“Little bug with black dots” is the name of the ladybird in Vladimir Dahl’s “Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language”. But is it? And what other secrets does this insect have?
A small bug, flat at the bottom and convex at the top, as if a ball was cut in half, with red elytra, on which 7 points stand out in black drops. This is how we know the classic seven-point ladybug.
Surprisingly, many of our other beliefs about these insects belong to the category of myths rather than the truth. We will try to debunk them.
Myth 1. All cows are the same.
In fact, there are so many types of ladybugs and they are so little similar to each other that it is often difficult to guess that the insect you have encountered is a scarlet bug. These beetles can be yellow, orange, brown, black and even blue, and the points are not necessarily black, but ... red, yellow or white. In general, the points may not be. Instead, stripes, spots and even commas will appear on the sheaths. Not only this, in cows of the same species, but originating from different localities, the coloring may differ. And its brightness also depends on age.
Myth 2. How many points on the back, so many years cow
The number of points for ladybirds varies from 2 to 28, depends only on the species and is not associated with age. In a temperate climate, the life expectancy of most of them is less than a year, and only a few, under favorable conditions, live up to two years.
Myth 3. Ladybirds eat only aphids
Adult beetles and larvae of the cows feed on the larvae and adult aphids, hedgehogs, whiteflies, scutes, false guard, worms, spider mites, as well as the eggs of many plant-damaging insects and mites, small caterpillars and pupae. Their daily ration may include from 150 to 800 pieces of various pests!
Ladybug larvae are great hunters. These variegated (with yellow, red or crimson dots against a dark background) creatures are very active and can crawl over long distances. But more often they can be seen walking around among the colonies of aphids, where they choose their lunch with dignity. Over the summer, cows develop 1–2 generations, therefore, where several of their species live, the active period of extermination of pests stretches from spring to late autumn.
Myth 4. These bugs are poisonous.
Despite the predatory nature, ladybirds are absolutely not dangerous for us. True, there are still a few cases when they bit people. This usually happened during the years of their mass reproduction, during flights in search of free territory and most often near water bodies. Perhaps beetles took people for the predators that attacked them and defended themselves. There is also a hypothesis that cows are attracted to human sweat - they are “drawn to salty”.
In addition, ladybugs on contact can release a protective fluid that irritates the skin and can create a bite sensation.
Myth 5. All Ladybirds Benefit the Garden
In fact, not all cows are predators. Some species are not only vegetarians, but also dangerous pests. For example, in Central Asia, melons, cucumbers and pumpkins are harmed by a melonberry. It eats away the ovaries, gnaws the flesh in the fruit and leaves full of holes. Her larvae do the same. The 28-point potato ladybird is close to it - potato pest (in the Far East - not better than the Colorado potato beetle!), Tomatoes, cucumbers and other vegetables.
In the southern regions of Russia, an alfalfa damages alfalfa and sugar beets. And in the Smolensk, Saratov and some other areas of central Russia and the south of Russia, the bestechechnaya ladybird harms: it feeds on clover, alfalfa and sweet clover.
However, herbivorous cows are few and their harm is nothing compared to the benefits of the activities of their predatory relatives, the natural defenders of plants.
Six-legged helpers
I heard that it is useful to specially collect the ladybirds and launch them to my area. And somewhere they even sell them. Is it true?
I. Mosina, St. Petersburg
To use ladybugs for pest control is a good idea. But it has some limitations. First of all, such live helpers can be used only if large quantities of pests have multiplied and threaten to plant: if there is no food, the number of cows will quickly fall. In addition, you will have to severely limit the use or even completely abandon chemical pesticides.
The most effective ladybugs in closed ground - in greenhouses, greenhouses, winter gardens and even in residential areas and offices, where the use of pesticides is undesirable, and the freedom of movement of beetles is significantly limited.
Abroad, ladybirds can be purchased at garden centers or ordered by mail. Most often, their eggs are sold in special jute sacks, which are conveniently hung on plants populated by pests. The larvae come out of the eggs and immediately begin to hunt.If you want to release cows brought from somewhere in the garden, then it is better to do it when the temperature consistently exceeds +10 ° C. And in order for the settlers to live with you, create suitable conditions for them.
Keep in your garden a few islands of dandelion, yarrow, tansy, sweet clover, chamomile. Plant a red elderberry behind the fence - these plants attract aphids and, accordingly, retain cows on the site.
It is also useful to expand on the site special houses that mimic the natural wintering place of these insects. These houses can be made from old logs, in which holes are drilled or the middle is taken out. It is desirable to have them in warm and sheltered places, near plants exposed to aphids.
And the last. Be prepared for the fact that ladybugs do not kill all enemies of plants. After all, if they do not, what will their offspring eat? A small part of the pests cows always leave "for divorce." And the modern concept of plant protection says that the task of using beneficial insects is not to completely destroy the pests, but to control their numbers.
