Description
The giant moth is a fairly large dipterous insect up to 50 mm long. The body is slender, oblong, with a cylindrical abdomen, covered with gray pollen. The wings are transparent, sometimes slightly brownish. The head is large, almost spherical, with large, convex compound eyes. The legs are long, with sharp spines at the ends, covered with hairs and black bristles.
Killing Fields
Ktyri are found everywhere: from the Arctic tundra to tropical rain forests. Several forest species hunt on foot, setting up ambushes among tree trunks, but most ktyrs can only forage in open, well-lit areas, where it is easy to spot the prey and attack it from the air. To do this, the ktyrs find a viewing position and wait. They usually make their “lair” at the same altitude as the flight path of their prey. Therefore, ideal areas for hunting ktyri are meadows with wildflowers. For sharp-eyed predators, catching prey here is a piece of cake.
Nutrition and lifestyle
Insects appear in early summer. Active in light and warm weather. Adults lead a predatory lifestyle, feeding on various insects, including harmful ones. Very aggressive, often attacking bees, wasps and other well-armed insects.
Ktyri are unusually voracious and constantly hunt. To do this, the insect chooses an observation point in the form of a lonely tree and, seeing the victim, instantly catches up with it, and then pierces the shell with its proboscis and injects poisonous saliva into the victim’s body, after which it instantly dies, and the insect can only suck out the contents. For humans, the pain from an insect sting is not inferior in severity to that of a bee. They rarely spend more than 3-5 minutes in a motionless state; they can often hunt on the fly.
Insect larvae are predators; they live in the soil and prey on the larvae of other insects. They can tolerate prolonged fasting, but in case of successful hunting they quickly gain weight. Due to the plowing of land and the use of pesticides, ktyr is quite rare and is listed in the Red Book of various states and regions.
Ktyry vision
Huge compound eyes provide the birds with a wide view.
In hunting, ktyrs are helped by their acute vision, which they owe to a pair of huge eyes. Like all insects, the main organs of vision in moths are compound eyes made up of hundreds of individual “lenses,” each of which provides part of the image. Ktyri do not distinguish between perspective and depth, by which people judge distance. But their eyes are sensitive to the slightest movement, and here we are much inferior to them. In addition, in the upper part of the head, between the main pair of eyes, ktyri have three more simple ocelli, which distinguish only light and darkness. During acrobatic stunts, these additional organs help navigate in space using the sun.
The role of hoverflies in nature
People usually have a negative attitude towards flies as carriers of infection, but this does not apply to hoverflies. Striped flies not only mimic stinging insects, they perform the same functions in nature as bees: they pollinate flowers. If bees become extinct in the world, hoverflies could take over the “responsibilities” of pollinating plants.
All flies require large amounts of protein to reproduce. Most species have taken the path of consuming blood or eating animal flesh. The hoverfly is a convinced vegetarian. Male and female hoverflies feed on nectar and pollen. The latter is a good source of protein, but as food it is difficult for flies. Therefore, except for hoverflies, few dipterans are tempted by flowers.
Appearance
The fly, whose appearance resembles a hornet, looks menacing, but at the same time elegant. The elongated slender body is covered with hairs. A number of features distinguish it from similar representatives:
- reaches sizes up to 5 cm, and tropical subspecies - up to 8 cm;
- predominantly black color, part of the body is covered with light pollen - dull appearance promotes mimicry;
- has strong legs, which helps to securely grasp prey;
- vision is faceted, which allows you to see the victim at a great distance.
The movable neck of the front sight rotates up to 90 degrees.
Necrophages
Necrophagous flies
Fly species names can often be misleading. Such a species as the “dust fly” does not exist in nature. This name most often hides lucilia, which belongs to the group of necrophages. In the garbage dumps themselves, you can find any synanthropic species, including fruit flies. The group of necrophagous flies of the most famous flies includes:
- Lucilia (green);
- gray meat;
- blue meat
They all feed on animal carcasses, but also include food scraps, plant juices and excrement in their diet.
