July beetle (marbled, variegated) - photo and description

The marbled beetle, also called the marbled beetle or July beetle, is an agricultural pest. These insects belong to the order Coleoptera and the family Lamellate. They are close to cockchafers, but much larger. The color of the insect is black or brown, and the carapace and head are covered with white spots, which give a special marble pattern. Hence the name of this beetle. The size of the marbled beetle is 3-4 cm. On the head of the male there are beautiful large lamellar mustaches. The antennae of females look much more modest. The insect's abdomen has gray hairs. When in danger, the beetle makes a kind of scaring sound, similar to a squeak.

The greatest harm is caused by the larvae of the marbled beetle, which eat the roots of herbaceous plants and young trees. They can cause serious damage to crop plantations, as well as orchards and vineyards.

These insects live in Southern Europe. In Russia - mainly in the south, and in the middle zone these insects are less common. We do not often see adult beetles, this is due to the long period of their development and growth.

What does a July beetle look like?

Nekhrushch is a medium-sized insect, body length reaches 16 mm. The hard shell is dark brown in color. The elytra are light yellow with longitudinal convex lines, shiny. Legs and antennae are reddish. The chest is covered with thick, long white hairs. The mustache is curly and short. The limbs end in claws.

Interesting!
The marbled beetle has an impressive size and an unusual body color. The adult grows up to 40 mm. The body is large, elongated, convex, the shell is hard, painted in a characteristic marble color. Females of the July beetle are smaller than males and have a shorter body. A photo of the July beetle is shown below.

The larva of the marbled beetle is long - up to 80 mm, thick, and has a body curved like the letter “C”. The head is red. There are no eyes.

Marble Khrushchev: description

Belonging to the lamellar beetle family, the beetle is characterized by a black-brown color and fairly large dimensions (about 30-45 mm in length). A distinctive feature is the elytra, head and pronotum with multiple whitish spots forming a marbled pattern. The abdomen is pubescent, covered in light gray hairs. The front legs are digging, about 35 mm long. The antennae are brownish-rusty, geniculate, fan-shaped, curved, with a club consisting of 7 plates. Females have more modest ones, with 5 short parts.

Lifestyle

The July beetle is ubiquitous in our area. A large generation of Khrushchevs is replacing the May ones. It is active from late June to early August. During the day they hide in the soil, and at dusk they crawl out of their hiding places.

Females are inactive, rarely fly, and spend their entire lives in the territory of their birth. Males easily rise into the air and fly from tree to tree in search of better food. With the first rays of sunshine they burrow into the soil and rest all day. The marbled beetle feeds on leaves. Prefers fruit trees, conifers, oak, and grapes.

July beetle

Prevention

Bearing in mind that it is easier to prevent trouble, we will tell you about preventive measures against scale insects. They are not at all difficult and should be performed in every garden:

Timely sanitary and rejuvenating spring pruning of apple trees. At the same time, branches that thicken the crown are also cut out.
Constantly inspect the tree for possible infection, because a small colony of pests is easier to destroy.
Inspection of seedlings purchased both from a good neighbor in the country, and from specialized stores and fruit nurseries.
Regular removal of lichens, mosses and peeling of bark, sanitary treatment of tree wounds with recommended preparations, the same garden varnish

Reproduction

The main task of the imago is laying eggs. Mating occurs in the evening. The mating season lasts throughout July. The female lays about 50 eggs in the soil. After 20 days, white larvae with a red head appear. Initially, their size does not exceed 10 mm, gradually growing to 40 mm.

The larvae live in the soil, feed on plant roots, molt periodically, and increase in size. By the end of summer, the cubs of the motley beetle have time to get stronger, go deep to 1 m, and spend the winter. In the spring, when the soil begins to warm up, they choose closer to the surface. They will also have to spend the next winter underground in the form of a white fat worm.

In the third summer, the development of the larvae is completed. Pupation occurs. Over the course of a week, complex processes take place inside; as a result, a full-fledged marbled beetle with a variegated color is released to the surface.

