For most people, the bug of the soldier has been familiar since childhood: it has a nice color insect that lives in almost all regions of the former USSR and settles in large colonies. Meanwhile, few people know that the bug of the red soldier is a dangerous pest of garden plants.
What does a firebug look like?
The bug of the soldier (Pyrrhocoris Apterus) belongs to the order “hemiptera”, suborder “shield-like”, body length usually varies from 7 to 12 mm. The color of the bug of the soldier is very remarkable, so it is almost impossible to confuse with other insects. As seen in the photo, the back of the bug is decorated with a characteristic black and red ornament:
The larvae of the soldiers are smaller and not so bright chitinous cover. In the photo you can see that they are almost completely red, with a small number of black dots. Nevertheless, the species of the red bug bug is easily guessed:
The buccal organs of the soldier bug are represented by a piercing-sucking proboscis, which is located in a restful state horizontally at the bottom of the head. With their help, the bug breaks through the shell of the plant or the chitinous cover of the dead insects with which it feeds, and slowly sucks the remaining juices.
The eggs of the bugs, which can be seen in the photo below, have a pearl-white color and an oval shape. Bedbugs, soldiers often lay them right in those plants that eat. Often masonry bugs can be found in the old dead trees, rotten stumps and leaky fences:
The firebug is a very common insect that can be seen at any time of the year, except for winter. They live in colonies, collectively occupy plants and all winter together. In summer, red bugs love to bask in the sun, being placed on open, well-warmed grounds.
Wintering occurs in a pre-selected warm and dry place. Often bedbugs detect in the crevices of the fence, the bark of old trees, wooden buildings, planks. Egg laying also occurs there.
Insect breeding takes place very quickly: in one clutch the female lays up to 20-30 eggs, of which after a week and a half larvae appear.
Bedbugs mate quite unusual: they are connected to each other by the back of the body, after which the seed cells of the male fall into the abdomen of the female.
An example of massive accumulations of bedbugs soldiers
What a bug eats a soldier and what harm he brings
In feeding, the soldier bugs are quite unpretentious. For the full existence of them enough juice plants, which they suck, piercing the stem or leaf. After such an invasion of bedbugs, the plant begins to die slowly and ceases to bear fruit. Vegetables, fruits and berries, seriously damaged by soldiers, are no longer suitable for food.
The photo shows what the plant looks like when it was destroyed by the soldiers:
Of course, in agriculture there are more dangerous pests, but the bug of the soldier can also cause a lot of trouble. Vineyards especially suffer from its rapid reproduction, where the insect can damage the berries of elite varieties.
In the absence of fresh sap of plants, the red soldier bugs can eat carrion, gathering in groups on the corpses of other insects and even vertebrates.
Feedback
“At my dacha, some red bugs chose a bench and a tree. I looked on the Internet that this insect is a bug of a soldier.It seems like a harmless and harmless, did not poison them and left as is. After a while, he noticed that carrots in the garden have a haulm that is developing abnormally - constantly curbing and not stretching. It is this bed closest to the bench. So I think now, could the soldiers of the carrot do harm, or is it some other pest? ”
Vasily Petrovich, Zhytomyr
It is interesting
Despite the general image of a benevolent insect, soldier bugs often show cannibalistic tendencies. The main food of the bug is nutritious juices, which it extracts not only from plants, but also from dead insects, small animals. If on the way of the bug of the soldier his dead brother falls, then he will not disdain even such a meal. Usually these insects feed on a group; one of the cases of similar group cannibalism is clearly seen in the photo:
How to get rid of bedbugs soldiers
Soldier bugs are fairly harmless insects, but their large accumulation can cause some damage to the garden or garden. Therefore, the question of how remove bedbugs soldiers, arises quite often.
In order to proceed to the destruction of parasites, it is necessary to make sure that the plants spoil the bug-soldiers.There are several signs of damage to plants by red-flops:
- Seedlings of beets either die immediately, or significantly lag behind in growth and give a reduced yield. In a mature plant, the leaves curl and wither.
- Flowers and buds of plants of all cultures fall almost immediately after parasitism on them bugs. This naturally leads to a complete loss of the crop.
- Umbrella plants (coriander, dill) are very sensitive to bedbug bites and dry out in a short time.
- On the cabbage you can see yellow spots - these are bite marks, which also lead to partial loss of the crop.
If a firebug appears in the field of view of the gardener or the owner of the suburban area, it is necessary to bring out their entire population. Even if the harm they bring is not yet manifested, it will be especially noticeable in the summer, when fruits ripen and the flowering of ornamental plants is mass.
Besides the fact that the bug of a soldier simply sucks the sap of the plant, condemning it to death, he also lays there eggs, from which larvae will soon appear, which will pose a direct threat to the rest of the plants.
