers. And black midges like plants that have dense leaves: azaleas, violets, ficus and other plants.
Let's try to figure out where they come from, how to get rid of uninvited guests, and what to do so that they never appear again.
Flower midge larvae pose a great danger to indoor flowers, because they live off the young roots of the plant and its green parts. If you do not notice their appearance in time and do not try to get rid of them, then there is a high probability that your flowers will die over time.
Why do midges appear?
Of course, midges can harm the plant. But this will take some time. A caring gardener who regularly monitors his plants will be able to detect pests at an early stage of infection. There is no need to assume that with the appearance of midges in the apartment, your favorite plants will die. Urgent action needs to be taken here
The first thing you should pay attention to is to determine why the pests appeared. The most common reasons include:
- Excessive soil moisture. This problem is often observed in hot weather. Flower growers are sure that the plants do not have enough moisture, so they over-moisten the soil. If you overdo it, the water will stagnate. This leads to the creation of an excellent environment for midges to live and breed.
- Often midges simply fly in through open windows. Having discovered favorable conditions for themselves, midges settle in the apartment and begin to actively reproduce.
- Inexperienced gardeners use ordinary soil taken from the street to plant plants. However, it should be remembered that the soil directly affects not only the health of the plant, but also the likelihood of midges appearing. If the soil is not prepared correctly, rotting processes may occur in it. Pests will happily lay eggs here.
(Video: “Mid flies in indoor flowers, how to fight!? Advice from experienced people!”)
