Wingless bug - soldiers on old stumps

Bed bugs are a suborder of beetles, including 40 thousand species. Insects are ubiquitous; they survive near the Arctic Circle and in the hot tropics. A characteristic feature of the suborder is the presence of odorous glands. A special secret is released at the moment of danger to scare away enemies. The winged red bug is one of the species common in Eurasia. It is easily recognizable among insects due to its red and black color. In spring and early autumn, a colony of bright insects can be found on the sunny side of trunks or stumps.

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The winged red bug, the soldier bug or goat belongs to the semi-winged order, the family of red bugs. The Latin name of the species is Pyrrhocorisapterus. The body of adults is 9-11 mm in size. The main color is black. Pronotum, elytra and abdominal rim red. Elytra are leathery, half-membranous, punctured surface and small grooves. They do not reach the end of the abdomen. In the upper part there is a triangular black spot with a convex middle and dense punctate. At the base of the elytra there are two small spots, at the ends two large dots of black color.

Interesting fact. The English name for the redbug wingless firebug is “arsonist”, “fire bug”.

The oral organs of the piercing-sucking type are located in front of the head. The proboscis is segmented, strong and sharp enough to pierce the integument of leaves, seeds, chitinous integuments of dead invertebrates. In normal condition, removed under the body.
Complex eyes are large, spherical in shape. Long antennae composed of 4 segments. The gland contains iron, which produces a liquid with an unpleasant odor. Legs are running. Most insects lack wings, but there are exceptions. The hind wings are brown.

Information. Not all soldiers are red; individuals of orange color are found. The pattern on the pronotum and elytra is variable. A pattern formed at an early age does not change.

Coloring features

At first glance, all the winged red bugs seem the same, but this is not so. When studying the differences in the color of the soldier bug in different habitats, scientists identified 13 to 23 types of pronotum pattern. It is considered. That the environment affects the formation of color. In places where there is a high level of heavy metals and other pollution of the soil and vegetation, an asymmetry of the pattern is observed on the cover of a soldier bug. In favorable living conditions, a fused large spot of black color forms on the scutellum. Morphological abnormalities include the appearance of two non-touching bands. In some cases, the lower strip is torn in the middle.

Habitat

The species Pyrrhocorisapterus is distributed throughout the Palearctic. The western boundary of the habitat runs along the Atlantic coast. Redbug lives in India, in the north of China, in Asia. Insects brought to North America. In Russia, a bug soldier is found everywhere, not excluding Siberia.

Lifestyle

Krasnoklop one of the first insects appears after hibernation.This is a land representative of the family. Since March, as soon as the snow is falling, red-black clusters of bugs are clearly visible at the base of lindens. Due to the lack of natural enemies, they lead an open lifestyle. Insects are active until September – October; they leave for the winter with the onset of the first frosts.

The bright color of their covers has a certain biological meaning. The type of colorless winged redbug is cautionary. It warns predators of the unpleasant taste and smell of the wearer. Birds and predatory insects do not consider soldiers as prey. A particularly strong effect is produced by the warning coloration in mass clusters of bugs.

Information. Fertility of females and life expectancy of bedbugs depends on living conditions. The main role is played by temperature.

The habitat of winged redbug is deciduous forests, parks, clearings, glades. In rural areas, insects settle in personal plots. Next to the person they have everything necessary for life - food and shelters. Bedbugs soldiers live in colonies, in the summer their numbers are small, and before wintering they number tens of thousands. From frosts they hide under the bark of trees, with piles of leaves, in the crevices of stumps.

Food

The type of food is mixed, insects suck the juice from plants, seeds, and fallen fruits. Adults and larvae feed together on organic debris, invertebrate corpses. Dead insects - the larvae of grasshoppers, aphids, beetles, wasps, often fall into the diet. Bedbugs find suitable food on the ground or climb plants. For people, they are not dangerous. Unlike bed bugs, soldiers do not drink the blood of people and animals.