Lucilia
A very common and well-known emerald green fly, capable of laying eggs on meat left unattended for a couple of minutes.
They often lay eggs in open wounds, where larvae begin to develop by eating rotting flesh. The main habitat of these dipterans near human habitation is slaughterhouses. But larvae can also develop in animal excrement. It takes 1-2 days for the larvae to develop from the egg.
Blue meat
Medium sized insect. Distributed across all continents. Like the green one, it prefers slaughterhouses and decaying meat.
The benefits and harms of hoverflies
Hoverflies, depending on the species, can be either beneficial or harmful insects for agriculture. Predatory wasps, along with ladybugs and lacewings, are protectors of fruit trees, berries and ornamental bushes from harmful aphids. In mountainous areas, beekeepers replace bees, pollinating crops and increasing their productivity.
On a summer day, you can find insects on flowers that look a little like wasps or bees, but have only two rather than four wings. If you startle them, they do not immediately fly away, but first hover in the air above the flower. These are flies from the hoverfly
(lat. Syrphidae), masquerading as dangerous insects that can stand up for themselves - wasps and bees.
It is believed that the name “hoverfly” was given to them for the characteristic sound of their wings made while hovering in the air, somewhat reminiscent of the quiet murmur of water. In general, hoverflies are virtuoso flyers. They are capable of fast, impetuous, long flight, and some of them are capable of long loitering, “standing” in one place. Moreover, the male hoverfly protects its territory by hovering in the air for a long time and driving away other males. Even mating in many hoverflies occurs in flight. They owe these features to the structure of their wings. The second pair of wings is reduced to club-shaped halteres, which act as balance organs and provide the flies with excellent control in flight.
Adult hoverflies feed on pollen and nectar, occupying one of the leading positions among pollinating insects. The sugar contained in the nectar provides the flies with energy, and the pollen serves as a source of proteins necessary for the maturation of eggs. Hoverflies can be found in large numbers on flowers of Umbelliferae and Asteraceae. Flies actively visit flowers of meadow herbs, berry and fruit trees and bushes (rowan, viburnum, hawthorn, currant, etc.). At the same time, hoverfly larvae have more varied feeding methods. Some species develop in water, others destroy dead wood, there are inhabitants of anthills, the most common species live in aphid colonies.
Many hoverflies resemble wasps, bees and bumblebees in body shape, pubescence, color and behavior. Their abdomen is yellow with black stripes or black with yellow spots. It can be difficult for an inexperienced observer to distinguish hoverflies from bees and wasps, since their colors and movements perfectly imitate stinging Hymenoptera. They are harmless, but birds prefer not to touch them, mistaking them for dangerous creatures.
Many people have at least once in their lives seen a fly that visually resembles a bee or wasp. It differs from those of insects in its behavior. It is called the hoverfly. Insect larvae can be useful to humans. In the article we will consider the characteristics, behavioral features of the “pest” and methods of control.
There are about 6,000 species of hoverflies in nature, 800 of which live in the territory of the former USSR. In the adult state, the insect has a length from 4 to 25 mm. Body color is yellow-black. Externally, insects look like wasps. Thanks to its color and shape, the fly scares away enemies.
Important: mimicry is a natural property of animals that allows them to camouflage themselves by “taking on” the appearance of others. The female is capable of laying up to 200 eggs
It all depends on weather conditions and temperature conditions. Mucha places them on:
The female is capable of laying up to 200 eggs. It all depends on weather conditions and temperature conditions. Mucha places them on:
- grass;
- plant stems;
- on buds and trees.
The location of the eggs directly depends on the type of insect. On the 5th day, larvae are born. Outwardly, they resemble maggots - the offspring of blowflies. The larvae feed depending on the species:
- dead plant tissue;
- detritus;
- aphids;
- bulbs (mostly flowers).