Harm

The July beetle does not bite, like its larvae, and does not threaten human life or health. Harm is often associated with the life activity of the insect and its young. A large colony of marbled beetles can destroy a vineyard, an apple orchard, and a coniferous forest in a few days. In real life, a situation with massive destruction of trees does not occur. No harm is felt from the marbled beetle. But the most dangerous individuals live not in trees, but underground.

On a note!
Residents of Germany suffer from attacks by marbled beetles and their larvae. In this country, beetleworm is called the main pest of agricultural crops, and they are actively fighting it.

The larvae eat little in the first year of their lives, but grow quickly. They feed on dead grass root systems. They become dangerous for agricultural crops at the last stage of their development - the third year. Thick larvae eat plant roots, thereby leading to the death of the crop. Seedlings, strawberries, young shrubs, peppers, tomatoes, etc. can suffer from pests.

July beetle

Maliciousness

Adult beetles eat little, and therefore there is no particular harm from them to plants. The most dangerous pests are larvae. First instar larvae eat young roots and

humus. Larvae of the second instar cause damage to grape roots and grape cuttings (chubuks). They gnaw roots and trunks or gnaw through stems and grape seedlings. As a result of this, the plant dies.

Third instar larvae do the same thing, and in addition they can bite into the roots of an old tree. In the absence of sufficient moisture in the soil, their activity intensifies. The larvae of the last year can gnaw the taproot of a young pine and gnaw the root of a large pine.

The harmfulness of these beetles is also increased by the fact that they usually settle on poor soils where plant resistance is reduced.

Khrushchev larvae cause particular harm in young plantings of vineyards and trees if measures have not been taken to remove these larvae before planting.

The larvae cause severe damage, especially on sandy soils with a small amount of humus. It was reported that there were years when in some vineyards on the banks of the Dnieper on such soils, marbled beetle larvae destroyed up to 70% of the planted grape stems.

Fighting methods

To get rid of a harmful beetle on your site, you need to combine several control methods.

Phacelia and eryngium are planted along the perimeter of the land. The plants attract the giant Scolia wasp, which is a natural enemy of the marbled beetle. The wasp searches for a larva underground and lays an egg on its body. A few days later, a baby wasp appears and begins to eat its prey.
Heaps of humus and manure are buried in the garden. High temperatures attract beetle larvae, mole crickets, and many other pests. In the fall, these heaps are dug up and the living creatures are destroyed.
One of the methods of protection is planting crops under agrofibre. Adult beetles do not have the opportunity to lay eggs and move to another territory. But before using this method, you need to make sure that the area is not infested with marbled beetle larvae.
Digging up the soil at the end of summer can save the site from becoming infected. Khrushchi do not lay eggs in loose soil. In the process of digging up the beds, the larvae of the last generation are discovered, which are located in the top layer of soil. Their destruction will help avoid the invasion of adults in the spring.

Of the chemical agents used to combat larvae, the most effective are those based on diazinon. They are introduced into the soil when planting seedlings, laid out between rows and beds.

Protective measures

In those places where the July beetle often spreads, it is necessary to apply a number of measures that will help protect the plantings.

Carry out deep plowing of the soil.
Attract birds to areas to hunt for beetles.
Treat plant roots when planting.
Apply insecticides to young plants.

Chemicals are used very rarely, only if there are 5 larvae per square meter. Then insecticidal preparations are added to the soil.

Area

Ukraine, Belarus, France, Switzerland, Belgium, England, southern Sweden, Germany, Poland, Austria, Italy, Czech Republic, Balkans, Slovakia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Russia.

The northern border runs through Belarus, Chernigov, Kursk, Voronezh, Tambov and Penza regions, the eastern border - to the Caspian Sea; southern - from the mouth of the Danube along the Black Sea coast to the Dnieper estuary, the terrace of the lower Dnieper to the lower reaches of the Don and along the Azov coast - to Anapa.

