Irina Leonidovna Ermolaeva, a specialist in plant protection against pests and diseases, reports.
In our gardens, there are not only visible enemies, but also friends. These are various predatory beetles, ground beetles, hover flies, ladybugs, ants and spiders that, feeding, invisibly help us, destroying pests on different stages development.
To attract beneficial insects and to stimulate their active work, nectar plants should be sown, i.e. plants that attract such helpers. These are phacelia, mustard, buckwheat, carrot testes, onions, etc. Moreover, it is necessary to create a flower-nectar conveyor - to sow them in different terms in the aisles or on empty spaces.
Fly-tahina
One of the many beneficial insects is the tahina fly. The circle of pests that it destroys is simply huge, and the efficiency is high. Suffice it to say that the number of silkworms, sawflies, leafworms, moths, tahina moths is kept under constant control. The survival and accumulation of these flies is facilitated by the presence of flowering carrots, parsnips, dreaming and other umbrella crops.
The body of tahin flies is usually covered with strong bristles, and therefore they are also called hedgehogs. The family of takhin flies has about 5 thousand species.
Tahini flies find their owners in different ways. Some species of flies lay their very small eggs on the leaf surface where the caterpillar feeds. Caterpillars, eating a leaf, swallow eggs, then larvae appear inside the caterpillar, which feed on the body of the host insect, which leads to its death. Other species lay their eggs directly in the body of the host insect. And, finally, there are tahin species, the larvae of which find the owner themselves and bite into his body.
Tahini flies lay a large number of eggs, and therefore one fly can kill many caterpillars.
Ants and spiders
Ants and spiders do a great job of destroying pests. You can sow coriander and anise next to cabbage. When sown at the same time, they bloom from May to September. Their flowers feed many beneficial insects and do not attract butterflies, whose caterpillars damage the cabbage.
Ants are orderlies. They build their homes in and above the soil and are of great benefit. Numerous moves of ants make the soil looser, and this improves breathing conditions for plant roots. Getting food for themselves, ants bring a huge number of insect pests and their larvae into the passages and chambers of the anthill: the inhabitants of only one anthill annually destroy up to 20 million garden pests on average. But it is worth watching the increase in the number of ants, this can lead to oppression of the garden, and because of the favorite delicacy of ants, which aphids secrete, they also contribute to the resettlement of aphid colonies. Here you need to think about whether to leave ants in your areas or not.
Spiders. Such dangerous pests like a harmful turtle, Colorado potato beetle, meadow moth, different kinds moles, many Diptera.
Attention! I want to warn you that beneficial insects, like pests, hibernate in the bark, leaves, in the soil on garden plot... And in the summer, you should not catch all the insects you see in the garden, because you can leave the garden without defenders - beneficial insects, which are called entomophages.
ladybugs
Everyone knows what a ladybug looks like, but not everyone knows what benefits it brings. She is fertile and lays eggs in small groups of 30, eggs are yellow, similar to eggs colorado potato beetle and hawthorn butterflies.
An adult beetle eats 100-200 aphids per day, the larvae are ten times more voracious than ticks, whiteflies (Aleyrodidae) and scale insects (Coccoidea).
Ladybugs will be attracted to our garden by plants of the Asteraceae family: daisies, tansy, or yarrow.
Larva of ladybug
Ground beetles
These workers can be seen in the process of digging or loosening the soil. These are nocturnal predators that hunt insects living in the soil: pupae of moth butterflies, moths, larvae of click beetles (wireworms), gall midges. Destroy slugs and caterpillars. The menu of one ground beetle per day is about one hundred moth larvae, 5 adult moth larvae and 5–6 weevil larvae. And the larvae are much more voracious than adults, they sit in dug holes and grab insects crawling by.
To have more ground beetles in the garden, take care of the fertility of the soil. Those. apply in spring and autumn organic fertilizers, humus, etc.
Lacewing
This is a gentle and slender insect. The color is pale green. Adult insects feed on nectar of flowers, aphids, pollen, as well as mites and aphids themselves, destroying up to 4,000 individuals per day. The larvae suck spider mites and aphids. The lacewing prefers cool shady places covered with fern thickets for breeding.
Flies-ktyri
A two-centimeter stick cannot be confused with any other fly. Powerful paws armed with bristles and suction cups. A strong proboscis, pointed at the end, protrudes from the flattened head. It can pierce even such a strong shell as beetles have.