It is interesting!
Probably everyone knows this pretty red bug with black specks or dots on the wings. In Russia, it has long been called the ladybug. The name "God" is likely because this bug gives the impression of a gentle and touching creature. Similarly " god man"- so called gullible and harmless people.
And the cow of thiscute bug is also called not without purpose. At the slightest danger, droplets of an orange liquid-jelly protrude on the folds of its legs. True, this “milk” doesn’t taste good, but it’s not meant to drink it. This liquid frightens off enemies, which have and ladybirds.
ladybug in most European languages it has a similar name or is called the cow of the Mother of God, and in Israel it is called the cow of Moses. In many languages there is also similar to ours, in which they are asked to fly to the sky and bring bread, counting.
Another, less well-known name is the cow Moses (and again religious motives!). Moreover, the divinity of this little hard-winged is emphasized in other cultures:
in Germany- this is “Marienkaefer” - the bug of the Virgin Mary;
in England, USA, Canada, other English-speaking countries - Ladybird (bird of Our Lady), Lady-beetle (bee of Our Lady), Ladybug (bug of Our Lady);
in France- poulette a Dieu - which translates as "the chicken of God" ...
It is impossible to list all the modern countries and languages, but at all our “ladybug” is called any animal or insect belonging to God, Our Lady or at least to any of the saints (as in Argentina - “Lady Anthony's Ladybird”) or pagan gods. There are more names, but they are also associated with heaven.
Another hypothesis of the origin of the epithet "God" is related to the fact that earlier this adjective was used in the meaning of “peaceful, meek, harmless”. This bug is considered to be herbivorous, but in fact it is a predator, however, useful. The most common, seven-point ladybug eats aphids, which is harmful to cultivated plants. So she could get such a name and for saving crops from the invasion of pests.
There are about 5,000 types of ladybirds in the world. They are yellow, orange, brown, pink or even completely black. Some types of ladybugs do not have spots at all.
According to legend in the middle ages, crops of grain crops in Europe suffered from pests, so farmers began to pray. Soon they noticed the ladybirds, with the appearance of which, the crops were miraculously saved from pests. Farmers linked their happiness with red-black beetles, which subsequently became the cause of the divine name of the insect.
Gardeners welcome ladybirds with open arms,as they exterminate the most prolific pests. Cows feed on insects, whiteflies, ticks and aphids. A hungry adult ladybug can eat up to 50 aphids per day. Many are specially bred for these purposes.
One of the types of ladybugs - rhodolia - is famous for saved citrus plantations in California, Florida, Algeria, France, Japan, New Zealand, on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, when they were attacked by a terrible pest brought from Australia - a grooved worm, which was not afraid of even hydrocyanic acid. People brought rhodols from Australia, who from time immemorial fought with a grooved worm. This black ladybug red ladybird attacks females, especially egg sacks with eggs, quickly cracking down on them.
During the flight the ladybug does 85 flapping wings per second.
Spots of ladybirds are designed to scare away predators.
Ladybirds are perennial insects and during winter they live only on stocks accumulated over the summer.
Interesting fact Ladybirds come in different colors: pink, yellow, white, orange and even black.
The older a ladybug, the less she has spots on the back.
Depending on the species, a ladybug can lay up to 2,000 eggs in its lifetime.
Ladybugs are a great natural pesticide that they are even bred for this purpose. They eat aphids, which is the enemy of plants.
When a ladybug is attacked, it can inject a smelling liquid from the knee joints of its legs. The smell warns birds and predators that the ladybug is poisonous.
Did you know that the ladybirds are also known for being able to pretend to be dead in order to deceive the predator and save their lives.
Flight of a ladybug in slow motion
- For scientists, it is still a mystery the annual flight of ladybirds for the winter. Bugs always return to once selected locations. This phenomenon cannot be explained by a good insect memory, because new generations are returning to the old wintering grounds due to the short duration of their life.
Everybody likes ladybirds thanks to the spots that adorn their backs. However, these cute bugs often eat each other - and besides they are infected with bloodsucking ticks, the BBC Earth correspondent warns.
Children adore ladybirds, small lovely bugs, for their black-and-red spotting, as well as for their friendly behavior, which they demonstrate, amusingly crawling on the arm. Gardeners love them for eating aphids.
Reality: Yes, yes, all this is true. However, ladybirds have other traits. They are very unintelligible in their connections and sexually transmitted diseases are widespread among them. Many species are prone to cannibalism.
No matter how they are called - and in many European languages their names mean “the bug of the Virgin Mary” or “the bird of the Virgin Mary” - representatives of the Coccinellidae family (coccinellids, in the terminology of scientists) are not quite as harmless as they seem.
