What larvae live in the ground. Harm from the cockchafer and ways to combat it
The May beetle (Khrushchev) is a common pest of green spaces. In late spring they can often be seen on trees. During the flight, the insect buzzes loudly, and by this sound they can be easily identified. Adults feed on tree leaves in gardens and parks. The larvae of the cockchafer eat the roots of plants, which leads to their death.
A three-year-old larva can completely destroy the root system of a young tree in an hour. Considering that one female beetle lays up to 70 eggs, the appearance of these insects on the site threatens the almost complete destruction of green spaces.
Description of the insect
We all know what a cockchafer looks like since childhood. Some saw them live, and others saw them in pictures for the fairy tale “Thumbelina.”
The body of the beetle is barrel-shaped, black or brown-brown, elongated at the rear. The length reaches 3.5 - 4 cm. It is distinguished from other insects by antennae with long bristles.
The larva of the cockchafer, also known as the furrow beetle, has a thick white body, bent in the middle, three pairs of legs and a large brown head.
The beetle's pupa is more similar to the adult, but with shorter wings.
May beetle reproduction and growth stages
The development cycle of the cockchafer lasts five years. At the end of May, adult individuals crawl out of the ground to the surface, females mate with males and lay about 70 eggs in the soil to a depth of 15-20 cm. After this, the females die. After a month and a half, small white larvae appear from the eggs. They spend four years in the ground, continuously feeding on plant roots. In the summer of the fourth year, the larva turns into a pupa, and a year later adults emerge from the ground.
What harm does the cockchafer and its larva cause?
An adult cockchafer does not have time to cause much harm, as it only lives for about two months. The larvae cause significantly more damage to plants.
If plants begin to wither one after another for no apparent reason, most likely there are larvae living under its roots. They can be found by digging a hole in the ground about the depth of a spade bayonet.
Before you start fighting the larva of the cockchafer (Melolontha sp.), you should make sure that it is she and not other insects. The most commonly confused larvae are:
- Rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes nasicornis L.). Lives in compost heaps.
- Golden Bronzewort (Cetonia aurata). Also prefers compost heaps.
- Stag beetle (Lucanus cervus L.). Lives in dead wood.
Below is a comparative photo of the larvae of the cockchafer and the bronze beetle: 
If you look closely, you can see the difference between them. Differences also exist in the places where larvae accumulate. Thus, immature individuals of the cockchafer feed on the roots of plants, and accordingly live there. Bronze larvae have weaker jaws, live in compost heaps and feed on dead organic matter.
Below is a comparative photo of rhinoceros beetle and deer larvae: 
May beetle larvae are not found in compost heaps, as they feed only on living roots.
Folk methods of combating the cockchafer and larvae
In order to successfully fight the cockchafer, you need to know how it behaves:
- In the early morning, beetles are usually inactive and can be easily shaken off the trees onto a specially laid out litter. The collected pests are then destroyed.
- In the dark, beetles flock to the light, so they can be collected in light traps. It must be prepared in advance - any shallow container is coated with a sticky substance and a light bulb is placed in the middle. In the evening the trap is placed outside. Not only cockchafers stick to such traps, but also cutworm butterflies, whose caterpillars destroy cabbage, beets and green tomatoes.
- Starlings also will not refuse a fleshy delicacy, so a birdhouse on the site is necessary.
- The ground under the trees is sown with white clover or lupine. These plants enrich the soil with nitrogen, which repels larvae.
- The ground under the plantings is sprayed with an infusion of onion peels or a pink solution of potassium permanganate.
Ordinary hedgehogs are big fans of larvae. If a thorny family settles nearby, the pest population will begin to decline rapidly.
Larvae are also collected manually while digging the soil.
Chemical control agents
All of the above control measures are effective only with a small number of pests. If your plantings are rapidly dying, it’s time to turn to chemicals to get rid of the cockchafer. How to use them, and what drugs they include:
To effectively combat the cockchafer, it is necessary to use a set of plant protection measures. It is even better to combine protective measures with preventive ones. Thus, there is a high probability that larvae will be brought onto the site along with them, because in the first year of life they feed on unrotted organic matter. Before adding manure to the beds, it is necessary to sift it to prevent pests from entering. If the beetleworm is found in neighboring areas, it is better to replace the manure with compost or liquid nettle fertilizer, which is guaranteed to be free of larvae. Compliance with all these measures will help protect your crops and preserve the harvest.
Fighting cockchafer larvae - video
How often gardeners are in for an unpleasant surprise! We had just planted seedlings of tomatoes and cabbage, the seedlings had already begun to grow, cucumbers began to grow, and suddenly, here and there the plants withered and fell as if they had been cut down. What is the reason?
Fighting mole crickets in the garden
The first and most famous garden pest is the mole cricket - a fairly large insect that leads a mainly underground lifestyle.
Since I started gardening, I have almost thoroughly studied the habits of the common mole cricket. At first I didn’t want to believe that she was on my site, then there was a phase of despair and wild horror, from the fact that I met her nose to nose and was finally convinced that it was she - a bear! Now I just know that it exists, and let it live, you can’t argue with nature. The disappearance of one species entails other, sometimes unpredictable consequences.
