Who is the insect flycatcher? Description of the species, its life and stay in the house

Biological Description of the Flycatcher

From the point of view of biology, an ordinary flycatcher is not an insect, as many believe. In fact, it is their closest relative, but it belongs to the arthropod subtype "Millipedes". Its Latin name is Scutigera coleoptrata.

The length of the adult individuals of the common flycatcher is from 3.5 to 6 cm. The size of the arthropod directly depends on its age, as well as on the living conditions: climate and abundance of food. It is usually colored yellowish brown. Along her abdomen are three red-purple or with a blue tint strip. Numerous legs also have a heterogeneous color - light areas alternate with dark belts.

As with all arthropod representatives, the body of the flycatcher is protected by a dense external skeleton. It protects the creature's body from injuries and adverse environmental influences. Such protection consists of solid chitin and sclerotin.
The body of the flycatcher is oblong and oblate. In adults, it is divided into 15 segments, each of which has a pair of legs.

People often call flycatchers centipedes, although from the point of view of the structure of the creature this is not entirely true.

Even if you carefully consider the flycatcher, it does not immediately become clear where it has its head. This is due to the fact that the legs of a pair attached to the very last segment of the body are very long. In females, it often exceeds the length of the body, therefore, it is similar to the antennae. The first pair of legs is also different from the rest of the legs: it acts as a tool to capture prey during hunting and to protect against opponents in fights, therefore, it has acquired the appearance of jaws.

At the same time, the flycatcher develops an amazing speed, unusual for other insects, similar to a centipede - about 40 cm per second. The "multifunctionality" of the front legs allows you to perform several tasks at once: for example, to quickly run away, tenaciously holding caught prey in the paws.

On the head of the flycatcher there are two small faceted eyes with a developed visual apparatus. They provide her with excellent vision. The creature has a long, whip-like mustache. Each of them has up to 600 segments.

The flycatcher, recently born, has only 8 legs. As they mature, molting occurs, after which the following pairs appear.

Flytrap life

An ordinary flycatcher loves a warm climate. It is widespread in the southern territories of Europe, northern Africa, in the desert zones of the Middle East. Often it can be seen in a tropical climate: for example, in India. In the CIS countries, it is found in regions close to the southern borders of the state - in the Caucasus, in the Volga region, in the Krasnodar Territory, etc. The flycatcher also lives in Kazakhstan, Moldova, and Ukraine.

Crimean flycatcher is listed in the Red Book of Ukraine in 2009. Its population living in the mountains began to decline rapidly.

This creature leads an active lifestyle regardless of the time of day.It is constantly in search of food, looking for small insects that it can cope with.

In the wild, a flycatcher lives in a forest litter, burying itself in fallen leaves. She easily tolerates mild winter cold, again returning to life with the spring rays of the sun. He experiences a low temperature, hiding in secluded places. Very often, the search for heat and food that is available all year round makes the flycatcher climb into people's homes. There arthropod hiding from the human eye in crevices in the bathroom, in basements or basements, because it prefers to live in an environment with high humidity.

In nature, a flycatcher can reach the age of 7 years. This is a fairly solid indicator for arthropods. Among the causes of premature death of individuals of the species, the hunting of birds and amphibians is in the lead. Severe frosts also lead to the death of centipedes.

Breeding

Flycatchers breed in warm weather when the danger of frost has passed. The process itself is not quite typical. It begins with luring an individual of the opposite sex by developing special substances - pheromones, as well as special sound signals.

The male builds a bag of silk threads, in which he places a spermatophore - a capsule with its sex cells. The female, attracted by pheromones and sounds, climbs into a woven cocoon and places the spermatophore in itself. This is how fertilization occurs. After a while, the female makes a laying of eggs on moist soil, wrapping it with a sticky substance. An experiment conducted in laboratory conditions showed: about 150 eggs are born at a time, from which future flycatchers later appear.

Food

These arthropods are predators. Small insects, including domestic pests: cockroaches, ticks, moths, flies, fleas and others become their victims. Therefore, there is no need to rush to look for a way to get rid of flycatchers if they appeared in a dwelling: perhaps they will benefit by reducing the number of other undesirable inhabitants.

Flycatchers find prey using their sharp vision and sensitive antennae. Due to their high speed, they instantly attack the victim and, when it finds itself in tenacious paws, inject poison into the insect with the front pair of legs, which paralyzes it. After the end of the “lunch”, the flycatcher hides in a secluded corner, where he calmly waits until the food is digested.

Flycatcher in the house

Why is a flytrap dangerous? For indoor insects, it is a deadly threat. If this arthropod appeared in the house, then for its inhabitants there is no reason to worry. Flytraps do not spoil food, wallpaper or furniture without causing any harm or damage. The only nuance that is important for many is a feeling of disgust at the long-legged centipede, which moves rapidly along the walls and floor.

Many are afraid of possible bites. But the flycatcher is a very vigilant creature, seeking to flee when someone more than himself appears. Moreover, aggressiveness is not at all characteristic of her. This millipede extremely rarely bites a person and solely for the purpose of self-defense. In most cases, she cannot bite through human skin because her jaw is weak for this task.

If the bite did occur, then it feels similar to bee stings. The poison, getting into the skin, causes local redness and swelling. But the concentration of paralyzing substances in it is too low to cause damage to the health of cats or dogs, not to mention a person.

In some tropical countries (for example, in India, where there are many harmful insects), the owners even encourage the presence of a centipede in the house.

Ways to fight

Those who don’t like the neighborhood in the house with a flycatcher will find useful simple recommendations on how to get rid of a home flycatcher without the help of specialists:

1. It is necessary to carefully inspect all rooms, especially nooks and crannies: are there insects in the house? After all, it is they who make up the diet of flycatchers.If "uninvited inhabitants" are found, then they should be etched. As soon as millipedes do not have enough food, they move to another place with sufficient food.
2. Next, you should check if pipes and taps in the bathrooms are leaking: humidity is an equally important condition for the existence of flycatchers.
3. Arthropods can be destroyed using insecticidal drugs of universal effect: "Dichlorvos", "Raid" and others.
4. To enclose the house from new individuals, it is necessary to close all the cracks, and not the ventilation ones, to install a mosquito net.

Despite the unattractive appearance, the flycatcher does not harm a person. On the contrary, it destroys dangerous insects in the house. If you still need to get rid of millipedes, it will not be difficult when using special chemicals.