The world of insects is diverse and amazing; unnoticed, they surround us everywhere, and sometimes aggressively invade people’s lives and everyday life. In the category of insect pests, several main groups can be distinguished: forest pests (bark beetle, black fir longhorned beetle, Siberian silkworm), household synanthropic insects (cockroaches, ants, flies), agricultural pests (Colorado beetle, May beetle) and harmful to human health insects. The latter are especially dangerous, since encountering them can lead to the development of serious, intractable diseases.
Forest pests:
| Bark beetle | Black fir longhorned beetle | Siberian silkworm |
Blood-sucking insects:
Bed bugs and fleas are pests that live and reproduce in the home of their victims. For them, a person is a convenient food source.
Bed bugs prefer to settle near sleeping places and attack only at night. For a long time it was assumed that they were not carriers of infections; only individuals who lived in hotels and often changed their victims were considered dangerous. In new studies, Canadian scientists were able to prove that bedbugs are carriers of Staphylococcus aureus, which is resistant to antibiotic treatment.
Fleas are not so selective in choosing where to live. They will be comfortable in any secluded area that imitates wool or fleecy coverings (rugs, soft toys, pet bedding). The list of infections that a flea bite can “reward” a person is much more extensive. There is plague, typhus, hepatitis B and C, salmonellosis and intestinal yersiniosis, tick-borne encephalitis virus and brucellosis, rabies and lichen. There are more than 25 different diseases in total.
Lice belong to the order of lice, live in the hair of the owner, and are attached to them with the help of tenacious legs. They spread quickly in conditions that are comfortable for them - high crowding of people in the room, inability to observe simple hygiene standards. It is a historically proven fact that during the Russian-Turkish War of 1768 - 1774, more people died from typhus (otherwise known as trench typhus) than from wounds received in battles.
| Bed bugs | Fleas | Lice |
Insects: their benefits and harm to humans and nature, habitat
What harm do insects cause?
External influences on the body
In every part of the planet, people have been fighting insects since ancient times, which cause harm to health and cause great damage to the economy.
In rare cases they may be beneficial.
There are a large number of insects harmful to humans. Blood-sucking insects are especially dangerous; they can spread pathogens of dangerous diseases. Aedes mosquitoes spread the Zika virus.
This virus is very dangerous for pregnant women, since the virus is transmitted from an infected mother to the fetus and at birth the child may have microcephaly.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has now banned women from traveling to Central and South America and has also designated the virus as an international threat.
Also, an ordinary fly that has flown into a room can be a carrier of dangerous diseases, including dysentery and cholera.
The tsetse fly causes great harm to the inhabitants of Africa - almost all domestic animals die from its bite, while for humans the bite is not fatal.
Another very serious pest for humans is the typograph bark beetle.
They cause damage to the economy, destroy forests on a large scale, and also destroy wooden buildings.
Only qualified help will solve any problems with insects.
Various types of mosquitoes bring a large number of problems to humans, of which the malaria ones are the most dangerous. Dragonflies and some species of birds help humans in the fight against these insects.
In some regions of Africa there are mosquitoes, the bite of which can cause great pain in both humans and animals.
Large numbers of these insects can enter the mouth and nose, as well as the eyes.
Lice and fleas are also carriers of serious diseases - typhoid.
They are mainly found in animals: cows, pigs, birds and rats.
In livestock farming, horseflies and gadflies cause enormous harm. They cause milk production, as they do not allow animals on pastures to eat normally.
Living in a room with cockroaches and bedbugs also causes great trouble for the owners.
Cockroaches are very prolific, and some of them can carry pathogens of dangerous diseases. Therefore, observing sanitary standards in the room, and, if necessary, carrying out sanitary treatment will help you forget about unpleasant insects once and for all.
Description
Ground beetles are large (usually around 15 mm long) individuals, with individual specimens reaching an incredible five cm in length - if not more.
The body of this beetle is usually elongated, with various variations of shades from dark black to brown, even sometimes with a metallic or pearlescent tint. The wings of these beetle species are typically grooved and decorated with brightly colored tiny dots.
Given their size, it is not surprising that these insects do not fly very well (and some of them cannot do it at all!) - they mainly use flights exclusively for settlement.
The ground beetle family is diverse in size - from a couple of millimeters to ten centimeters and has a wide variety of colors.
Characteristic features of this family are strong legs, bulging eyes and an unusual mouthparts equipped with powerful mandibles.
Insect pests of plants
Each order contains insects that, when multiplying en masse, cause significant damage to plants in fields, orchards and orchards. Among orthopterans, such insects include the Asian, or migratory, locust, and the common mole cricket; among bedbugs, the noxious turtle bug.