The common mole cricket is widespread throughout the European part of Russia. The natural habitats of the mole cricket are the banks of rivers and streams. She prefers moist, loose soil. In her gardens she prefers planting cabbage, compost heaps, and manure, especially horse manure.
Its presence on the site can be determined not only by cut plants. At the beginning of summer, especially after watering in the morning, winding, dug-up areas of soil are clearly visible in the beds. These are the surface passages of the mole cricket. It is difficult to predict where it will crawl tomorrow. Running after her with a ladle of some kind of nasty stuff doesn’t bring any pleasure either. Some gardeners sit at night, watch when the mole cricket comes to the surface in order to destroy it. Some gardeners buried three-liter jars of water in the path of mole crickets so that they would fall in and not be able to get out. I remember how I laughed when I read somewhere that you can fight mole crickets if you drive aspen stakes throughout the garden.
I tried planting seedlings in cut-off plastic bottles. But she refused it. The tomatoes have grown well, but the cabbage grew very poorly in these cut-off bottles. While weeding, slightly touching the edges of the bottles, my cabbages flew out of the ground. There was no way they could catch the edge of the root in the ground.
In order not to increase the number of mole crickets in a particular area, I advise you to get rid of boards and logs - buried or lying on the ground. Also make sure that the water containers do not leak. Try not to bring manure from unknown places where there may be a concentration of mole crickets. If you just need to purchase manure or humus, try not to put it on the ground, isolate it from the ground so that the mole crickets do not crawl around the garden. Prepare a special container. In such a container you can spill all the humus or manure with pest control drugs. Also isolate compost heaps from contact with the ground.
What to do with the beds where the mole cricket operates? At the beginning of summer, in June, the mole cricket looks for a warm, sunny place to build a nest and lay eggs. The nest protrudes somewhat from the ground and resembles an ordinary hummock. The only unusual thing is that nothing grows next to this hummock within a radius of 20-30 cm. It is around its nest that the mole cricket cuts down all the grass or other plants so that they do not shade the nest. The mole cricket often comes to its nest and checks if everything is in order. Having destroyed the hummock-nest, you can see many gray-yellow eggs slightly smaller than a pea. This is the clutch of a mole cricket. This is exactly how my meeting with the mole cricket happened: I was looking at a clutch of eggs, and she also came to visit them. My legs were paralyzed from horror and numbness, and when she saw me, she quietly began to back away, covering herself with her claw. How scary she is! The only thing I want is to never meet her again. So, the conclusion suggests itself: loosen the soil more often and do not neglect deep autumn and spring digging.
One of the effective ways to combat mole crickets is the insecticide preparations Medvetox, Thunder or another drug designed to combat mole crickets and available for sale in your city. It must be used according to the instructions. I’ll tell you right away that it helps. In addition, when planting seedlings, I add crushed eggshells to the holes, which I collect all year.
I also read that you can sprinkle sawdust around the perimeter of the bed and deepen it a little. But I haven’t done it myself, so I can’t recommend it.
My helpers in the fight against mole crickets are cats. As soon as we started living with two cats and a female cat, I noticed that all my plants stayed in place. In the summer, my cats generally catch everything that moves: flies, butterflies, grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars.
And if the mole cricket moves to the trees, good luck: let it continue to roam the expanses of its native area, improving soil aeration.
If the mole cricket really annoys you, then in the fall, when everything is cleared from the garden and frosts have already begun on the soil, dig several holes up to 50 cm deep, cover it with film and put manure in it. These are traps into which mole crickets must crawl for the winter. Check the holes every morning, at this time mole crickets are slow and easy to destroy. In my opinion, this is the most realistic way to fight mole crickets.
Winter armyworm and methods of combating it
The fall armyworm is a nocturnal moth. I call her: a big fat moth. The butterfly itself is not as dangerous as its caterpillar - thick, large, gray, but can also be light brown. It depends on the type of cutworm, because there are a huge number of them - for almost every plant there is a corresponding type of cutworm. On the ground, the caterpillar is difficult to see. The color matches the top layer of soil.
The fall armyworm caterpillar is a worst agricultural pest. She does not disdain anything, she is practically omnivorous. The caterpillar can damage cereals, potatoes, beets, onions, corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cabbage. During the daytime, caterpillars can hide from sunlight under plant leaves or in the top layer of soil, and at night they crawl out to hunt.
The damage caused by the fall armyworm caterpillar is similar to the damage caused by the mole cricket. By the way, I saw a trimmed onion that had fallen off. I thought that the bear had come out. I raked the soil around the gnawed onion and saw a gray caterpillar. This is the winter armyworm caterpillar. Just like the mole cricket, it cuts off young plants at soil level or simply gnaws the petioles of leaves, gnaws out entire hollows in potatoes, beets, carrots and other root vegetables.
The fall armyworm caterpillar is capable of destroying seeds and seedlings in the soil, causing the seedlings to be very sparse and bald spots to appear in continuous plantings. Caterpillars of the first generation fall armyworm damage our gardens, damaging vegetable crops at the very beginning of summer. The second generation caterpillars “specialize” in sowing winter crops. How to deal with the winter armyworm?