To begin with, many of the more than five thousand species of these beetles do not at all correspond to the bright, elegant stereotype that we have in childhood.
Orange ladybug: not very typical color
For example, in Britain there are 47 types of ladybirds, but only 26 of them have a classic appearance with specks, according to Helen Roy from the Center for Ecology and Hydrology at Wallngford, which heads the project for the study of ladybirds in the United Kingdom that has been going on for many years (UK) ).
So as not to be confused. So, what makes a ladybug a ladybug? The specks had nothing to do with it. Their antennae (they are antennas or tails) consist of 11 segments; paws make up four component segments, however, the third segment is very small and almost completely hidden, along with half of the fourth, in the groove of the second.
Where exactly to lay eggs - this problem must be solved with prudence
Nevertheless, many types of ladybirds have a wonderful coloring, and also have specks. Patterns adorn their hardened front wings, which serve as protection for the rear wings and are called sheaths.
By the way, the number of specks is in no way connected with the age of ladybirds, as many children think, and also adults. In areas with a temperate climate, the life span of most of the ladybirds is about a year, but some centenarians live to two years under favorable conditions.
Behind aphids - the eye and the eye. The rations of the coccinellids are also very diverse. Ladybirds with 24 spots feed on plant food. Some species, such as mold-eating orange ladybugs, prefer fungi. Others hunt for thyroid insects - worms and shield insects. But gardeners' favorites are those that destroy aphids.
Ladybug larvae eat the aphids. But can each other
These ladybugs lay eggs on the leaves near the colony of aphids - but they should be, if one can say so, smart and circumspect. Aphids multiply by parthenogenesis, that is, bypassing fertilization, which allows clones to be produced without sexual intercourse.
An aphid colony can grow at an extraordinary speed, which leads to overpopulation. After that, several newborn winged aphids will scatter in all directions, in order to initiate a new colony.
In order to provide their larvae with a rich diet of aphids, a ladybug female should lay eggs at an early stage in the existence of the colony. Several signs indicate to her that she chose a suitable time for laying: the density of aphids in the colonies, the release of honeydew (sweet liquid) and the presence of mobile chemical compounds secreted by the plant affected by aphids.
Spotted Sinters "They can also find each other by the chemicals they emit," says Roy.
The larvae leave traces consisting of at least 40 different components, mainly pheromone alkanes - hydrocarbon compounds, through which insects communicate with each other.
As soon as the female ladybug catches these substances, she is sent in the right direction to lay eggs.
There is quite a reasonable precaution here, since the maggots of the ladybirds are cannibals.
Coccinellids are very diverse.
Roy and her colleagues demonstrated that two-point ladybug larvae, which managed to devour one of their relatives, who are ready to hatch from an egg, develop faster and have more chances to mature than those larvae that were deprived of the opportunity to become cannibals. Therefore, if there are already ladybird larvae in any colony of aphids, the female will do the right thing, bypassing it.
If we assume that a ladybug female is able to detect a suitable colony of aphids, her offspring will most likely flourish. “When they hatch from eggs, they are tiny,” Roy says. “If they manage to grab prey, they look as if they are sitting on the backs of aphids.”
However, the results of several studies prove that ladybugs that feed on aphids do not significantly affect the number of these pests, no matter how much the gardeners would like.
Insect hygiene
If you still have a blind love for coccinellids, here are some more truths about ladybirds.
First, they are extremely unintelligible in their connections. For example, data from genetic studies of two-point ladybirds showed that eggs contained in three (and even more) different males can be contained in one clutch.
Ladybugs are not very picky about connections
When ladybugs mate, ticks get the opportunity to move to a new place of residence.
For example, as a result of one extremely infectious mating, an unsuspecting ladybug male received 81 tick larvae.
These sexually transmitted aphids can be costly to ladybugs, especially females. Compared to non-infected individuals with which control comparisons were made, ladybugs infected with ticks, as a rule, lay less eggs. And these eggs themselves are more vulnerable.
Today we will talk about the beetle arthropod insect - ladybug. This beetle is for many the personification of summer and the warm sun.
Also, he is loved by both adults and children. Where does this insect have such a name and how it is called in different countries?
Scientifically, the ladybird is called "coccineus", which, when translated from Latin, means "scarlet". And this beetle has a lot of folk names in different countries of the world and they are all very cute:
- the Germans - "the bug of the Virgin Mary,"
- czechs have “Sun”,
- hispanics call him “the cow of St. Anthony.”
Where the ladybird’s nickname originated from is not known for certain. One of the versions is the peculiarity of the beetle in danger of releasing a yellow liquid that looks like milk. In fact, this liquid is poisonous and is designed to scare off enemies. And the word "God" means harmless. Another assumption is that the beetle bears such a name, because by destroying the aphids, it saves the crop.