The meaning of the word Khrushchev of June according to the Brockhaus and Efron dictionary:

June Khrushchev (Rhizotrogus solstitialis) is a beetle from the family Lamellicornia s. Scarabaeidae, belonging to the group of Khrushchevs (Melolonthidae) and also called non-Khrushchev or Khrushchev-non-Khrushchev. Characteristics of the genus Rhizotrogus: the antennae consist of 9 or 10 segments, with the 3rd and 4th being almost the same length. the antennal club consists of 3 segments. upper lip with a notch. fore tibia usually with 3 teeth. legs are long. claws at the base with a long tooth. This genus includes more than 130 species found in the Old World, of which more than 70 species are found in Europe. X. june is dark brown in color. the edges of the chest shield, antennae and legs are reddish-yellow. elytra light yellow, shiny with 4 convex longitudinal lines. the chest is covered with thick, long fluffy whitish hairs. abdomen with short whitish hairs that form 3-angled spots on the sides, and white stripes on the posterior edge of each ring. antennae 9-segmented. length 15-16 mm. June beetle (Rhizotrogus solstitialis). Eating. great. This beetle has a wide geographical distribution, found in most of Europe and Asian Russia. in the north it reaches Finland, is often found in St. Petersburg province, and is known in the Crimea, the Caucasus, and Turkestan. It appears in June and early July and flies in the evenings, often in large numbers around trees. During the day, beetles hide on the ground. They eat leaves of various trees: poplars, willows, beech, pine, fruit trees and others, young shoots of plants, and sometimes the color of cereals. Copulation usually takes place in trees. Females lay 20-30 eggs singly in the ground or under cow dung. The larvae are especially common in sandy or loamy soil, burrowing 4 to 5 inches into the soil. The larva is very similar to the larva of the cockchafer, but smaller in size and with thinner legs and long claws on the paws. The last 3 pairs of spiracles are smaller than the others. the anus has the shape of a three-rayed star. the last segment of the abdomen is covered at the bottom at the end with large hook-shaped veins. its color is yellowish-white. The larvae feed on the roots of various plants, especially cereals. It has been observed that the larvae sometimes eat each other. Some observers claim that the larvae develop within 10 months, while others consider the generation to be biennial, based on the fact that in some areas X. june appears in large numbers every other year. Pupation occurs in the ground. The larvae of X. have several enemies among insects: the wasps Tiphia morio and femorata, the larvae of which are their external parasites (see Typhia), and 2 flies, Hirmoneura obscura, the larva of which in the first stage lives freely in the ground, and in the second it parasitizes inside larvae of Rhizotregus, and Phorostoma latum, the larva of which is an endoparasite enclosed in a special cyst or sac. this sac has the shape of a funnel and its narrow end communicates with the trachea of the X. larva (the parasite probably penetrates the larva through the spiracle). The damage from X. June beetles is rarely particularly significant, since the beetle usually does not reproduce very much and does not become widespread, like, for example, May beetles. Young pines suffer the most from it, the needles of which are sometimes heavily eaten by it (Germany). In recent years, it has multiplied greatly in some areas of the Ufa province, where its larvae severely damage the roots of various plants in meadows and fields, causing the appearance of black bald patches, devoid of any vegetation. In such places, per 1 sq. arsh. Sometimes there were up to 1 30 Rhizotrogus larvae (on average about 70 per square arsh.). To exterminate the larvae, it is proposed to inject carbon sulphide into the ground or bury pieces of tow soaked in this substance or special capsules containing carbon sulphide. the beetles can be pinned and collected from trees. To destroy larvae on arable lands, it is recommended to plow them in the spring in order to destroy the delicate beetle pupae. - Wed. Kraatz, “Ueber einige deutsche Rhizotragus-Arten” in “Deutsche Entomol. Zeitschr." (1891). Brauer, “Zw ei Parasiten des Rhizotragus aus d. Ordnung d. Dipteren", in "Sitzungsber. Akad. Wissensch. Wien." (Vol. 88, 1883). Tarnani, “On the parasites of Khrushchev” (in “Proceedings of the Russian Entomol. Society”, vol. 34, 1900, protocols). “The Bread Beetle and Khrushchev-non-Khrushchev” (published by the Department of Agriculture, 1894). M. Rumsky-Korsakov.