The main and effective measure to combat the fall armyworm is deep digging of the soil in autumn and spring to a depth of 25-27 cm, which destroys the pupae and caterpillars of the fall armyworm.
At the beginning of summer, when vegetable crops have already been planted, loosen the rows more often. When damaged plants appear, rake the top layer of soil - you will probably find a thick gray caterpillar. Therefore, careful loosening of row spacing can be considered one of the methods of combating winter armyworm caterpillars.
Try to keep an eye on more than just your garden beds. Constantly mow roadsides and the area around your property. Flowering weeds are a source of food and egg-laying for moth moths.
The larvae of the cockchafer first feed on particles of humus, then begin to eat up the roots of plants. In the European part of Russia, the cockchafer predominates with a 4-year development period. The most significant damage to plants is caused by larvae of the second and third years of development during the growing season. Plants with severely damaged roots may die.
There is a biological way to combat cockchafer larvae - introducing a nematode culture into the soil. If you get rid of cockchafer larvae, you will gain nematodes: radish horseradish is no sweeter! In addition to introducing nematodes, there is a measure to prevent the spread of cockchafer larvae: when digging up the soil in autumn and spring, you need to manually collect and destroy cockchafer larvae.
Also, do not apply fresh manure to the soil. It will probably harbor cockchafer larvae. To apply to the beds, use only rotted humus, and carefully look through and shake it before adding: it is better to prevent the larvae from getting into the beds than to find out later how to deal with them.
.The perfect place for them to live– well manured, rich in humus, as well as irrigated areas of land. In order to protect your property from these pests, you need to have an idea of the difference between the larvae of the mole cricket and the cockchafer, since they can be confused from the photo. You also need to know what measures need to be taken if the presence of pests has been confirmed. This is exactly what this article will discuss.
Description of the mole cricket and features of its reproduction
In the cold season, mole crickets hibernate in the soil at a depth 25 cm. As soon as the soil warms up to 10°C, they become active and begin to cause harm. During the day, mole crickets are underground, and in the evening they come to the surface or fly into the light. These insects are different from others the following physical features:
- The body is quite large compared to other beetles (4 cm). The body color is dark brown above and brownish-yellow below. The beetle is covered with velvety fibers.
Did you know? It is known that under good conditions the mole cricket can grow up to 15 cm. However, there are no official recorded data.
- The mouth is directed forward, the antennae are short.
- Wide elytra reaching half the length of the abdomen.
- Normally developed wings, even in a calm state, protrude from under the elytra.
- The front legs resemble shovels. With their help, the insect creates entire caves in root crops.
- The next pairs of legs have spines.
Most often, the masonry bridge becomes a pile of garbage, manure, or simply loose soil. After this, the “mother” remains near the nest, thus protecting her offspring. 
Embryonic development continues until 20 days, and the larvae themselves remain in place 30 days. On average, they turn into adults after wintering in the summer of next year.
What does a mole cricket larva look like?
After laying eggs, the offspring appear 3 weeks later. Visually, the mole cricket looks disgusting, the description of the larva is quite specific, but if you know it, you can easily identify the insect and immediately begin to get rid of it. 
They resemble adults in appearance, but their body size reaches 3 cm., it is covered with a durable shell, while the larvae have no wings. To transform into a full-fledged adult, the larva goes through 4 stages of development, on average this lasts up to 2 years.
During this time, the insect's shell changes several times. The first food is the remains of the egg shell, and then they begin to dig tunnels and other passages to obtain food.
Important! The larvae cause no less harm than adults, since its diet consists mainly of small roots, seeds and larvae of other insects.
Knowing what a mole cricket and its larva look like, it is important to get acquainted with other similar harmful insects - May beetle.
Peculiarities of reproduction of the cockchafer
The breeding season occurs in summer. After mating, the female lays eggs in 70 pcs., the average filling depth is 15 cm. This process takes a lot of strength from her and most often she dies at the end. 
Description of the cockchafer larva
After 35 days, larvae emerge from the eggs. Their body is whitish-yellow or reddish in color. The body is thick and soft, divided into several segments and has three pairs of limbs.
The upper jaws of the oral apparatus are located on the head. During the first 3 years of life, the larva develops and overwinters in the ground. In winter, the insect sleeps quite deep in the ground, and with the first warming it rises to the upper layers of the soil. 
During the first year of life, the larvae feed on humus and tender grass roots. Then their main food becomes the roots of trees and. During feeding, the insect can crawl up to 30 cm.
Just like adults, they greatly harm the development of plants and sometimes even lead to their death.
Did you know? A May beetle larva of the 3rd year of life can completely eat the roots of a two-year-old pine tree within 24 hours.
After the third winter, the larva turns into a pupa. This transformation lasts up to 40 days, and then emerges from it full-fledged cockchafer.
Let's sum it up
Let's consider what the main difference between the mole cricket larvae and the May beetle is, so as not to confuse them and correctly apply methods to combat them.
Beetles live 3 years longer than mole crickets. In addition, the latter are more heat-loving and therefore penetrate deeper into the ground during the cold season, which means they are more difficult to detect during digging. 
Beetles prefer roots or, and mole crickets prefer plants of the nightshade family. In front, the cockchafer has 3 pairs of legs and a mouth, while the mole cricket has paws in the form of shoulder blades.