Ktyri, destroying a lot of harmful insects, bring undoubted benefits. Their menu includes beetles, flies, filly, leafhoppers, butterflies and even caterpillars. Not only adult insects are useful, but also the larvae that live in the soil and destroy the larvae of click beetles, beetles and darkling beetles, eggs of locusts and caterpillars, gnawing scoops.
Interesting. The largest ktyri reach 5 centimeters. You should not touch the pins with your hands - their bite is as painful as the prick of a bee sting.
Such flies are attracted by plants from the Aster family - goldenrod, chamomile, daisies, as well as various types of mint - catnip, peppermint and spearmint.
Trichogramma
This is an egg-eater, mass reproduction of which has already been set on industrial base... Trichogramma females lay their eggs in the eggs of many pests - the codling moth, yellow and pale-footed gooseberry sawfly, meadow moth, cabbage scoop, cabbage whiteworm and others.
Since these insects are very small, they take nectar from small open flowers such as anise and dill. Plants of the celery family serve as a good shelter for them.
From the above it follows that the more nursery plants in the garden, the less problems you will have with pests. These plants can be placed along the edges of the garden or border vegetable areas with them. The types of plants should be selected so that they bloom for a long time, replacing each other. For this, marigolds, alyssum, tansy, chamomile, daisies are suitable. Savory, lavender, hyssop, basil, rosemary, oregano bloom for a long time.
There are many more useful insects - our helpers. But their number is still less than pests. Birds, frogs and toads, dragonflies, spiders - many animals help to keep the garden and vegetable garden clean and healthy from pests. But they themselves do not have protection against chemicals.
Chemical treatments destroy beneficial insects first of all, since for a number of reasons they are more sensitive to chemistry and, in addition, their number is much smaller. Against the background of an abundant food supply and lack of natural enemies the pests remaining after treatment begin to multiply intensively. First of all, this applies to sucking pests - aphids and ticks, giving several generations during the growing season.
This information is for lovers of chemistry and for those who consider it necessary to destroy everything that flies, crawls, jumps around the site.
The role and importance of insects in nature are enormous. The number of insect species far exceeds the number of species of any other group of animals, according to rough estimates, at least 108 billion insects simultaneously live on our planet.
The positive activity of insects in nature is expressed in their pollination of plants, for example, about 30% of European flowering plants are pollinated by insects. Some plants cannot reproduce without special pollinators. Clover, which produced excellent yields in New Zealand, did not produce seeds until the absent bumblebees, the clover pollinators, were introduced. Hymenoptera and especially bees and bumblebees play the main role among pollinators; the second most important are dipterans and the third are butterflies.
Insects are of great importance in soil-forming processes, especially termites and ants. These insects, like the larvae of many insects living in the ground, loosen the soil with passages, promote ventilation and moisture, and enrich it with humus. Without the activity of insects, for example, the decomposition of litter is impossible conifers, and where this does not occur, peat-like infertile layers accumulate. The destruction of corpses and animal excrement by insects is of great sanitary importance.
The role of insects in the cycle of substances in nature is enormous. Almost every class of vertebrates (especially birds and mammals) has entomophages - forms that feed exclusively on insects.
The negative consequences of insect activity are no less significant. So, many of them feed on living tissues of plants, causing significant harm. Insect damage is varied and affects different plant organs: root system, stems, trunks, leaves, flowers, fruits, etc. In some cases, this can be the destruction of plant tissue - gnawing, grinding through the passages (passages gnawed in the leaves are called mines). In other cases, the presence of insects results in the formation of galls, which are overgrowths of parts of the plant. Both of these lead to a weakening of the plant organism, a decrease in its resistance to fungal and other diseases, a decrease in the production of fruits and seeds, and often to death.
Failure to observe precautions leads to the introduction of insects - pests in such areas the globe where they were previously absent. Not finding natural enemies in the new conditions, the pests begin to multiply rapidly. The lack of protective reactions developed for a long time in the plants on which the pest settles leads to the fact that the damage caused increases significantly.
The harmful properties of insects can sometimes be used by humans to their advantage. The successful experience of using insects to restrict the spread of certain plants (in Australia, for example, specially acclimatized leaf beetles destroyed St. biological methods and weed control.
Sometimes the transfer is carried out by simple contact with insects - transmitters, for example, when they contaminate food, etc. various diseases housefly (Musca domestica), which captures bacteria, helminth eggs and transfers them to humans. About 70 species are carried by flies different organisms, many of which are causative agents of dangerous diseases (cholera, diphtheria, etc.).