The Asian locust feeds on various plants, and after its invasion, fields are left bare. The main breeding grounds for locusts are reed beds of large southern rivers. The number of this insect is under constant control of special plant protection organizations. The common mole cricket lives in the soil.
Making nests and making numerous moves, it gnaws through roots and underground parts of stems, eats up tubers, root crops, and seeds.
The pest bug (both adults and larvae) damages cereals, especially wheat. By piercing the grains that have not yet ripened, the bugs inject saliva into them and suck out the dissolved contents.
Among the Coleoptera, the Colorado potato beetle, beet weevil, and click beetle are widespread in fields and gardens.
The Colorado potato beetle is a dangerous potato pest. During the summer, 2-3 generations of beetles develop.
Who is he?
The carpet beetle can be found almost everywhere. The insect prefers dry and hot climates.
This representative of the Coleoptera order is one of the most dangerous pests that cause damage to households. The carpet beetle can be called an omnivore. Its diet consists of dry substances of both animal and plant origin. The insect finds food both in living quarters and outside the house.
The insect's head is also small. In the cheek area there is a groove in which the antennal flagellum is located. The eyes protrude weakly. Short antennae are clearly visible on the head.
Not all representatives of the Kozheedy family have wings. Insects belonging to the genus Thoriciodes and females of Thylodrias contractus lack them. There are no sculptured formations on the surface of the insect's elytra.
Insects: benefits and harm
Adult beetles and their larvae feed on potato leaves. The beet weevil causes the greatest harm during the period of beet growth. At this time, worm-like larvae hatch from the eggs laid by the female, feeding on its roots. Click beetles damage many crops. Their worm-like elastic larvae - wireworms - bite into potato tubers, carrots, beets, and plant roots.
Of the lepidopterans in fields and vegetable gardens, white butterflies (cabbage, turnip, rutabaga) and winter cutworms cause great harm.
Caterpillars of white butterflies feed on the leaves of cabbage and other cruciferous plants, leaving only large veins. Caterpillars of the winter armyworm live in the soil, where they destroy sown seeds and emerging seedlings, gnaw plant stems at the soil level, and crawling to the surface, eat leaves (they feed on more than 140 species of plants).
Of the dipterans, some flies harm field and garden plants. Female onion flies, for example, lay eggs on lumps of soil near onions or garlic.
The hatched legless larvae bore into the bulbs and green leaves and eat away the passages in them. Damaged plants turn yellow and dry out. Similar harm is caused by cabbage and carrot flies, the larvae of which feed on the roots of cruciferous plants.
Insects are garden pests.
The most common aphids on garden plants are aphids, apple flower beetles, strawberry weevils, and raspberry beetles.
Larvae of the apple blossom beetle develop in unopened flowers of apple trees, eating away the ovaries and stamens, larvae of the strawberry weevil - in unopened flowers of strawberries, strawberries and raspberries, larvae of the raspberry beetle - in raspberry flowers. Butterflies that cause great harm in gardens are the codling moth (caterpillars develop in the resulting apples) and the gooseberry moth (caterpillars live in gooseberries and currants).
Insects are forest pests.
The most dangerous forest pest is the gypsy moth.
The caterpillars of this butterfly feed on the leaves of many trees. During years of mass reproduction of the pest, forest (and garden) trees may completely lose their leaves. May beetles feed on the leaves of oak, birch, and maple, and their larvae, developing in the soil, gnaw the roots of young trees. In coniferous forests, the pine silkworm causes significant damage. The caterpillars of this butterfly damage mainly pine, less often spruce and larch. Bark beetles settle in the bark of weakened trees.
Why are caterpillars dangerous?
Before they turn into plant-pollinating butterflies, caterpillars are pests. They cause significant damage to agriculture by eating leaves and fruits of plants. Some of them are poisonous to humans - in 2022, an invasion of oak silkworm caterpillars (Antheraea pernyi) occurred in Germany, Holland and other European countries. Their bodies are covered with hairs that cause allergic reactions and skin irritation. To feel the harm of these creatures, you don’t even need to touch them. The fact is that the body of each caterpillar is covered with 700 thousand fibers, which are easily and far carried by the wind.
But there is also a positive side to the fact that caterpillars actively eat tree leaves. During the years of active butterfly breeding, water sources become much cleaner. This is due to the fact that because of the caterpillars there is nothing to fall on the ground - they eat most of the leaves. Fewer rotting plants get into the water, so fewer bacteria multiply in it. But what is especially important is that leaves that fall into water usually produce a lot of nitrogen and carbon. It is logical to assume that during the periods of caterpillar reproduction, much more of these gases should be produced.