Knowing about all the harm that mole crickets and cockchafers, as well as their larvae, cause to plants, you need to begin preventive measures at the first signs of their presence.
The fight needs to be carried out comprehensively, it is better to do this several times a year. Today there are many traditional and modern methods known getting rid of pests: scaring, traps, loosening beds, destroying the nest and destroying with ready-made means. 
Let's look at a few most popular:
- Agrotechnical. It consists of carefully digging the soil in spring and autumn to a depth of approximately 15 cm. This helps destroy tunnels and makes it difficult for pests to move. In addition, in this way you can destroy clutches of eggs and larvae.
- Manure traps. It is known that these insects love manure and winter in such places. You can make holes about 50 cm in size in the fall and fill them with manure. After the first frost, dig everything out and scatter it on the ground. Thus, the pests will quickly die from the cold.
- Oil or soapy water. Oil is dripped into the detected passages or water and soap are poured from a hose. For 10 liters of water, it is enough to take 50 g of soap.
- Beer trap. A glass jar is buried in the soil so that the neck is at ground level. Beer is poured into it to fill 1/3 of the container. Place a board on top so that a 15 mm gap remains. This smell is very attractive to insects.
- Repellent. This is done by placing coriander, garlic, chrysanthemums and pine needles on the site. When fish is placed in each hole during planting, it will decompose and begin to emit a specific odor that these insects do not like.
- Physical barriers. You can protect plants from pests if you plant them in cut rubber tubes of a certain diameter. They should rise 3 cm above the ground. The rhizomes can be protected with a nylon mesh in several layers, and its edges should be above the soil.
These pests damage the underground part of plants. Some species spoil plantings in new, recently planted gardens, others - in established ones that have been bearing fruit for a number of years. In new areas, larvae of click beetles - wireworms, caterpillars of harmful cutworms, and beetle larvae - are most often found. Where the garden has been cultivated for a long time and the soil is rich in organic matter, worms, nematodes, centipedes, garden midge larvae, etc. live.
The caterpillars of various moths are dangerous for the garden only in the first year of its cultivation, since in well-cared for perennial beds conditions arise that are unfavorable for the development of this pest. Wireworms remain in new gardens for several seasons, as their development cycle covers 3-5 calendar years. As for other soil pests, they can be dangerous especially where the soil is excessively wet.
Scoops
The most common cutworm that appears in gardens is the winter cutworm ( Scotia segetum), upsilon armyworm ( Scotia ypsilon), scoop exclamation ( Scotia exclamationis) and blackish cutworm C ( Amathes C-nigrum), as well as some others. In the spring months, their caterpillars damage the roots of all types of vegetables and ornamental crops. First, the caterpillars occupy the above-ground parts of plants and gnaw round holes in the leaves. At the third stage of their development, they move into the soil and eat the roots. Most often, cutworms attack cabbage, lettuce, carrots, and seedlings of ornamental plants. Unfortunately, gardeners usually do not notice in time that caterpillars are eating the above-ground parts of plants, and therefore do not take the necessary protective measures.
Click beetle larvae - wireworms
In young, recently planted gardens or in old ones, but in those places where grasses usually grew, and now beds have been created, wireworms and click beetle larvae cause great damage to the plantings. The greatest damage comes from the striped click beetle, or bread beetle ( Agriotes lineatus), and the smoky clicknut ( A. ustulatus); In some places there are four more species of this insect.
Click beetle larvae attack the underground organs of vegetable crops, ornamental plants and strawberries. They eat small roots of seedlings, eat out or bite the main root of a plant, make corridors, for example, in carrots, celery, as well as in tulip and daffodil bulbs, in tubers of gladioli and dahlias. Damaged plants begin to curl and wither; their underground parts, important from a practical point of view, lose all value. Wireworms cause the greatest damage in March-June and September-October, when they are located in the upper layers of the soil. During the drier summer season, the larvae crawl deeper into the ground. Only larvae of the brilliant click beetle ( Corymbites aeneus) remain on the soil surface and eat succulent parts of plants. The development cycle of the click beetle is 3-5 years, during this period the plants in the beds where this pest has settled are under constant threat.
Larvae of May beetles - Khrushchev
From time to time, beetles may appear in the garden. Most often this is Western May Khrushchev ( Melolontha melolontha). It lives in the soil and damages the underground organs of plants - vegetables, ornamental crops, strawberries and fruit trees. If there are 1-2 larvae per square meter of garden area, then you need to sound the alarm. Seedlings of vegetables and ornamental plants damaged by the larva die; fruit trees are only at risk in the first two years after planting.
During the years of abundant appearance of Western May beetles, the damage they cause to cherry, apple, plum trees and roses is especially great. During such periods, it is recommended to shake the beetles from the trees and destroy them mechanically.
Centipede larvae(Tipulidae)
In gardens planted in damp places, in the first years, vegetables and ornamental plants are under threat of attack by centipede larvae. Therefore, it may be advisable to check, even before laying out the beds on moderately soaking lands, whether there are centipedes here and in what quantity. The test is carried out as follows: on a test area measuring one square. meter is mowed down or all vegetation is pulled out, and the bare surface is watered with a solution of table salt (at the rate of 1 kg of salt per 5 liters of water). After such watering, the larvae will crawl to the surface. By counting them, we will get an idea of the degree of contamination of the territory and can, if necessary, resort to chemical means of protection.