The larvae of some hoverflies are beneficial to humans. Therefore, before fighting them, it is recommended to carefully study the insects.
How to get rid of hoverflies?
- chemicals;
- folk ways.
The control method is selected depending on the number of pests.
Chemicals
If larvae are noticed in the garden bed, they must be promptly disposed of. You can find a huge amount of products in stores. The most popular are:
- "Tiofos";
- "Heptahtor";
- "Fly-eater";
- "Inta-Vir";
- "Tabazol".
Important: when choosing this or that product, you need to study the instructions, otherwise you can destroy not only the larvae, but also the crop
Folk remedies
If there are not yet many larvae in the garden or flowers, you can use traditional methods:
- Water the garden bed with ammonia solution. 5 tablespoons of the substance are added to 10 liters of water.
- Sprinkle the beds with wood ash. You can also use tobacco powder.
- After harvesting, treat the soil with copper sulfate.
- Remove damaged plants and then burn them.
- The hoverfly does not like the smell of carrots, so it needs to be sown next to the onion bed.
- Treat the soil with urea. Add 1 tablespoon of the substance to a ten-liter bucket. One liter of solution is enough per square meter of land.
Hover flies
Hoverflies, also known as syrphids, are a large family with about 6,000 species. Some of them look more like bees, others like wasps, and others like bumblebees. They live everywhere, with the exception of Antarctica, desert areas and tundra. They got their name because of the characteristic sound made by their wings.
A striped insect, similar to a wasp, absolutely harmless to humans. It can often be found in plantings of dill, carrots, parsley, and flowering plants in the garden. Adult hoverflies feed exclusively on flower nectar and pollen and occupy an honorable place among pollinating insects
What do hoverfly larvae eat?
Syrphid larvae look like small leeches. They are distinguished by a wrinkled body of yellow or greenish color. They have no legs and are not particularly mobile. They feed on aphids, insect eggs, and spider mites, which bring considerable benefits to agricultural land. A caring mother syrphid lays eggs directly in the aphid habitat.
However, not all hoverfly larvae prefer to see garden pests on their menu. The food preferences of all species are very diverse. Some of them are purely vegetarians and eat only plant tissue. The most exotic representatives process manure or wood.
Ktyr fly against hornet and wasp
Even if the fly ktyr and the hornet are similar, this does not mean that in a fight between them the ktyr would win here; in fact, such an outcome is unlikely. Voracious predatory dipterans will indeed easily attack a hornet and a simple wasp. But if they can cope with a wasp, albeit with difficulty, then the hornet is a very serious opponent and is too tough for our heroine.
The hornet is larger in size than the ktyra, and the bite causes serious problems for the person himself, there is even the possibility of death. And thanks to a special pheromone, they can attack in a flock. In nature, there are bloody battles with victories in favor of the fly, because it is not for nothing that they are famous for such an unbridled appetite.
The predator usually catches small insects, although its large size allows it to catch both mosquitoes and more serious rivals. The fly and the wasp may well enter into an unequal battle. Cannibalism is also not uncommon. The fly ktyr in the photo attacks the same fly.
The nature of the predator is clearly visible in the video: the fly sits motionless, involuntarily twitching only when it sees something interesting, that is, a potential victim.
Habitat
Having heard about this predator, one cannot help but wonder where the black fly lives and whether it is poisonous. This genus of insects prefers warm, dry places as a habitat: in deserts, where there is no special vegetation and low humidity, they are found much more often.
The range is extensive and includes all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. Zoologists managed to find insects in tropical forests, alpine meadows, and sometimes the blackbird fly lives in swampy areas. They are also common in our region - in the north and south. Previously, they flew even on the territory of the Crimean peninsula, but due to human activity, the fly in Crimea has become a rare occurrence.
Peculiarities
Hover flies resemble menacing wasps and bees in appearance. Thus, the insect has adapted during evolution. Birds, seeing an insect with such coloring, do not try to “dinner” with such prey.