An amazing phenomenon is the flight of insects. When a flying butterfly or a fly is shown on the screen in slow motion, it can be seen that it seems to be floating in the air. The air environment for these small organisms is quite viscous, like water for fish. Those insects that "float" in the air at speeds of up to 30 m / s and more (many flies, dragonflies and bees) are strikingly streamlined. The flight of insects is their characteristic feature, which arose hundreds of millions of years ago. Insects are the first true conquerors of the atmosphere of our planet. The appearance in nature of numerous flying insects was probably the most important condition for the evolutionary development of flying insectivorous vertebrates - birds and bats.
In the course of evolution, insects have developed complex connections with other organisms. Their role in various biocenoses is extremely great. Insects participate in soil-forming processes, destroy dead plant parts and bring them into the soil, enriching them with humus. The disposal of corpses and excrement is of great sanitary importance. Insects pollinate flowering plants. Hymenoptera, Diptera and Lepidoptera play the main role among pollinators. Insects provide valuable food and technical products, for example, bees - honey, wax and other products. Natural silk is produced from silkworm cocoons. Many insects serve as food for vertebrates. They are eaten by birds, mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles. Entomophages restrain the increase in the number of pests in agriculture and forestry. This function is performed by carnivorous beetles, hymenoptera and dipterans, wasp's and ovaries.
Ants eat fruit Photo: Zainichi Gaikokujin
Artificial breeding of such insects is widely practiced in industrial conditions and their mass release in pest breeding sites. Insects are of great aesthetic importance. Many species of butterflies and beetles, dragonflies and hymenoptera are an adornment of nature. Insects play an important role in nature and human life. The main food of most of them is various parts of plants (from leaves, fruits, seeds, pollen and flower nectar to wood). Therefore, insects are especially important in all terrestrial plant and animal groups as the most important consumers of plants. Because of this, they often turn out to be very dangerous agricultural pests.
Simulating the circumstances of rare insects
We are used to thinking that nature reserves are huge territories where rare exotic animals are protected. But few people know that there are micro-reserves in our country, and in many other countries, where common insects are protected. In these reserves, insects are protected, for which there is a threat of extinction. The first reserve for insects in our country, otherwise entomopark, was created in 1972 near the city of Omsk, on an area of only 6.5 hectares. The name itself - a micro-reserve - speaks of its small size. It can be a small clearing at the edge of the forest, or a piece of a schoolyard where land cultivation and special plant cultivation have stopped.
Such areas are gradually overgrown with wild plants, which provide the protected six-legged with food and shelter from enemies and bad weather. Sometimes the seeds of wild grasses are specially sown, and driftwood and decay are placed on the site. To create more favorable conditions make additional moves in the soil, hang dry branches of reeds, corn, bunches of straw. In such areas, from early spring to late autumn, there are many flowering plants, there are places where insects can breed and overwinter. Inside such a reserve, the movement of people is limited, you can only walk along special paths.
In such conditions, bumblebees, wild bees, burrowing wasps, rare species beetles and butterflies, riders and lacewings, dragonflies and many other insects, which are becoming less and less numerous. According to scientists, such micro-reserves should be created everywhere: in cities and villages, in the fields and in forests. Small corners of untouched nature not only help to preserve rare and endangered species of insects, but also help to successfully fight pests, because numerous entomophages develop here, limiting the mass reproduction of pests.
The role of insects in human life
Man's attitude to the insect world is gradually changing. Previously, he used chemistry to completely destroy insect pests. Today, the main task of people is to make beneficial insects their allies in the struggle for the harvest.
In nature, each pest insect usually has more than a dozen enemies. For example, the apple moth has about a hundred of them. In undisturbed natural communities, mass reproduction of pests very rarely occurs: their numbers are controlled by natural enemies. And in our gardens, in the fields and vegetable gardens, pests multiply in huge quantities.
Some entomophages are already being bred on an industrial scale, creating entire biofactories for their production. Trichogramma, lacewing, predatory phytoseiulus mite are specially bred. If necessary, they are released into gardens, fields, greenhouses, where they begin to fight pests.
Natural entomophages have a hard time: humans poison them along with pests with all kinds of chemicals, depriving them of food supplies. The fact is that most adult entomophages are not predators at all, unlike larvae, but peaceful vegetarians, feeding mainly on nectar, pollen or fruit juices. But the flowering period cultivated plants very short, and the number of wild flowering herbs is decreasing.