The longer the soil is cultivated in the garden, the more pests there are. Let's name a few more of the most common ones.
Centipedes
Centipedes, especially the fragile centipede ( Polydesmus complanatus) and blind centipede ( Blaniulus guttulatus), can grow excessively in composts. In damp summers, they can cause especially great harm to seedlings to whose roots compost soil was added during planting. Centipedes also eat the bulbs of ornamental plants and feast on ripening strawberries. Where these pests appear, it is necessary to reduce the soil moisture by adding ash to it. In berry gardens, you can place wood wool or some other bedding under the fruits, which will have to be replaced with a new one from time to time.
Earthworms, earthworms (Lumbhcidae)
Earthworms or earthworms are beneficial to the garden. By digging underground corridors, they aerate the soil; a sufficient amount of air accelerates the process of decomposition of organic substances occurring in it. However, when there are too many worms in the ground, as a result of their activity, the stability of the seedlings decreases, the adhesion of the roots to the soil is weakened, and the germinating plant is pulled under the surface. Therefore, in exceptional cases it is necessary to protect plants from worms. Then it is recommended to fill the unsown beds with warm (about 40 ° C) water.
Clover nematode(Ditylenchus dipsaci)
The nematode also lives on many types of weeds, and therefore protection against it is very difficult. It is recommended to destroy affected plants and reduce soil moisture; if necessary, you can resort to chemicals.
Garden midge larvae (Bibionidae)
In some places, garden midge larvae cause considerable damage to gardens. Female midges lay their eggs in compost or soil well saturated with humus. The larvae of this pest are found mainly in greenhouses and in those beds where compost soil is also added to ordinary garden soil. In summer, the larvae feed on tender roots and smoldering plant debris, and after wintering they attack germinating plants. There is only one way to avoid the mass appearance of garden midge larvae - always use only well-ripened, decayed compost.
Mole cricket (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa)
It can be very difficult to cope with the common mole cricket. She gnaws roots or makes corridors under the very surface of the earth, thereby shaking young plants. This pest creates nests of clay 10 cm below the level of the bed, so that the roots of planted crops are exposed and wither. The location of such a nest can be detected by the so-called. focal wilting of plants.
The number of mole crickets in the garden can be reduced by catching them using smooth-walled vessels immersed to the very edges in the ground. In June-July it is recommended to destroy the nests.
Onion mite (Rhizoglyphus echinopus)
It is equally difficult to cope with another soil pest - the root bulb mite. It damages roots and rhizomes, attacking both food onions and the bulbs of ornamental plants. It is not difficult to find out about his “activity”: small, chaotically located corridors filled with small brown droppings are visible in the ground. Soil moisture promotes the proliferation of this pest. You can get rid of mites by storing the bulbs in a dry, well-ventilated place. It is possible, if necessary, to use chemicals.
Pests that attack above-ground parts of plants
Many pests of garden plants eat their above-ground parts.
Slug, gastropod(Gastropoda) Most often the field slug appears in gardens ( Deroceras agreste), as well as the net-like slug ( D. reticulatum), smooth slug ( D. laeve), garden slug ( Arion hortensis) and garden snail ( Helix pomatia). Slugs damage above-ground and underground parts of plants, eat holes in the bulbs of tulips and daffodils, in the tubers of gladioli and other plants. Of the above-ground organs, leaves and stems suffer most from them. As for young plants, they are capable of completely destroying them. We know that our garden has been visited by slugs by the leaf blades eaten from the top and by the traces left behind - silvery drying mucus and dark viscous droppings.
Slugs can be controlled mechanically. It is also recommended to sprinkle the paths around the beds with lime, ash, pine needles or a chemical. Common earwig ( Forficula auricularis)
The common earwig is one of the omnivorous pests of the above-ground parts of plants in our gardens. This insect eats leaves and stems, feasts on buds and flowers, especially dahlias, carnations and roses. Leaves and petals acquire jagged edges after earwig feasts. This pest also eats ripening fruits - pears, plums, apricots, peaches.
The best way to deal with an earwig is to lure it into specially prepared shelters made of straw, rags, burlap, or wood wool, and then destroy everything together.
Spider mites (Tetranychidae)
Pests of fruit trees, shrubs, various vegetables and ornamental plants include various types of spider mites. They harm leaves and plants in general by sucking out surface cells. The leaves begin to turn yellow, later become whitish, become discolored and finally fall off. Next year, plants affected by this pest will, as a rule, have fewer flowers, and, therefore, fewer fruits. Ticks are considered dangerous and persistent opponents also because several of their generations manage to develop within one year. Therefore, it is recommended to intensively use chemicals against them.