Measures to reduce the number of insect pests
On the territory of our country there are about 700 species of insects - dangerous pests of agriculture and forestry.
To reduce their numbers, various methods are used: mechanical (crushing the eggs of the cabbage butterfly, destroying beet weevils in trap ditches, etc.), agrotechnical (sowing or planting plants so that they have time to get stronger and become tougher to the appearance of pests, cleaning the bark on the trunks of fruit trees, regularly collecting fallen fruits, etc.). In case of mass reproduction of pests, chemical methods are used: pollination and spraying of plants with toxic substances (in this case, unfortunately, many insects, earthworms, and birds die).
Nowadays, biological methods of plant protection are becoming of great importance: the protection and attraction of insectivorous birds, bats, the use of biological preparations that cause diseases of insect pests, as well as the breeding and use of other insects - natural enemies of insects that harm plants.
In the latter case, some predatory insects, egg eaters and riders are used.
Predatory insects.
Many types of insect predators provide great assistance in controlling the number of plant pests. Predatory ladybugs (seven-spotted, two-spotted, etc.) eat aphids, ground beetles eat various caterpillars. The larvae of these insects are also predators. Red forest ants protect the forest from various insect pests.
Equestrians and egg eaters.
The females of many ichneumonids (the white ichneumon waster, the aphid ichneumon) lay eggs in the body of young caterpillars or in the body of aphids.
The larvae emerging from the eggs lead a parasitic lifestyle, and then emerge from the body of the dying host and pupate. The egg eater Trichogramma lays eggs in the eggs of more than 80 species of butterflies, and the egg eater telenomus lays eggs in the eggs of pest bugs.
Trichogramma are bred in special laboratories on grain moth eggs and released into gardens and fields.
Insects are carriers of pathogens and parasites of humans and animals
Insecticide Troy
Insect pests cause irreparable harm to agriculture, and if they are not combated, this can lead to significant crop loss. To protect crops from various types of insects, the newest Troy insecticide has been developed, which has a contact-intestinal effect.
It can be used to protect plantings and treat potato tubers, vegetables in protected and unprotected soil, fruit and berry crops, flowers, and ornamental plants. The uniqueness of Troy lies in the fact that in addition to being insecticidal, the drug also has a fungicidal effect, protecting crops from late blight, macrosporiosis, brown spot, and wet rot.
Insecticide Decis Profi
Insecticide Monsoon
Insects are carriers of human pathogens
Some insects, especially blood-sucking ones, are carriers of pathogens that cause dangerous diseases in humans and animals.
House flies that fly into a person's home carry pathogens of typhoid fever, dysentery, cholera and other dangerous diseases, and roundworm eggs on their paws from sewage to food (available for them to visit).
Malaria mosquitoes carry malaria pathogens.
They can be distinguished from other mosquitoes by their position: the common mosquito holds its body parallel to the surface on which it sits, while the malaria mosquito holds its body at an angle. The larvae of the malaria mosquito, having risen to the surface of the water, hold their body parallel to the surface film, and the larvae of the common mosquito - at an angle to it. The number of mosquitoes is reduced by draining swamps and breeding fish that eat mosquito larvae and pupae.
Their natural enemies are of great importance - insectivorous birds (swallows, swifts) and dragonflies.
Dangerous blood-sucking insects include lice and fleas. The human louse parasitizes humans. Lice cause severe itching in humans. When feeding, they can transmit typhus pathogens to the host. Fleas are carriers of plague pathogens. Plague microbes enter their bodies by sucking the blood of sick rats, gophers and other rodents, as well as people.
How do pesticides work?
In most cases, pesticides are poisons that poison the organisms they target. For example, so-called sterilizers lead to sterility of certain types of pests; they stop multiplying and harming agricultural plants. There are also chitin growth inhibitors , which lead to the destruction of the outer cover of insects and their death.
Sources
- Rymanov, A. Yu. Corporate management in banks / A. Yu. Rymanov. - M.: Publishing solutions, 1990. - 463 p.
- Muhammad, Baqir al-Sadr History of 'Ilm Al-Usul / Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr. - M.: Sadra, 2009. - 365 p.
- Rules for recreational fishing in reservoirs of fishery importance in the Tula region. Reference book; Publishing solutions - M., 2012. - 964 p.
- Zasukhin, Dmitry Legal marketing. How to build a personal brand for lawyers and advocates? / Dmitry Zasukhin. - M.: Strelbitsky Multimedia Publishing House, 1980. - 722 p.
- Irina, Vasilievna Sivakova Children's benefits. Practical step-by-step guide / Irina Vasilievna Sivakova. - M.: Prospekt, 1980. - 987 p.