Internal structure

The internal life support systems of the cockchafer include:

digestive system;
respiratory system;
excretory system;
reproductive organs;
primitive circulatory system;
primitive nervous system.

The structure of the May beetle
The circulatory system consists only of a dorsal vessel, passing along the central axis of the beetle and “suspended” to the upper part of the chitinous skeleton. 3 primitive hearts are located in the abdomen of the insect.

The central nervous system includes:

the brain, consisting of two nodes of the suprapharyngeal ganglion;
peripharyngeal connectives;
ventral nerve cord.

The first two nodes are in the head, the rest in the torso.

The digestive system consists of the foregut, midgut and hindgut. In the first two sections, the insect assimilates food, the last is responsible for excrement and water exchange.

The female reproductive system includes:

2 ovaries;
2 oviducts;
1 “external” oviduct, through which the eggs enter the external environment;
spermatheca;
accessory sex glands.

The male has:

2 testes;
2 seed tubes;
vas deferens;
copulatory organ;
accessory sex glands.

Phylloxera

In case of large-scale spread, quarantine zones are created, because they can destroy hectares of plantings. It has a second name - grape aphid, because. reminds me of this insect.

All biological forms of phylloxera pose a threat to culture: larvae (vagrants), nymphs, winged and flightless adults.

The translucent lemon-yellow or greenish insect measures 1-2.5 mm.

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There are 2 varieties:

Leafy - the larvae pierce the plates with their proboscis and suck out the juice. Due to a special secretion in the saliva of the parasites, the greenery becomes deformed, galls (swellings and bumps) surrounded by hairs appear on it. Vagrants live inside these formations, turn into adults, leave offspring and die. New larvae infect adjacent leaves. This variety of phylloxera waits out the winter on boles and in perennial sleeves in the egg stage.
Root - affects the underground system. It weakens and fungal, viral and bacterial infections occur. Diseased roots stop developing and the tree dies over time.

Insects are difficult to exterminate, but still possible. The fight against them involves:

Deep planting, cutting off the top roots.
Treatment before planting: Bi-58, Karbofos, Fufanon. The seedlings are placed in a solution of preparations, then kept in plastic bags for 24 hours.
Treatment with Fastak, Actellik (2 times during the growing season). The first manipulation is carried out when the buds open at the 2-3 leaf stage. In July the procedure is repeated.

Processing is carried out according to the scheme described in the annotation for the drug.

The pest enters with wind, water, animals and birds, through gardening tools, and infected seedlings.

Notes

Striganova B. R., Zakharov A. A.
Five-language dictionary of animal names: Insects (Latin-Russian-English-German-French) - www.infanata.org/info/dict/1146113406-pyatiyazychnyj-slovar-nazvanij-zhivotnyx-nasekomye .html / Ed. Doctor of Biology sciences, prof. B. R. Striganova. - M.: RUSSO, 2000. - P. 119. - 1060 copies. — ISBN 5-88721-162-8
↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 S. I. Medvedev
1 // Fauna of the USSR.
Coleoptera: lamellaridae ( Scarabaeidae
);
Subfamily Melolonthinae (Khrushchi). / Chief editor acad. U. N. Pavlovsky
, editor
A. A. Stackelberg
. — New series: No. 46. - Moscow-Leningrad: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1951. - 512 p. — 2000 copies.
Shevyrev, “On the boundaries of the distribution of cockchafers ( Melolontha
and
Polyphylla
) in Europe. Russia" (“Proceedings of the Russian Entomol. Society,” vol. 31, 1898, protocols

Ticks

Instructions for using the “alatara” remedy for the Colorado potato beetle

These little dirty tricks are the most dangerous! This fully applies to the family of mites that parasitize grapes. Most often found in our gardens are grape spider mites, grape felt mites and grape leaf mites.