If the pest is severely damaged, the loss can amount to 30-70% of the entire crop, and the formation of flowers can decrease by 75%. In the spring, ticks are not so noticeable, but spraying with chemicals carried out at this time gives better results than twice, but at the height of summer itself. Ticks cause especially great damage in warm, dry weather. Protective measures against mites should be carried out primarily before flowering begins and immediately after it ends. Spring spraying against fruit mites (Panonychus ulmi) should be timed to coincide with the period when 60-80% of all larvae have already appeared; in this case, it is necessary to use drugs that will simultaneously destroy both the larvae and the testicles.
If we were unable to reduce the number of mites to an acceptable level on the eve of spring and during it, then we should be prepared for the fact that during the growing season we will have many difficulties with plant protection. The fact is that then this pest will already be present on the leaves of plants in all stages of its development, i.e. there will be testicles, larvae, and adult bugs, to combat which you will have to use various chemicals. Most of the drugs used do not kill the summer eggs, from which the larvae then emerge; As a result, the pest population quickly recovers.
1. spray taking into account the specific level of infestation;
2. where mites appear regularly, it is necessary to at least temporarily stop using drugs that promote their development;
3. use various chemicals for spraying so that the pest does not develop immunity to a particular drug.
Aphid (Aphidoidea)
Thrips, fringed winged (Thysanoptera)
The leaves, and partly the fruits of trees, can be affected by the caterpillars of several species of butterflies. The main eaters on fruit trees are moths and silkworms.
Moths (Geometridae)
Caterpillars of the winter moth, or small surveyor ( Operophtera brumata), cause significant damage to cherry, apple, pear, plum trees, as well as roses, in their multi-year cycles. In spring they eat leaves and flower buds, and after flowering, fruit buds. First, moths make round holes on the leaves, and then gradually destroy the entire blade, sometimes leaving only one main vein. In young fruits, caterpillars eat deep oval-shaped depressions. On cherry trees they sometimes manage to destroy the entire crop. On pear trees, after flowering they eat only the fruits.
Similar damage is also caused by the moth-peeler, or the fruit moth ( Erannis defoliaria); this pest, fortunately, is not so numerous.
You can fight against moths in the following way. In October, the tree trunk is wrapped in a paper belt, which is coated with a special glue, so that the wingless females of this pest cannot reach the crown and lay eggs there. Goldentail, or goldtail silkworm, gypsy moth, or gypsy moth, ringed cocoon moth, or ringed silkworm
In abandoned orchards or in plantings where the trees are poorly cared for, pear, apple and plum trees are eaten by the lacewing caterpillar ( Euproctis chrysorrhoea). Before winter comes, this pest makes nests of leaves on the tops of branches, where it overwinters. If you destroy these nests in a timely manner, you can prevent pest attacks on trees in the spring. Otherwise, in the first warm days, the caterpillars will leave their shelter and attack the kidneys. Later they will move on to leaves and flowers. If there is at least one such nest per 3 m 3 of crown, the tree cannot be protected from being eaten, and the future harvest cannot be protected from loss.
Real leaf rollers(Tortricidae)
Protecting fruit trees and some shrubs from leaf and bud budworms is not an easy task. This pest attacks mainly apple, pear, and plum trees, but can also settle on apricot and rose bushes, although it is less dangerous to the last two plants. In the spring, leaf roller caterpillars devour the buds; Young trees are in particular danger: losses can be as high as 80%. Then the pests move on to the opening leaves, biting holes in them and eating buds and flowers. Damaged leaves are smaller, curled, and corrugated.
The caterpillars of the next, new generation already in the second half of summer also live on the leaves, eating them almost entirely. In addition, they make many small holes or shallow pits in the skin of apples and other fruits, usually in those places where the fruit is covered with leaves and the skin has not yet acquired its usual color. Fruits with such defects can no longer be left for storage, as they quickly rot. In some years, leaf rollers are capable of destroying a third of the crop in this way.
The most common leaf roller in gardens is the knotweed leaf roller, or bud roller ( Spilonota ocellana), apple budworm ( Argyroploce variegata), fruit leaf roller ( Pandemis heparana), pink leafroller (Cacoecia rosana), and honeysuckle leafroller ( Capua recticulana).
Lithocolletis and Lyonetia
In gardens with intensive farming, lithocolletis and lyoneti often appear in large numbers. The caterpillars of these pests eat away the leaf blades of various plants, making winding paths. The most common Lithocolletis apple ( Lithocolletis blancardella) and Lyonetia fruit ( Lyonetia clerkella). Caterpillars of Lithocolletis vulgaris often eat apple tree leaves, less often they appear on pear and mountain ash, leaving behind oval-shaped holes 0.2-0.8 mm wide and 1-2 cm long. If there are more than three potholes per leaf, then crop losses cannot be avoided. Trees heavily affected by the pest usually bloom little the following year. In such cases, it is recommended to chemically treat the trees two weeks after the end of flowering. If the pest damage is serious, the tree treatment should be repeated after 7-10 days.
Caterpillars of apple lithocolletis form, from May to October, winding and long paths on the leaves of apple, cherry and cherry trees. There can be 10-15 such tracks on one sheet. Damaged leaves dry out and fall off prematurely. Treatment of trees with chemicals is recommended only in case of severe damage; it is carried out when the second generation emerges.
