Features and habitat
Ichneumas (Parasitica) are a large family of insects, the diversity of which includes about one hundred thousand different species. The larvae lead a parasitic lifestyle, introduced by females into the bodies of other insects.
Carrying out the process of laying eggs, an adult female, as can be seen in the photo of the equestrian , is located on top of the victim, like a rider on a horse, which is the essence of the name.
Riders, depending on the species, can have a variety of sizes. They can be negligibly small (no more than a millimeter in size), as well as relatively large (up to several centimeters long). Most representatives of this family have well-developed wings. The abdomen is elongated and has long antennae.
Ichneumon wasps are often called parasitic wasps, with which certain species, in fact, have an external resemblance. However, riders do not have such an organ as a sting at all. There is no need for it to carry out their life activities.
Instead, females have an ovipositor, which can reach enormous sizes compared to the size of the insect itself. For example, in some species of the genus Megarhyssa this organ is thin, hard and long, twice the size of the abdomen and capable of being embedded in tree trunks.
Megarhyssa perlata is considered a very rare species and is protected by the state. Found mainly in forests. The insect has an orange color, as well as white and black stripes on the abdomen.
Species of ichneumon are found on almost every continent. Braconids are large representatives of one of the species of riders. Individuals in some cases can reach a length of 5 cm. Most often, insects are brown in color with black and yellow spots. About 15 thousand species of such parasites have been described.
In the photo there is a braconid rider
Trichogramma is a microscopic representative of these insects. And there are about 200 species. These creatures have a dense body with antennae and come in brown and black colors. Often distributed on agricultural plantations. The yellow equestrian is a resident of forest clearings and meadows. Its size is about one and a half or two centimeters. Especially often it catches the eye of residents of Western Europe in the summer and autumn.
What to do if a wasp bites a person?
In some cases, hypersensitivity to the sting of a parasitic wasp wasp has been recorded. An allergic reaction occurs in young children and people with reduced immunity. To prevent anaphylactic shock or angioedema, it is recommended to provide first aid to the victim in a timely manner.
Symptoms and consequences
Most often, a wasp sting does not show up on the skin. But with a strong concentration of toxins that the insect injects during an attack, a slight redness appears. Itching and swelling may also occur. The most dangerous consequence of an encounter with a rider is considered to be scratching the wound. In this way, a person can independently introduce an infection. Symptoms of infection are swelling and tearing of the stung area, the formation of an abscess, and a rash.
If redness does not go away after 5 days, you should consult a doctor. To determine the diagnosis and prescribe treatment, the victim is given a referral for a scraping from the bite site, a general blood and urine test.
First aid
After a wasp attack, you should wipe the bite site with an antiseptic. Fukortsin, Miramistin, hydrogen peroxide or alcohol (vodka) are suitable for this. If pain occurs, you can take analgesics and antispasmodics. To prevent the development of swelling, redness and rashes, anti-inflammatory medications are needed.
Allergic reaction
An allergic reaction is rare because when a long-tailed wasp stings, it injects a minimal amount of toxin that is not dangerous to humans. But there is always a risk of developing severe swelling or hives. Young children need to be especially closely monitored. If signs of intolerance to poison appear, you should urgently take antihistamines (Suprastin, Loratadine, Zodak), and then seek help from a doctor.
Character and lifestyle
Equestrians most often settle near water bodies among flowering grasses, needing high air humidity. Adult representatives of this family usually begin active activity at night, looking for hosts for the larvae in which they implant them.
Parasitic insects have an extraordinary sense of smell. For example, flying over a tree or climbing its trunk, through the thickness of the bark they are able to accurately sense where beetle larvae are deposited, which can become their prey.
Is the parasitic insect dangerous for humans ? Representatives of this family are rather useful creatures for people. They are invisible protectors of forests, ridding plants of bark beetles and voracious caterpillars. Many species of ichneumon fly are of great benefit by destroying insect pests. And they are specifically used by humans for such purposes in agriculture.
The parasites parasitize several tens of thousands of pests that destroy crops. Protecting food warehouses and fields with the help of riders makes it possible to significantly reduce the amount of poisons used that are harmful to health and the environment.