Description of the structure of the beetle with photos
Sizes of bugs vary from 4 to 10 millimeters. Their body is almost round, the abdomen is flat, and the top is convex. Some species of cows have small hairs on their bodies. The structure of the body stands out on the head of the beetle, pronotum, chest and six legs, belly, elytra and wings.
Beetle head small, connected to the chest and completely motionless. Some species have an elongated head. The eyes are large, the antennae are very flexible.
Pronotum beetle resembles a sphere, on the front edge of which there is a tenderloin. The pronotum often has dark spots.
Ladybug has 3 pairs of legs. Insect rather quickly moves in the grass thickets due to the special structure of the legs.
Bugs can fly thanks to a pair of wings. There are also elytra that protect the wings while on the ground.
When a danger arises, for example, when a bird attacks, the bug releases a liquid with a pungent odor that scares off detractors. Also the bug helps its bright color.
Coloring ladybird may be different and colors directly depends on the type of insect. So, the color of the ladybird's elytra is:
- scarlet
- yellow
- black
- blue
- brown.
The specks on a bright background are usually dark, but there are also yellow, and even white. Some types of bugs may have abstract spots, some will have clear peas, and others will not have them at all. Often such patterns can help in determining the sex of an individual.
Insect species
The family of ladybirds counts more than four thousand species beetles, which are conventionally divided into families and 360 genera.
The most interesting types of ladybirds:
Habitat
The area of ladybirds covers the entire globeexcept Antarctica and permafrost zones.
Some species of insects live only on plants densely populated by aphids, others choose reed grass and sedge growing on the banks of rivers, the third for normal life requires only field grass.
As a rule, these cute bugs live apart and gather in groups only for the winter or in the mating season.
Ladybug is very thermophilictherefore, bugs fly away in groups in warm regions for wintering onset of cold weather. There are sedentary varieties of ladybirds, they wait out the frost, gathering in large groups. Such a group can consist of up to 40 million beetles. They hide in stones, fallen leaves, and bark of trees.
The lifetime of the insect is small. If there is no shortage of food, then their life reaches one year, with a shortage of food - several months.
Insect food
All ladybugs, with rare exception - predatory insects and prefer aphids and ticks. Also, they are not averse to eat caterpillars and eggs of butterflies. If food is not enough, the insect will not disdain and eat the eggs of the Colorado potato beetle.
There are varieties of ladybirds that feed exclusively on grass, mushroom mycelium and fruits.
Reproduction of insects and their development
An individual becomes mature between three and six months. Mating begins in spring. Immediately after waking up from hibernation, the beetles are ready for the mating process. The female emits a pungent smell, thanks to which the male finds it. Insect lays eggs on plants inhabited by aphids, thereby providing food for their future offspring. In one clutch there can be up to 400 eggs. After the mating period, all females die..
After two weeks, small larvae of variegated color appear from the eggs. Their body is covered with a pattern of yellow, white and orange spots. The first few days the larvae feed on egg shells and unfertilized eggs, and having got stronger, they are taken for aphids.
The larva stage lasts from 4 to 7 weeks, after which the pupation stage begins. The pupa is attached to the leaf and the insect's body gradually forms.
A few days later, as a rule, from 7 to 10, an adult ladybug appears.
The benefits and harm of insects
These greedy babes benefit thousands of gardeners and gardeners by destroying aphids - the most annoying enemy of all plants. The larva of a beetle can eat more than 50 individuals of aphids per day, and an adult beetle up to 100 individuals. Some are specially bred ladybirds on their sites, this is especially important on an industrial scale. Beetles are sprayed over agricultural fields with the help of aviation.
Despite this, some species of these insects, which live in the tropics and subtropics, can ruin the crop by eating plants. In the Russian Federation, there are several such species that infect vegetables.
Ladybug belong to the type of arthropods, the class of insects, the beetle, the family of ladybirds. They are found throughout Europe and America. The body length of a ladybug is 4-10 mm. Ladybug lives about 1 year.
The age of puberty is between 3 and 6 months. Mating takes place in the spring. The male is attracted by the specific smell that appears in the female during the breeding season. Unfortunately, the female dies shortly after laying eggs. One insect lays from 100 to 300 eggs. It fixes them on the back of the leaves, usually on a sheet from 3 to 50 eggs. A few weeks later, a spiny, brightly colored larva appears from the egg. Developing, in 4-7 weeks the larva turns into a pupa. At this stage of development, three pairs of legs, wings, head, chest and abdomen are formed in the beetle. When a ladybug hatches from a pupa, it is already an adult.
Ladybirds, like all other beetles, have two pairs of wings. But they fly with the help of the rear wings, and the front only perform a protective function for the rear wings.