Geese
In spring, the flower buds of apple, cherry, cherry and plum trees are often eaten by apple geese ( Rhynchites bacchus) and several other species of this insect. The most dangerous is the apple goose, which lays its eggs in the fruits of fruit trees. Damaged fruits develop unevenly and often rot.
Bark beetle and other pests that destroy bark
The apricot leaf roller mainly damages apricot, peach and cherry trees, less often plum, apple and pear trees. Its caterpillars eat out corridors in the lower inner layers of the bark; the places where they feasted can be easily identified by the piles of rusty droppings that they push to the surface of the bark. This kind of damage to a tree is often accompanied by gummosis - gum formation.
The leaf roller most often attacks old trees, penetrating under the bark in those places where it is wounded and laying its eggs there. Therefore, the affected areas should not be cleaned mechanically, so as not to further damage the trunk or branch.
It is even more difficult to fight fruit woodworm and bark beetles that settle on weakened trees. Here, preventive safety measures should be taken, which include the correct choice of place to plant the tree, as well as providing it with proper nutrition. Places that are too damp or places where the ground is too dry are not suitable for planting fruit trees. Trees affected by the bark beetle are identified by the following signs: their leaves suddenly begin to wither and their branches begin to dry out. On the branches of such trees, as a rule, you can find tiny holes a millimeter in diameter. The bark beetle lays its corridors only under the bark, while the woodworm eats into the wood itself.
Rodents
Dangerous pests of garden plants include lagomorphs and rodents. Hares and wild rabbits sometimes eat the bark of trees and shoots of ornamental shrubs in winter. To protect tree plantings from them, some preparation with a specific odor that repels animals is applied to the trunks of fruit trees in the winter. However, it is best to place wire or reed fences around the trunks.
During the years of active breeding of field mice (gray vole - Microtus arvalis) the bark of fruit trees can also be damaged by them. Rodents will gnaw it at the surface of the ground in winter. The vole eats bulbs and tubers of ornamental plants. To avoid losses, it is recommended to destroy mice in their burrows and underground passages using smoke bombs.
In gardens located next to a river or in damp, soaking places, there is another dangerous pest - the water rat ( Arvicola terrestris). It chews through the roots of fruit trees, eats root crops and underground parts of ornamental plants. Treating plants and soil with chemicals does not give good results. Therefore, it is recommended to invest in underground corridors dug by rodents, calcium carbide, smoke bombs, or smoke out pests using exhaust gases. But all these methods give only a temporary effect, and therefore the fight against rodents has to be waged constantly. The following measures are most effective: even before planting the tree, line the prepared hole around the entire circumference with a galvanized metal mesh with cells of approximately 2 cm; then rodents will not be able to reach the roots.
Birds
Birds, primarily the house sparrow and greenfinch, peck flower buds of currants, gooseberries, pears, apricot and peach trees in the spring. Sparrows also destroy lettuce seedlings.
Birds are responsible for large losses of fruit and berry crops. Thus, house sparrows, black and song thrushes, and common starlings peck ripe cherry fruits, currants and grapes. They feast on ripening pears, apricots, peaches, and peck at strawberries. Blackbirds also love tomatoes.
We usually scare away birds in the garden and field with various mechanical devices. An effective measure is to stretch a nylon mesh over trees and bushes; then the birds will not be able to fly into the fruits at all. You can drive them away using various optical and sound devices (crackers, scarecrows, etc.).
Plant protection from pests
In the same way that we act when protecting plants from various diseases, we should act when protecting plantings from uninvited guests from the animal world, namely: directing the main efforts to preventive measures in order to reduce the number of potential pests or at least reduce the intensity of their attack.
Preventive measures include monitoring the condition of stored bulbs and tubers, reducing the relative humidity in greenhouses, limiting the proliferation of mites, ventilating rooms and systematically spraying plants with water, which is very effective in the fight against spider mites. High-quality seedlings taken from healthy mother plants, etc. will help us get rid of nematodes.
Since pests differ from each other in their biological characteristics, gardeners have to resort to a variety of preventive measures. Sometimes the appearance of a pest can be minimized by eliminating the so-called. intermediate host, which is often weedy wild plants. In other cases, mechanical collection of testicles, caterpillars, and beetles will help; Various baits will also come in handy, after which it will be easier to deal with the pest. An anthill that appears in a greenhouse is watered with boiling water. Podura or ponytails will also retreat if we manage to reduce the soil moisture or sprinkle its surface with a thin layer of lime, ash, sand or crushed charcoal. To prevent excessive proliferation of snails and slugs, it is recommended to sprinkle the paths with quicklime, etc.
Fruits, vegetables, bulbs and tubers of ornamental plants selected for winter storage must be completely healthy, without damage, because any flaws are the gate through which putrefactive fungi and bacteria penetrate primarily.
In the storage area, immediately after storing vegetables and fruits, it is necessary to create conditions that limit the possibility of putrefactive fungi and bacteria entering there. Most plant products should be stored at a temperature of 2-5°C and a relative humidity of 85-90%. When the humidity is below 80%, a lot of water evaporates from fruits with juicy pulp and from the roots, and when it is above 90%, fungi and, most importantly, putrefactive bacteria begin to multiply quickly. By observing the correct ventilation mode and regulating the level of air humidity, we create the most favorable conditions for winter storage of fruits, vegetables, bulbs and tubers.