Hover flies are very interesting insects. In flight, their virtuosity is inimitable. The insect is capable of flying for a long time. They fly very fast. And at the same time, if necessary, they can freeze in one place.
Male hover flies are engaged in protecting “their” territory. They drive away other “claimants” to the territory by hovering in the air for a long time. The opponent, seeing that the area is occupied, flies to another place. Virtuoso fliers, hoverflies can remain in a state of flight for a long time. Insects can hover for a long time and then suddenly change direction of flight. Even the mating process is carried out by many individuals in flight.
The hoverfly's ability to stay in the air for a long time is due to the structural features of its wings. One pair of wings performs normal functions, the other pair has been deformed in the process of evolution, turning into club-shaped halteres. This organ helps the insect maintain balance and control the direction of flight.
In nature, there are several species of hoverflies. Distributed in:
- Europe;
- Central Asia;
- North America.
Sometimes these insects are found even in the subarctic zone.
Green (carrion)
Despite its partiality to various kinds of carrion and sewage, this fly is a very beautiful insect with a glossy emerald body and translucent smoky wings with a faint openwork pattern. Its body length is about 8 mm. The fly's eyes are large, reddish, its abdomen is round, its cheeks are white. Green flies live mainly in dirty places: on decaying animal corpses, in manure, waste, but sometimes they can be
meet among flowering plants with a strong aroma. They feed on organic rotting matter, where they lay their eggs.
After mating, the female lays about 180 eggs. The egg has a grayish or light yellow tint. She tries to hide them as deep as possible in carrion, where they develop within 6–48 hours to the larval stage. The length of the larvae's body varies between 10–14 mm. After 3–9 days they leave their habitat and move to the soil to pupate. The pupal stage lasts from 10 to 17 days (depending on weather conditions), after which the insect emerges to the surface as an adult fly.
Preparation of the solution and application procedure
The use of Agita should be in accordance with the instructions for use.
Work with the insecticide begins by dissolving the granules in warm water. The shelf life of the finished suspension is one day. During operation, it must be stirred regularly to avoid stratification of the solution. The suspension is applied with a large brush or sprayed in areas where there are large concentrations of flies or other insects.
For sprayer
To treat a room by spraying the solution, you need to mix the powder with water at room temperature in the proportion of 100 g of Agita: 800 ml of water;
When spraying a small package of the product, it is enough to treat a room of 20 square meters. m, large - 80 sq. m.
When treating pigsties and livestock farms with Agita, special care and attention must be exercised and the drug must be applied only in places that are guaranteed to be inaccessible to animals. If a pigsty is sprayed with Agita, the walls to a height of one and a half meters from the floor are left untreated. When treating premises for cattle with the drug, the height of the untreated wall surfaces should be already 2 meters from the floor
When treating premises for cattle with the drug, the height of the untreated wall surfaces should be already 2 meters from the floor
If a pigsty is sprayed with Agita, the walls to a height of one and a half meters from the floor are left untreated. When treating premises for cattle with the drug, the height of the untreated wall surfaces should be already 2 meters from the floor.
Pets can be returned to the premises after treatment with Agita immediately after the walls have dried.
For brushing
When applying with a brush, the product is prepared at the rate of 100 g of powder: 80 ml of water.
Treatment with Agita fly repellent using a brush involves applying the drug in strips to the floor and walls of the room. A small package of product is enough to treat 40 square meters. m (8 strips measuring 10 cm x 30 cm), and a large one - 160 square meters (32 of the same strips).
Brush processing
If it is impossible to apply the product on the surface for some reason (large uneven areas, lack of a floor in the livestock building as such, etc.), you need to separately prepare strips of the specified size from cardboard or polyethylene, apply the product to them and lay them out throughout the room.
The anti-fly preparation can also be used in dry form by spreading a certain amount of Agita granules in places where there is a large concentration of insects. For best results, it is recommended to slightly moisten the dry preparation with water.