Grape spider mites are yellowish-green arachnids, 0.4-0.6 mm in size. The larvae hatch with the onset of warm weather (when the temperature remains above 15°C for several days). After just 5-6 days, 80-150 young individuals begin to actively devour leaves, and after another two to three weeks they are ready to reproduce. During a season, up to 12 generations of grape itch can be born - that’s about 1,200 individuals!

It is difficult to notice mites - they live on the underside of the leaf, piercing it and feeding on soft tissues. Damaged leaves become covered with a whitish-yellow coating and light spots that dry out over time. As a result, the plant almost completely dies.

The felt mite, or itch, is a frequent visitor to our sites. Its body length is only 0.2 mm, so it is very difficult to notice the arachnid. The pest lives on the underside of leaves, feeding on their juice. Subsequently, depressed spots appear on the leaves, covered with white fluff, which soon turn brown. Then they inflate like balloons, and with constant exposure to itching, the leaves form a continuous lumpy mass. The surface of the sheet becomes similar to felt-covered fabric.

Damaged leaves, shoots and tendrils of grapes are stunted and soon die. Infection occurs through planting material and nearby plants.

The grape leaf mite is completely microscopic - only 0.15 mm long. Spends the winter in the warmth - feeding on grape buds and damaging them along the way. Such buds produce crooked and weak shoots, which gardeners mistakenly take for the consequences of a frosty winter. The leaves wrinkle, become deformed, and seem as if they have been cut into strips by a blade. It seems that the plant has fallen ill with a viral infection, but know that this little dirty trick is operating there.

Measures to combat ticks:

Destroy weeds on the site and seedlings affected by the pest.
Before the buds swell, treat the bushes with a 5% lime-sulfur solution (according to the instructions).
As soon as you find the first traces of mite “activity,” spray the grape leaves with acaricides (BI-58, Aktellik, Neoron, Omite, etc.) at least 2-3 times with an interval of 7-10 days.
During the growing season, spray the leaves with insecticides: 0.2% solution of Fozalon or Karate, so that the mite will forget the way to the grapes for a long time.
Burn fallen and dead leaves.

Varieties resistant to mites: Moldova, Strashensky (Consul), Pineapple, Memory of Negrul, Consul.

No to pests!

We haven’t been to our dacha for a long time, we just arrived, and there’s a sea of weeds! The strawberry beds are all overgrown. What preparations are best to spray strawberries?

Thank you, summer residents Sokolov, Yaroslavl region

It’s May, it’s warm, the weather is wonderful, everything in the garden is “just rushing and rushing”... Weeds also participate in the spring sprint and, unfortunately, win. And you and I, dear gardeners, do not always have time to cope with all the spring work. But it is necessary to weed the beds with perennial crops first and foremost.

Now the garden strawberries are already blooming. And if you don’t help her urgently, the harvest will be reduced by at least 50%. The flourishing of diseases and pests in such “paradise” of weeds, plus a powerful selection of nutrients from the garden bed - and goodbye to the harvest...

Carefully, trying not to damage the flowers and ovaries, water the beds with strawberries, carefully loosen the soil, it is better to bayonet, cut off all the old dry foliage. And immediately mulch the soil under the bushes

If you see bushes with curly foliage, this is a virus, immediately dig it up and burn it, viral diseases cannot be treated. Feed the strawberries with liquid organic fertilizers, being careful not to water the leaves, flowers and ovaries.

Now, during the period of flowering and fruit formation, it is too late to spray strawberries against pests and diseases using chemical and biological preparations. Strawberries ripen quickly, and the decomposition time of chemicals (even high-quality ones) in unprotected soil is 10–20 days, depending on weather conditions.

Therefore, we strongly advise you to spray during strawberry flowering only if absolutely necessary and use herbal infusions for this.

This is where weeds come in handy! Every gardener grows dandelions in abundance, and field thistle is also found everywhere. Take a weeded dandelion along with its roots (100 grams), chop it and add a liter of warm water. Let it brew for 3-4 hours, strain and spray.

Also pour thistle grass along with rhizomes (300–400 grams) with a liter of water and leave overnight. In the morning in dry weather, spray strawberries.