Before filling the storage facility, it is very important to carry out a thorough disinfection there, for example, by fumigation (8 g of sulfur is burned per 1 m 3 of space), having previously sealed all the holes and cracks, and lubricated the metal parts with vegetable oil. The walls of the room should be whitewashed with lime or sprayed with a 5% formaldehyde solution. Shelves, window frames and doors are treated in a similar way. 24 hours after disinfection, the storage area is thoroughly ventilated. We must also not forget that before placing them in storage, tubers and bulbs of ornamental plants must be pre-treated.
When storing root vegetables, garlic, potatoes, and pome fruits for winter storage, it is necessary to very carefully select healthy specimens, since plant products intended for food cannot be subjected to chemical treatment. Potatoes, fruits, and onions are best placed in a thin layer or even in one row on lattice shelves. Onions and garlic should be kept on shelves in dry rooms where the temperature is slightly below 0°C.
During storage, it is necessary to promptly dispose of all fruits, bulbs and tubers that have begun to deteriorate, and also not to store apples and pears for longer than is practically possible. All this will be those preventive measures against losses in storage and against putrefactive diseases that affect vegetables, fruits, as well as bulbs and tubers of ornamental plants in winter.
Diseases and pests of garden plants. Part 1 Diseases and pests of garden plants. Part 8
After the mating process, the female insect builds a nest, which is a round cave about 10 centimeters long.
Such a nest lies at a depth of 10-15 cm, it is in it that she leaves eggs, the number of which can reach 500 pieces. To prevent the eggs from becoming moldy, the mole cricket turns them over from time to time and carefully inspects them.
Eggs are oblong balls that look like small grains. The color of the eggs can vary from beige to yellow-brown with a slight coating. The egg laying looks like an ant, only the eggs themselves are a little larger in size.
Since the eggs need warmth, the mole cricket buries them at a shallow depth, so you don’t need to dig deep to find them. Most often they can be found in hummocks on the surface of the earth. Mole cricket larvae emerge from eggs after about 2-3 weeks.
In this photo you can see what mole cricket eggs look like:
Description of the larva
Mole cricket larva may slightly resemble crickets or six-legged spiders with an elongated body. Their size can reach 15 mm. The front legs of the larva are turned outward; the larva works with them, raking the earth in front of itself.
The cabbage larva resembles adult insects in appearance, with the difference that it is much smaller in size. During its active development, the insect larva molts five times, after which it matures and becomes quite ready for further reproduction.
The larvae are not able to fully develop in the summer, so they remain over the winter. Some of the already adult insects overwinter with them.
The mole cricket is not particularly resistant to cold conditions, so in harsh winters some of the insects may die. From the fact how much fat has the insect accumulated?, will depend on its survival during the winter days, as well as subsequent fertility.
In this photo you can see what a mole cricket larvae looks like:
Many people ask questions: is the mole cricket a poisonous insect or not? Despite its frightening appearance, it nevertheless causes a lot of harm to gardeners and their harvest. There are many, both folk and modern.
Difference between mole cricket larvae and May beetle
The larva of a pest such as the cockchafer is similar to a white caterpillar, the size of which reaches 2 cm, and the thickness can be up to 8 mm. The mouth is located in the front of the larva and three pairs of small paws that are covered with hairs.
You can see brown dots on the sides of the larva of such an insect, and its back part is slightly darker in color than the rest of the larva.
The larva of the mole cricket is completely different from the larvae of the cockchafer. When hatching, the larva resembles a small beetle, and with each molt it becomes larger in size and takes on a characteristic shape, increasingly resembling an adult mole cricket.
In this photo you can see what a cockchafer larva looks like:
How to fight?
If you do not start right away, then its young and adult pests will remain in place for all subsequent seasons. Such a pest able to easily dig passages in any type of soil, so a mole cricket can make a hole for itself, regardless of weather conditions.
It is necessary to fight the mole cricket insect and its larvae as quickly as possible, since both adults and larvae of this insect are famous for their very high gluttony, which means that they are capable of damaging the root system of a large number of plants in a short period of time.
Currently there are several effective remedies, helping to get rid of such a pest. The first of them is agrotechnical. It consists in the fact that it is necessary to prepare the soil for planting in advance.
In early spring and late autumn, the ground needs to be plowed and dug up. Thus, the mole cricket's egg clutches and larvae will be destroyed, and the underground passages made will also be disrupted.
Another environmentally friendly way to get rid of mole crickets is to lure the insects into vegetable oil. In the hole left by the mole cricket add a couple of drops of vegetable oil, after which a glass of water is poured there. In a couple of minutes the mole cricket will appear on the surface of the soil, and after a few more minutes it will die.
The pest can also be controlled using modern insecticides. The smell of the granules attracts insects, after which they eat the bait left for them and, getting out, immediately die. When using this method, it is very important to collect all the poisoned mole crickets, since birds can also be poisoned by these insects.
– a harmful and dangerous insect for crops, capable of rapid reproduction. That is why it is important to fight both the mole cricket itself and the larvae and eggs. Controlling the pest is difficult, but it is worth taking the time to destroy the insect and thus save most of the crop.
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