Breeding

Insect bug with incomplete transformation, the pupal phase is absent in its life cycle. In spring, the mating season begins for the soldiers. In each colony, males are 2-3 times more than females. Partners are fastened with abdomen and coupled, their backs to each other moving for several hours or days.

Information. A long copulation time (12 hours-7 days) is a mechanism for protecting the male ejaculate in conditions of high competition.

The fertilized female makes a laying in the ground or under a layer of dead plants. Good places are the recesses in the soil, in them the masonry is more likely to go unnoticed. Eggs of soldiers are white, transparent, oval. Stacked in heaps of 20-30 pieces. Embryonic development takes 7-10 days, at a temperature below 18 ° - 24 days. At the end of the term, the eggs turn yellow-red.

Information. At low air temperatures, egg size decreases. Small larvae appear from them, which run the risk of becoming prey to larger relatives. Cases of cannibalism are common among soldier bedbugs.

Horned nymphs are light orange with transparent limbs. Leaving the egg shell, they immediately begin to explore the area in search of food. Soon, the larvae become darker, the antennae and legs become brown. The body acquires an orange-red color. After two or three links, a black spot and several dots appear on the elytra. Young animals have a long antennae and a thin proboscis. They darken simultaneously with the appearance of the pattern on the pronotum and elytra.

Larva of the first age

Larvae pass 5 ages. Their maturation takes 17-24 days. When the temperature drops to 14-15 °, the nymphs stop eating, their development stops. Outwardly, the offspring is similar to an imago, but the larvae lack elytra. In the northern regions, one generation is replaced per year, in the southern - two. Nymphs that appeared in May become sexually mature by June, mate and lay their eggs. In the autumn, second-generation adults go for wintering.

Malware

The bug soldier is not officially ranked as a pest of agriculture. In nature, the biological significance of wingless redbug is similar to that of other “cleaners”. Insects process fallen seeds, fruits, and organic debris. Their actions are beneficial.But having settled on a personal plot, insects with pleasure switch to food with juicy strawberries, seedlings of cabbage, beet tops and carrots. They spoil the leaves of seedlings and seedlings in nurseries.

Like all bugs, soldiers proboscis pierce the surface of leaves or fruits and suck out the juice. Vineyards are noticeably harmful, spoiling the presentation of berries.

Signs of malicious activity:

• deformation of the tops of carrots, beets, dill;
• yellow spots on the leaves of cabbage;
• drying of berries;
• young seedlings lag behind in development.

Pest Control Methods

If soldiers spoil carrots and cabbage in the beds, drink juice from strawberries and grapes, then it is necessary to get rid of gluttonous insects. Pest control is carried out by physical and chemical methods. It will not be superfluous to turn to folk recipes.

Physical methods

In early spring, it is easy to detect the entire colony of redbugs in sunny areas. You can simply sweep insects in a bucket or other container. You need to act quickly, bedbugs quickly disperse. You can’t catch all the adults, but you can get rid of a large part. An effective way is to install a hunting belt. Sticky-coated fabric is fastened around the tree trunk. Krasnoklop keeps at the base, so the belt is placed at the bottom. Insects stick to the trap.

Chemicals

Chemical preparations for insects are used in extreme cases, when the damage from the winged red bug is really noticeable. Recommended insecticide "Bankol" contact-intestinal action. Popular remedies against pests Karbofos and Aktara will help.

Folk recipes

An infusion of onion husks will help drive out the colony of soldiers. Take 200 g of the product in 10 liters of water, leave for 5 days. Spray the place of accumulation of bugs. No less effective mustard solution treatment. The powder is dissolved in water (100 g per 8 l), then trees and stumps are treated where pests are noticed. Mustard can be replaced with wood ash or laundry soap.

Preventative measures

1. Uproot old stumps on the site, they are the habitats of the winged red bug.
2. Plant plants that repel pests by smell - wormwood, black cohosh.
3. Remove the remnants of boards and other lumber, piles of construction debris, branches.

The redbug is wingless in most cases, a harmless insect. A person can live next to them without fear, without fear for their health.