Insects parasites of domestic animals
Horseflies and gadflies cause great harm to livestock.
Female horseflies suck the blood of animals. When there are many of them, cows, sheep, and goats eat poorly on pastures and reduce milk yield. Gadflies have undeveloped mouthparts and do not feed. The larvae of many species of gadflies are parasites of animals and humans. Female bovine botflies attach their eggs to the fur of cows. The hatched larvae penetrate the skin, make their way deeper and pass through connective tissue layers through many internal organs.
Grown-up larvae migrate under the host's skin and cause the formation of purulent nodules with fistulas. At the end of development, they fall out of the nodules and pupate in the soil. Domestic animals are parasitized by lice (pig, cow, dog), fleas (dog, rat, bird).
Who is he?
The carpet beetle can be found almost everywhere. The insect prefers dry and hot climates.
This representative of the Coleoptera order is one of the most dangerous pests that cause damage to households. The carpet beetle can be called an omnivore. Its diet consists of dry substances of both animal and plant origin. The insect finds food both in living quarters and outside the house.
The insect's head is also small. In the cheek area there is a groove in which the antennal flagellum is located. The eyes protrude weakly. Short antennae are clearly visible on the head.
Not all representatives of the Kozheedy family have wings. Insects belonging to the genus Thoriciodes and females of Thylodrias contractus lack them. There are no sculptured formations on the surface of the insect's elytra.
Puppet show
Having reached the last instar, the larva stops eating, becomes motionless, molts for the last time and pupates. Many people first build a cocoon - a special device or shelter - and already inside it they turn into a pupa.
Peacock eye (pupa). Photo: AiF / Nina Belyavskaya
Article on the topic
First line of defense. How to protect your garden from pests The pupa does not eat anything and cannot move. But with complete external peace, a colossal restructuring takes place inside her. If you thought that the pupa is a “house” where the larva just sits and grows wings, then this is not at all true. First, it completely breaks down into individual cells, from which an adult insect is assembled, like a house made of bricks. It acquires all the organs necessary for an adult, including those that the larva never had (for example, wings and compound eyes).
All these miracles require energy, but the pupa does not eat: it lives off the reserves accumulated by the larva. That is why insect larvae with complete metamorphosis quickly and eat a lot, which greatly harms plants. You need to eat so much that there is enough energy for pupation, transformation into an adult insect, searching for a partner, and if you are a female, also for the formation of eggs, searching for a laying site, the clutch itself and protecting future children.
Therefore, in many insects with complete metamorphosis, the future female goes through one more instar in the larval phase and grows larger and heavier than the males. It will be more massive all the time - both as a pupa and as an adult insect.
Scoop (pupa). Photo: AiF / Nina Belyavskaya
How to fight?
If the pupae or cocoons are clearly visible and within reach, the easiest way is to try hand-collecting and cutting off the spider nests. The use of intestinal chemicals at this time is pointless, since the pupa cannot receive poison from food. The effect of using contact drugs is also small, since the probability of the drug getting directly onto the pupa during processing tends to zero. True, if the species pupates (and overwinters) in the ground, in the fall it is possible to loosen or dig up the trunk circles of plants with a turnover of the layer. This way you will destroy some of the pests that have accumulated in the soil.
Article on the topic
Chemistry against Colorado potato beetles. How to get rid of pests If you do not have the opportunity to destroy the pupae, you can only wait for the mature adults to appear. The waiting process can drag on, since pupae, under unfavorable living conditions, enter a state called diapause. Thus, adult individuals of one species of butterfly from Nevada hatched 19 years after pupation (all this time they were monitored in the laboratory). During the entire unfavorable period, physiological processes proceed extremely slowly, and the insect spends a very small amount of nutrients to maintain life. Thus, a temporary developmental delay occurs. But the state of diapause should not be confused with a delay in the appearance and development of insects.
Diapause most often occurs in the pupa and is associated with wintering. But in some species it can happen to an egg, a larva, a nymph, and even an adult. And unfavorable conditions can be not only winter, but also the rainy season or heat.
Dipper butterfly (pupa). Photo: AiF / Nina Belyavskaya
Your generation
“The first generation of pests, the second, the tenth. What's the difference?"
Article on the topic
Let them jump. What benefits do frogs bring to the garden?
The number of generations this species produces over the summer is the number of times we will have to fight it.
A generation is all individuals of the same species that develop during the same period of time. Many insects manage to incarnate in only one generation over the summer. Some species manage to produce several generations over the summer (from 2 to 25), and then the plants will have to be protected from each of them!
