Stinky bugs
Stink bug - this is not a very pretty name; rather large insects, representatives of the family Pentatomidae, deserve it. They are widely distributed throughout Russia and are famous for their very unpleasant specific odor. For shchitniki, as well as for other individuals from the order of bugs, it is a peculiar language of communication, a signal system that allows insects to orient themselves in the surrounding space, to defend themselves and even to survive. Stink bugs, unlike other species, have the strongest flavor.
general characteristics
The tree shield has a flat, resembling an irregular pentagon, oval body with characteristic protrusions on the sides. In length it reaches 10-12 mm. Under the hard shell is a pair of wings, which stands out on the surface of the body brown spot. Aromatic glands can be located either on the cephalothorax or on the posterior end of the abdomen, depending on the specific subspecies of the insect.
The color of the skunk varies from bright green to brown. Changing the shade of chitinous cover is determined by the time of year and the habitat of the pest. In the photo you can see that the representatives of this species have a very noticeable bright color, covered with a dense shell with a stocky body.
The stink bug has a piercing-sucking mouth apparatus. With a sharp proboscis, he pierces the outer covers of leaves and plants and feeds on their juices. With the onset of cold weather, the insect falls into a state of suspended animation, which is located before the onset of spring. With the appearance of the first tender greenery, the skunk goes in search of a comfortable habitat, where it begins an active process of mating.
On a note!
The most preferred insects are raspberry, gooseberry bushes, which is why they are called berry bugs, quite often settle on birch, alder, elm, larch and other trees.
The female pest lays eggs on the inside of the sheet in a smooth circle of 40 pieces. They are rounded kegs with closed lids. The larvae appear after about two weeks and begin to actively feed, causing irreparable damage to the plants. Small stinky bugs resemble adult individuals. To achieve puberty, they must change their chitinous shell 5 times.
Smell
The main cause of the repulsive unpleasant odor emanating from the skunk is a special secret produced by the odorous glands. They emit substances that contribute to the spread of unbearable for a person stink. Have forest bugs This is cuminic acid. Glands that produce a secret with an unpleasant smell, are multifunctional. Depending on the concentration of the substance released, stinky bugs can use it as such tools:
- signal its smell of the approach of danger and scare off enemies;
- attract partner for mating;
- scare competing males;
- help the smell to navigate in space, find tribesmen and make long transitions;
- promote efficient food search.
On a note!
Stinkers do not suffer from their own stench, but for the surrounding insects, these secretions are dangerous. They can cause paralysis, spasms, and in the worst case - the death of the enemy.
The bug stinks the most when you crush it. The odorous discharge of street parasites forms an intolerable stench due to the processing of the juices of the plants with which they feed. In forest bugs, their smell is a reliable weapon against a large number of enemies. At the time of the immediate threat or the imminent danger of the gland, the stinkers intensively produce a special secret. Physical damage to the insect only enhances the smell, as the odorous substance is squeezed out of the ducts in which it is formed and stored. This contributes to the fact that the "light pheromones" are replaced by an intense poisonous aroma that is absolutely safe for humans.
Many are interested in the question of what insects smell like bugs. All representatives of this species of insects, to a greater or lesser extent, have a specific smell. Sharp aromas emit almost all types of agricultural pests, as well as other herbivorous and carnivorous:
- Shchitniki - bidentate, berry, red-legged, green and striped;
- North Cruciferous bedbug;
- the bug is harmful;
- water strider;
- belostoma;
- American stinker.
In this list of insects with an intense secretion of secretory fluid, you can add the well-known soldier bugas well as a birch bug. A large number of different insects, flying and crawling into apartments and houses, exude smells akin to shchitnikami. It can be quite harmless insects - weevils, mucoids, Betilides - relatives of ants and others.
Pest control
Forest bugs always live in conditions most comfortable for their existence. If the situation changes, they often find shelter in a person’s dwelling. Bite stink does not carry any danger, especially since it is not able to bite a person at all.If the bugs from the street climb into the house, then do not panic. In addition to the aesthetic inconvenience, they are not capable of harming people and pets living in an apartment. Stink bugs do not weave cobwebs, do not tolerate disease.
Since they feed on plant foods, once in the conditions of a home, the bugs on the windows can live in indoor plants and gradually destroy them. In this case, you must clean the apartment from uninvited guests. The easiest way is to throw them into the open window.
On a note!
It is undesirable to get rid of stinkers with a vacuum cleaner, because then you have to think about the incident for a very long time.
A frequent visitor to apartments in cities such as Moscow and other localities is the elm bug. The most effective tool in the warm season is the mosquito net, which will not let any insect into the house, including the stinker. If the parasites have flooded the garden plot, then more effective measures will have to be applied, because they are capable of destroying or spoiling almost the entire crop of fruit and berry crops.
You can fight with forest bugs by several methods:
- collect by hand with a small contaminated area;
- apply infusions, which must be done on the basis of mustard and onion peel, they will have to process the plants several times;
- spray plantings with karbofos, chlorofos or phosphamide.
Knowing how to get rid of stink bugs, you should choose the safest and most effective methods, as well as take into account that there are no narrowly targeted drugs for their destruction.