One of the dangerous pests are the bear and the cockchafer. The perfect place for their life - well-harvested, humus-rich soil, as well as irrigated land. In order to protect their possessions from these pests, you need to have an idea about the difference between the larva larvae and the Maybug, as from the photo they can be confused. It is also necessary to know what measures need to be taken if the presence of pests has been confirmed. This is what the article will be about.
- Description of the bear and peculiarities of its reproduction
- How does the larva bear
- Breeding features of the May beetle
- Description of the grub beetle larva
- Let's sum up
- How to deal with the larvae
Description of the bear and peculiarities of its reproduction
In the cold season, Medvedki hibernate in the soil at a depth of 25 cm. As soon as the soil heats up 10 ° Сthey become active and begin to damage the plants. In the afternoon, medvedki are underground, and in the evening they come to the surface or fly to the light. These insects are different from other following physical features:
- The body is rather large in comparison with other beetles (4 cm).On top of the body color is dark brown, and the bottom is brown-yellow. The beetle is covered with velvety filaments.
- Mouth pointing forward, short antennae.
- Wide elytra reach half the length of the abdomen.
- Normally developed wings, even in a calm state, protrude from under the elytra.
- The front legs resemble spades. With their help, the insect creates whole caves in the roots.
- The following pairs of legs have spikes.
Most often, the bridge masonry becomes a pile of garbage, manure, or just loose soil. After that, the "mother" remains near the nest, thus protecting its offspring. Embryonic development continues until 20 days, and the larvae themselves remain in place 30 days. On average, they turn into adults after wintering in the summer of next year.
How does the larva bear
After laying eggs, offspring appears after 3 weeks. Visually, the bear looks disgusted, the description of the larva is quite specific, but if you know it, you can effortlessly identify the insect and immediately start to get rid of it. They look like adults, but their body size reaches 3 cm, it is covered with durable shell, while the wings of the larvae are absent. To transform into a full-fledged adult, the larva passes 4 stages of development on average, it lasts up to 2 years.
During this time, the insect changes several times. The first food is the remains of the egg shell, and then they begin to dig tunnels and other passages for the extraction of food.
Breeding features of the May beetle
The breeding season of the insect falls on the summer. After mating, the female lays eggs in the amount of 70 pieces., average bookmark depth is 15 cm. This process takes a lot of power from her and most often, at the end, she dies.
Description of the grub beetle larva
After 35 days, the larvae appear from the eggs. Their body is whitish yellow or reddish. The body is thick and soft, divided into several segments and has three pairs of limbs.
On the head are the upper jaws of the oral apparatus.During the first 3 years of life, the larva develops and winters in the ground. In winter, the insect sleeps deep enough in the ground, and with the first warming it rises to the upper layers of the soil. The first year of life, the larvae feed on humus and tender grass roots. Then their main food becomes the roots of woody and herbaceous plants. During feeding the insect can creep up to 30 cm.
As well as adults, they greatly harm the development of plants and sometimes even lead to their death.
Let's sum up
Consider what the main difference between the larva and the beetle Medvedka, so as not to confuse them and properly apply the methods of dealing with them.
Beetles live longer by 3 years than the bears. In addition, the latter are more thermophilic and therefore penetrate deeper into the ground during the cold season, which means that they are harder to find during digging. Beetles prefer strawberry roots or vegetables, and bears prefer plants of the family of the nightshade. In front of the May Beetle there are 3 pairs of legs and mouth, and a bear has paws in the form of shoulder blades.
How to deal with the larvae
Knowing about all the harm caused to the plants by the bears and the May beetles, as well as their larvae, it is necessary at the first sign of their presence to begin the measures of control and prevention.
The struggle must be carried out in a comprehensive manner, it is better to do this several times a year. Today, there are many traditional and modern ways. pest control: scaring, trapping, loosening the beds, destroying the nest and destroying the finished means. Consider a few most popular:
- Agrotechnical. It consists of thoroughly digging up the soil in spring and autumn to a depth of approximately 15 cm. This helps to destroy the tunnels and makes it difficult for pests to move. In addition, in this way it is possible to destroy the laying of eggs and larvae.
- Dung traps. It is known that these insects love dung and arrange wintering in similar places. You can make holes in the autumn about 50 cm in size and fill them with manure. After the first frost everything is unearthed and scattered on the ground.Thus, the pests will quickly die of cold.
- Oil or soapy water. In the detected passages drip oil or pour water with soap from a hose. For 10 liters of water it is enough to take 50 g of soap
- Beer trap. A glass jar is instilled into the soil, so that the neck is at ground level. Beer is poured into it at 1/3 capacity. Put a plate on top to leave a 15 mm gap. This smell very much attracts insects.
- Scare. This is done by placing on the site of coriander, garlic, chrysanthemum and pine needles. Putting fish into each well during planting will cause a specific smell when decomposed, which this insect does not like.
- Physical barriers. It is possible to protect plants from pests by planting them in cut rubber tubes of a certain diameter. They should rise above the ground by 3 cm. Rhizomes can be secured with a nylon mesh in several layers, while its edges should be above the soil.
To prevent this, you need to make some effort, and then the land will thank you for a good harvest.