To prevent the penetration of red bugs into garden crops, it is recommended to plant them at a considerable distance from perennial legumes and alfalfa.The reason for this recommendation is that it is on these plants that the bugs wait for the cold period of the year, and will move to a more comfortable place of residence after the emergence of new shoots.
It is recommended to mow alfalfa and weeds very low, up to several centimeters. This allows you to eliminate the eggs of the bedbugs soldiers placed there.
If you plan to plant wastelands, where weeds (swans, wormwood, schiritsa) now inhabit, it is advisable to burn these wild herbs before planting new crops.
In the case of an infection that has already occurred, it is possible to treat the affected plants with the drug Bankol. It is convenient because it does not have a sharp smell, is safe for humans, animals and even beneficial insects. 5-7 mg of the drug is diluted in 10 liters of water, after which the solution is bottled with a sprayer and processed.
An insect affected by an insecticide, paralysis of the nervous system occurs, and it dies within 1-3 days. Most often, Bankol is used to fight the Colorado potato beetle, but the drug will work well against the soldier bug.
A good option for gardeners is to plant black cohosh next to healthy crops. It is a perennial plant of the buttercup family, which is very effective repels bedbugs its smell.
Feedback
“About two years ago in the country house there was literally an invasion of soldiers. At first we did not think to poison them, but then we realized that they simply destroy all the flowers in the garden, drink juice from them. Neighbor told about Klopogon, gave her process. We planted, this plant stuck perfectly and even looks pretty nice. This summer, the soldiers bypassed our garden the tenth way, but they still live on the fence. ”
Rimma, Vologda
The firebug, though not recognized by science as a typical pest, can cause a lot of trouble. Therefore, it is desirable to take early action immediately after its detection on the site.
Immediately note that for people this species of bedbugs not dangerous, he cannot settle in the house either. Therefore, if an accidental bug of a soldier got into the room, you can just take it out to the street - the bug will not bother you again.
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I have 21 pcs. lives, 2 mated. If you hold them, then plant them in a terrarium.
I keep them all in the bank.
I, too
I live in a terrarium, 3 pcs.
There are a million of these soldiers in our house, they are so annoying.
They also had a cloud in the apartment than they did not try to bring out, and threw out the old carpets from the balcony - and in any way. Tell me what to do?
Trample
Last week, I saw a bug that was crawling through an asphalt path. Watching him for several days.The temperature is below zero, and it moves at a speed of several centimeters per hour. For 6 days of observation, he crawled about a meter. And today he raised it on a piece of paper and he suddenly stirred more intensely. He took it to the place where he picked it up.
Very sorry for him was. I have always believed that all insects die or fall asleep at sub-zero temperatures. At the cottage in the attic is to slightly raise the temperature and the flies again begin to fly. I usually sweep them with a broom and into the stove.
Alexey, well done, that he didn’t kill, but it was necessary to take him to a safe place, where people don’t walk or dump garbage and sprinkle it with other leaves (like, they spend the winter like that).
What do they eat?
Well, they drink juices from all sorts of plants, and sometimes they drink the remaining juices from dead bugs.
Berries, fruits, vegetables.
Hello! Tell me, what will happen if such a soldier bites a man? Today I “got it” from one of them, I watered a garden in my bathing suit and sat on a bench. It hurt badly, as much as his leg jerked. I'm afraid. Processed green paint.
They usually do not bite, I already take them in my arms some time.
Is it possible to eat them?
It is possible, but only with sauce.
At the dacha, periodically these soldiers appear in masses. They eat every kind of rot and rotten insect (dead insects). In my mallow grow wherever possible, the soldiers also climb on the stalks - apparently, they are attracted by the selection of villi. I didn’t notice any harm from the soldiers, besides the fact that I couldn’t get under the Malvias: you’d touch it a bit, they were pouring out of the collar, take them out later, and I disdain them.
How to pair them?
These bastards fly around my house, crawling everywhere, even found one in the fridge. Spring came, warming themselves with hordes on the porch and bench, moved into the house. Zadolbalsya press them, soon wake up the flowers, I do not want them to suck all the juice. Is it possible to poison them with a remedy for the Colorado potato beetle?
Thank you so much for the information, everything is described very well and clearly. Be sure to write you in a notebook, so as not to forget.
I really like them, but when I read that they are pests, I was upset.
There are a lot of cops on the way to grandpa. And when they walked in childhood, I thought that they were attached to each other. It turns out they mate))
Thank! Useful information, now as I see, I will trample these bugs, otherwise I thought they were normal.
I picked up beetles in September, nine pieces. I planted it in a jar, about a week ago I found out that one of them was covered with a very strange white solid material. It does not look like other eggs. Very similar to mounting foam. They just live for two months, in theory, went into hibernation, but I am only interested in this wonderful material. The other eight without any extraneous material on the body are sleeping.
P.S I fed whenever possible, watered, etc. Brought yellow leaves as food - sort of, ate. From hunger could not kill.