In order to improve the food supply for adult entomophages, scientists recommend sowing nectar-bearing plants along the edges of fields, along forest belts, along the banks of irrigation canals - phacelia, rapeseed, mustard, sweet clover, etc.
Insects are ubiquitous. They live on land, in fresh water - where life is possible. You cannot find them only in the seas. Given this spread, the question arises: "What is the role of insects in nature?"
Features of the species
The number of animal species of this class on the planet significantly exceeds the number of other groups. To date, more than 625 thousand of their species are known. The most common beetles are common beetles with stiff front wings.
There is also a division according to the nature of the diet. Three groups are distinguished among them:
- Those that eat other insects (ladybugs, praying mantises).
- Those that eat the wastes of decomposition of plants and animals (dead eaters, gravediggers).
- Plant feeding (May beetle).
It should be noted that some types ladybirds specially bred in the laboratory. This is necessary in order to later release them into greenhouses and gardens to destroy aphids.
Dead-eaters and gravediggers are nature's orderlies. They prevent pollution of the environment with waste from decomposing living organisms.
What is the benefit?
The role of insects in nature can be both positive and negative. Speaking about the benefits, it should be noted that:
- pollination of plants is often impossible without insects;
- they are involved in soil-forming processes;
- the named living organisms support the circulation of substances in nature.
Pollination of plants
The importance of insects in nature is great. And their positive activity, first of all, consists in such qualities are possessed by bumblebees, bees, butterflies, etc. It is known that some plant species are not able to reproduce without pollination. For example, clover, which produced good yields in New Zealand, however, could not produce seeds until bumblebees were introduced into the country.
Soil-forming processes
Termites and ants are actively involved in loosening the soil. There are other insects that live in the ground, forming passages in it. By the way, decomposition of fallen conifers becomes impossible without their activity. And this leads to the accumulation of peat-like layers, which makes the land infertile.
Groups of insects loosen the soil, enrich it with humus, and provide ventilation. The destruction of excrement and animal carcasses is also of great sanitary importance. After all, substances released during the decomposition of organisms pollute environment, including the soil.
The cycle of substances
The role of insects in nature is larger than one might imagine. They take part in nature. Much would not be on the planet if not for insects. Birds, for example, eat them. Some of their species eat only insects. Predatory animals, in turn, feed on birds. This is how the circulation of substances reaches a person.
Negative activity
If you study the role insects play in nature, it is worth noting that they are not only beneficial. The negative results of their activities are as follows:
- destruction of plants;
- the spread of diseases.
Destruction of plants
There are cases when certain types insects destroyed entire fields. Damage can affect different organs plants. Sometimes not only leaves, fruits and trunks are destroyed, but also the root system.
Insects destroy plant tissue, grind tunnels in it, causing agricultural crops to dry out and die. As a result, entire crop plantations may be at risk of death. A particular danger is posed by the mass reproduction of individual individuals. There are known cases of locust attacks on fields, as a result of which all the plants that meet in its path were destroyed.
Some types of butterflies and beetles, aphids, locusts and others are among the pests. It is worth noting that there is also human guilt in this. He does not always adhere to the rules of crop rotation, he grows one crop in a row for many years in a row, which contributes to the reproduction of insects. Humanity is actively fighting pests by using chemicals that are sprayed on plants and soil.
Disease vectors
The role of insects in nature is also associated with danger. So, some of their species are carriers of pathogens. These are mosquitoes, mosquitoes, bedbugs and others.
Red Book
Given the importance of insects in nature, some of their endangered species are subject to protection.
To date, about 95 species that are on the verge of extinction are listed in the Red Book. Most of the rare insects are beetles (36 species). These include ground beetles, beauties and others.
There are 33 species of butterflies in the Red Book - Apollo, Bluebirds, Bears and others. 23 species of Hymenoptera are subject to protection. Among them there are seemingly common insects - bees and bumblebees. The remaining two species are dragonflies.
Interesting facts of insect breeding in different countries of the world
Many terrarium hobbyists breed insects, including grasshoppers and locusts. This is their hobby, which is not for everyone. ordinary people clear. In some countries, instead of cats and dogs, they prefer to keep large cockroaches. Maybe because they do not make a sound and do not interfere with households and neighbors. In addition, they are picky about food, have no wool and fluff.
In Australia, for example, praying mantises are pets. By the way, some residents simply put these insects on the curtains to catch flies.