A solution of simple laundry soap (70%) is very effective against leaf-eating and sucking pests. Dissolve 20 grams of soap in a bucket of water, this amount is enough for a solution of normal consistency. And carefully, sparing no liquid, spray the leaves from above and below. The soap solution will cover the insect with a thin film - and there is no pest.

Plot

Madeline (Embeth Davidtz), a gallery owner from Chicago, comes to North Carolina to enter into an agreement with a local self-taught artist (Frank Hoyt Taylor) to organize an exhibition of his work in her art brut art gallery and takes the opportunity to visit her newlywed's family living nearby. husband George (Alessandro Nivola). She meets his withdrawn and taciturn father Eugene (Scott Wilson), his strict and sensible mother Peg (Celia Weston) and his sullen, touchy younger brother Johnny (Ben McKenzie), who still lives in the family home with his pregnant wife Ashley (Amy Adams). ), who, due to failures in obtaining an education, the need to work part-time in a non-prestigious place and the imminent birth of a child, is in constant nervous tension, which intensifies even more with the arrival of a successful older brother and his smart, beautiful wife.

Madeline becomes close to Ashley, who, despite the oppressive atmosphere of her husband's parental home, remains cheerful and friendly and retains a childishly naive, optimistic outlook on things. Ashley sincerely believes that the imminent birth of a child will restore her relationship with Johnny.

Trying to establish contact with the rest of the family, Madeline attends a church service with them and attends a celebration in honor of Ashley's unborn baby. Delving into the established routines and traditions of the family, Madeline becomes convinced that she still knows very little about George, whom she knew for only a week before the wedding six months ago. Returning to his parents revealed in him the deep religious foundations and commitment to family values characteristic of southerners.

Meanwhile, the artist, who had already agreed to sign a contract with Madeline, begins to hesitate. Ashley goes into labor at this time and is taken to the maternity hospital. The whole family, including George, follows her. However, Madeline, instead of supporting Ashley, who has become attached to her, goes to the intractable artist in an attempt to persuade him to sign such an important agreement for her, which angers her husband and other family members. Ashley's baby turns out to be stillborn. After recovering from surgery, she tells George that she would like to name her baby “Junebug.”

. After the incident, Madeline and George return back to Chicago.

Appearance and features

Photo: What a fireman beetle looks like

The fireman beetle is a rather striking representative of its family due to its very original appearance.

A firefighter can be distinguished by the following external features:

original body color. The elytra are painted black, the abdomen and legs are brown or bright red. From above, the animal very much resembles a fire engine, from which it gets its name;
average body size. The body has a slightly flattened shape and is distinguished by a soft structure. There is no strong, hard chitinous coating. The length usually does not exceed 1.5 centimeters. The top of the body is densely covered with hairs;
retracted head There is a dark spot near the head. This is a characteristic feature of a firefighter. There are antennae on the head. They consist of eleven joints;
soft wings and tenacious legs. The wings completely cover the back and are painted in a dark gray shade. The paws are colored red, they are quite strong and have small claws;
presence of gender differences. In particular, females are always larger than males. Their pronotum is decorated with a symmetrical spot. This spot has an individual shape for each beetle. This makes them unique;
presence of mandibles. The mandibles are slightly curved and very sharp. With their help, the beetle can pinch painfully. The mandibles are used by insects during hunting. The fireman beetle is a predator. It attacks small insects.

Prevention

It is extremely difficult to protect yourself from marbled bugs in your summer cottage, garden or vegetable garden, but there are a number of preventive measures that will help you protect your home.

Adult stink bugs, like other pests, can enter homes through cracks and crevices. Here are some simple tips to help keep them out of your home:

Caulk windows inside and out.
Make sure that daylight in the house is not visible around the perimeter of the door.
Remove all debris and edible vegetation from your home's foundation to avoid attracting pests.
Inspect and caulk foundation cracks to block potential entry points.
When insulating exposed water pipes around your foundation, seal even the smallest gaps.
If you have a fireplace in your home, keep the lid closed to keep pests out.
Contact a pest control professional.