What are leaf flakes? Acquaintance with the pest and ways to deal with it

Leaf flies are small insects that harm agriculture. Thanks to the developed hind legs, they are able to jump high, for which they got their name. Some species eat different plants: apple, pear, carrots and others.

Leafflakes (copper flocks, herbal fleas) is a large family of insects belonging to the order Hemiptera. Today, science knows 1,500 species, of which about 200 live in Europe.

The length of the leaflet, depending on the species, varies from 1 to 5 mm. Many of them are agricultural pests, because they chose the juice of plants, as sucking insects, as food. It is noteworthy that most of the juice small grassy fleas are not able to digest, and secrete it in the form of sugars, forming a sticky coating. They owe such a peculiarity to their unofficial name - copper flakes.

The color of the leaf flare in the middle band depends on the time of year. In summer, they have a bright color, in which juicy shades of red, green, and red prevail. With the onset of cold weather, the appearance of the insect changes and becomes inconspicuous: the copper pallard changes color to a nondescript brown, yellow, gray.
The back pair of legs is similar in structure and degree of development to flea ones, therefore the medunits jump excellently, often climbing trees. Individuals have a long and thin mustache. Transparent wings cover the body of the insect on the sides and top.

The back pair of legs is similar to those that have fleas - it is thanks to these limbs that the leaf flies were able to jump. The antennae are long and thin. Wings are transparent, cover the body of the pest from above and from the sides.

Breeding

Active years of leaflet begins in spring. After mating, the female makes a clutch with 20–90 eggs. The life of females is rather short: only one month. But during this time she can lay 600 eggs in the spring and twice as much - 1200 pieces in the summer. In spring, the masonry is located on the stems of plants, often near the buds; whereas in summer the eggs are on the back of the leaves. If a branch or leaf dies, then the masonry dies with them.

Listobloss eggs are very small: only 0.3 mm in diameter. They are oval in shape. The larvae appearing from them at the end of winter practically do not move.

Types of Leaflet

Of the 1,500 species of leaf-flies, 3 deliver a lot of headache to gardeners and vegetable growers:

1. A carrot leaf-flea prefers to inhabit a root crop of the same name, based on beds with it. The view has an interesting feature: those areas located near coniferous forests are in the risk zone for its damage. The fact is that he prefers to winter in them, and with the onset of spring, individuals feed on juicy needles until the carrots grow. Then there is a migration to the beds. The pest, sucking juice from the tops, makes it curly - this is the main sign of infection of plantings. In this case, the growth of carrots is inhibited, which is especially harmful for young plants.Root crops themselves acquire hardness, and their palatability is noticeably deteriorating. Externally, the carrot leaf flea is similar to aphids.
2. Apple leaf flock lives almost everywhere where apple trees are grown. Only one generation has time to appear in a year. Waiting for winter in the egg stage, hiding in the bark near the buds of a tree or between its branches. In spring, larvae appear, affecting the kidneys, petioles, or peduncles. Insect development lasts about 30 days. Adult insects become after the cessation of flowering apple trees, and then move to herbaceous plants. At the end of summer, apple fleas return to the trees again to make new masonry.
3. Pear leaf foliage is highly fertile: up to 5 generations appear in one year. It affects only pear trees. Distributed throughout the European territory of the former USSR. The activity of the insect begins in early spring, when the air warms up to 3 ° C: this is enough for the pest. When the thermometer reaches 10 ° C, it is time to lay eggs on various parts of the tree: on the bark, young leaves, pedicels. Eggs are collected in groups of up to 30 pieces, while one female can lay 1000 in her life.

Since all species have a similar structure, measures to combat them are the same.

What harm do they do?

Leaf flies suck juice from the green parts of plants. This leads to the fact that the leaves begin to acquire an ugly shape and become smaller. Buds and flowers of fruit trees dry up, and the crop is characterized by clumsy.

Another aspect of the harm is the excrement of leaf flocks, which are called the “pad”. You can also come across the term "honey dew." This substance contains a lot of sugar, which attracts ants. Plaque paddy prevents leaflets, peduncles and buds from developing properly by gluing them from the inside. Honey dew is a fertile medium for the propagation of various types of harmful fungi, such as sooty. A sign of his activity is a black coating on the plant.

Methods of struggle

What is the struggle with leaf flies? Measures include:

• use of insecticides;
• the use of folk remedies;
• biological methods.

Even before the buds open, it will be useful to spray the trees with tobacco infusion. Processing of carrot beds is relevant after the appearance of tops.

Use of chemicals

Destruction of apple and pear leaf flies on plantings on an industrial scale use the DNOC insecticide. Its use in garden areas is undesirable, but some gardeners practice spraying them at their own peril and risk. Trichlorol and a solution of nitrafen with a concentration of 3% have a similar effect ... These tools help get rid of leaf-shell eggs left on trees after winter. The caterpillars that have already appeared on pears help to destroy the 2% karbofos, Inta-Vir, Iskra, Aktara.

Versatile insecticides, such as Actara, can also be used against carrot leaf-flare. For this, the tops are sprayed with a solution prepared in accordance with the instructions.

If you process fruit trees after harvesting in August, you can prevent leaf leaves from hibernating for wintering.

All spraying should be carried out in dry and harmless weather. The use of personal protective equipment will help to avoid poisoning with toxic substances contained in insecticides.

Folk remedies

The use of folk remedies to destroy or reduce the number of pests in the garden attracts many with its accessibility and environmental safety. But you need to understand that the effectiveness of such actions is several times lower than the use of toxic chemicals. Each gardener and vegetable grower decides for himself which way to use.

The folk methods of combating carrot and other leaf-sheaths include:

1. The use of herbal infusion.To prepare it, take in equal parts a dandelion (green part), tobacco leaves, yarrow and delphinium, and insist in a large amount of water for 2 days. After this, the infusion is applied to the plants by spraying. You can wait for a positive result from such a procedure only with a small number of leaf flies.
2. Fumigation with tobacco smoke. You will need to choose a calm day, otherwise it will not bring any effect. It is necessary to pay attention to the time of day: it is better to fumigate the plantings in the evening, when the leaf flies have become winged, but have not yet laid eggs. To fumigate the area, a refractory container is also needed. For example, an old bucket will do. Dry chips, grass, leaves are put in it and set on fire. It remains only to throw a container of 2 large handfuls of tobacco dust and bypass the site. This should be done for at least half an hour.
3. Leaf flies do not tolerate pungent odors, so garlic or onions can be planted next to an apple, pear or carrot. Their peculiar aroma will scare away the pest.
4. Fertilizing carrot beds and soil around trees with plain ash.
5. Ordinary silicate glue will help to defeat pear and apple thistles. A solution is prepared from it: 200 g of glue per 10 l of water. The resulting composition must be carefully coated with trees. Once on the leaf cover, the glue forms a film that restricts air access to the insect, without which it soon dies. You should not worry about the health of the fruit tree: the glue will fall off on its own under the influence of the wind and when the branches sway.

Silicate glue will also help get rid of aphids and other wood pests.

It will also be useful to know that the main enemy of leaf-flies is a ladybug. For a day she can feast on 100 individuals. Therefore, a cow should be attracted to the site: for example, planting dill (an insect likes umbrella plants), buckwheat, and legumes. It can also be bought in specialized stores and released into the garden.

Leaf-sheath control should be carried out for 2-3 years so that pests disappear from the garden. To increase the effectiveness, it is recommended to combine different methods of extermination of these insects.