In China, the preference is given to the cultivation of crickets. This is not just a hobby, but real entertainment. Fights and fights are held between crickets. The Chinese themselves are watching this with great pleasure. Swimmers are also raised. They are found in aquariums and have a distinctive body structure.
As you can see, it is difficult to answer unequivocally what role insects play in nature. It can be positive or negative. Bees, bumblebees and other insects pollinate plants, taking part in their reproduction. Gravediggers and dead eaters destroy the hazardous waste generated by the decomposition of dead animals. Locusts and aphids destroy plants. Mosquitoes and bedbugs are carriers of diseases. As you can see, the importance of insects in nature is great and diverse.
In this case, it is also worth noting the aesthetic component. After all, even the most ardent opponent of all representatives of the described class of animals will involuntarily begin to admire the beauty of butterflies.
The high number of insects is explained by their high fertility and a perfect set of adaptations for survival in a wide variety of conditions. Almost all substances of organic origin are used by insects for food. Therefore, insects, as one of the most essential components in terrestrial ecosystems, play a huge role in the transfer of matter and energy, utilize almost all substances supplied by plants and animals, and themselves serve as food for many vertebrates and invertebrates. Their role is enormous in the soil-forming process.
The practical importance of insects can hardly be overestimated. Every year, 1/5 of the planet's harvest goes to feed the army of pests. Hundreds of thousands of hectares of forests are destroyed by such pests as Siberian and gypsy moths, construction timber is spoiled by bark beetles, barbel beetles, and gold beetles. Various bloodsuckers are fatally dangerous diseases and annoy people and animals with their bites.
Insects are a multifaceted miracle of living nature; they have their own special purpose on Earth, which is difficult to overestimate. They are excellent pollinators, soil formers, orderlies of nature, and what is important for humans - insects improve soil fertility, restrain the excessive spread of many agricultural pests, produce honey and medicinal substances, dyes juicy flowers, silk. More than half of our diet consists of plant foods. And 15% of it owes its harvest to pollinating insects. They also pollinate most plant-based animal feed. In addition, we enjoy admiring the beauty of bizarre shapes, patterns and body colors, as well as graceful movements. Only a small part (about 1%) of insects causes unintentional damage to human activities. But this is nothing compared to the important role they play in people's lives and in maintaining natural ecological balance.
More than 80% of plants are pollinated by insects, and it is safe to say that the flower is the result of the joint evolution of plants and insects. The adaptations of flowering plants to attract insects are varied: pollen, nectar, essential oils, aroma, shape and color of the flower. Insect adaptations: sucking proboscis of butterflies, gnawing and licking proboscis of bees; special pollen-collecting apparatus - in bees and bumblebees, a brush and a basket on their hind legs, in megachill bees - an abdominal brush, numerous hairs on the legs and body.
Insects play a huge role in soil formation. Such participation is associated not only with the loosening of the soil and its enrichment with humus by soil insects and their larvae, but also with the decomposition of plant and animal debris - plant litter, carcasses and animal excrement; at the same time, the sanitary role and the circulation of substances in nature are fulfilled.
The following types of insects perform a sanitary role: coprophages - dung beetles, dung flies, cowsheds; necrophages - dead-eating beetles, gravediggers, kozheedy, meat-eating flies, scavengers; insects - destroyers of dead plant debris: wood, branches, leaves, needles - boring beetles, barbel larvae, golden beetles, horned tails, long-legged mosquitoes, carpenter ants, mushroom gnats, etc .; insects - orderlies of reservoirs feed on suspended or decaying organic matter (detritus) - the larvae of mosquitoes-derguns, or bells, mayflies, caddis flies, purify water and serve as a bioindicator of its sanitary state.
Beneficial insects, especially bees, play an important role in human life. Firstly, they contribute to the solution of the medical and biological problem - the extension of human life, and secondly, the socio-economic, associated with the protection of nature. These little friends and helpers of a person are an important link in a chain of factors that have a beneficial effect on strengthening his health. Silkworms are of great importance for humans, among which there are several cultivated species that provide raw materials for the manufacture of natural silk (mulberry and Chinese silkworms); cochineal worms, which form natural carmine in their bodies; lacquer bugs are a source of shellac. The insect world is complex and diverse. From here great interest presents the study of their structure, development and life, especially insects with complex behavior: ants, bees, termites, fold-winged wasps, which will no longer evolve in their intelligent life, since they are highly organized creatures.