Riders do not pose a danger to people. However, there are some types of riders that are quite capable of biting. Such specimens resemble wasps. They can give a person unpleasant sensations. But in general, the bite of the ichneumon ichneumon is completely safe.
Are they useful or harmful?
To understand whether an ichneumon insect poses a danger to humans, it is worth remembering that they do not have a sting, and their mouthparts are adapted for collecting nectar or plant juice. Scolia, a parasitic wasp from the suborder of stinging insects, can bite, or rather sting, a person.
Parasitic parasites are used as a means of biological control on an industrial scale against insect pests. Trichogramma parasites are bred in laboratory conditions and released on agricultural land (50 thousand individuals per 1 hectare) in two stages before the insect pests lay eggs. Used to combat 70 types of pests to protect:
- cabbage;
- tomatoes;
- apple orchards;
- corn fields;
- sugar cane.
Nutrition
Adult megarhyssa perlata, which prefer to consume the nectar of flowers themselves, introduce their larvae into pests that breed in the bark of trees, depositing them in the passages made by these insects.
And ichneumon larvae , being extremely active in search of food, find their own prey, attaching themselves to the body of the victim. Most adult parasites do not eat the flesh of other insects, and some do not even eat anything at all. But they are looking for a suitable object to saturate their larvae.
Prey for parasites can include wasps, ants, beetles and caterpillars, and in some cases scorpions and spiders. Braconids are used to feed barn moths and leaf roller butterflies, but they can also harm people’s supplies, spoiling spices, confectionery, dried fruits, grain and flour.
Common varieties
As already mentioned, there are many varieties of ichneumon wasps. In temperate climates, the most common superfamilies are:
- Mimarommatids, capable of living even in subantarctic zones and parasitizing insect eggs.
- Nutcrackers, which are both parasites and phytophages (feed on plant foods).
- Proctotroupoid riders with microscopic dimensions (body length - up to 5 mm). They are used as a biological agent in pest control.
- Chalcids, of which there are 200 species in Europe. Beneficial insects that destroy other harmful arthropods; and some of their species are involved in plant pollination.
- Evanioid riders, the abdomen of which is diagonally raised relative to the chest. They choose wasps, cockroaches, and sawflies as their victims.
Reproduction and lifespan
Insects usually reproduce most actively during rainy summers, which causes their numbers to increase sharply. The parasitic insect inserts eggs into the bodies of victims. At the same time, special viruses are injected into the body of the carriers (hosts), completely subjugating the immune system.
The eggs hatch into cubs that feed on the internal organs of their carriers, from which they soon die. Moreover, victims can remain viable even if only a tenth of their internal mass remains.
This usually happens just before pupation or after winter hibernation. Parasitism of larvae manifests itself in different ways; some choose one type of insect as carriers, while others can use different types of hosts.
There are also several ways to implement such functions. Ectoparasites select insects as carriers that develop inside wood and various fruits, introducing their eggs in the immediate vicinity of the victim or in them themselves. Superparasites harm other parasites. There are also superparasites of higher orders.
For this reason, attempts to breed wasps to kill agricultural pests are not always successful. But they only give impetus to the emergence and reproduction of other species of equestrians, which parasitize their relatives, significantly reducing their numbers. In this way, nature tries to maintain balance. The moths lay eggs on caterpillars and use paralyzing poison against the victim.
And after half a day, larvae hatch on the carrier, of which there are usually about two dozen. They go through all stages of development in a few days, leading to death of the victim. Having pupated and transitioned to adulthood, they themselves do not live long.
The exact period depends on gender. Females can live for about a month. Males do not exist for more than ten days. Some species of ichneumon live much longer. If wintering is successful, their life cycle can last up to 9 months.
Benefit from riders
Despite the rather cruel way of reproduction, ichneumons bring only benefits to humans. They are considered a biological weapon against a variety of harmful insects that attack crops. By settling inside caterpillars and other crop pests, they significantly reduce their populations. Exhausted pests do not have time to lay their eggs and their number naturally decreases.
Therefore, when you see a rider on your property or in the garden, you should not run for means of protection against them. They are best thought of as invisible protectors of the crop.
Bibliography
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Brucellosis. Parasites. Link
- Corbel MJ Parasitic diseases // World Health Organization. Link
- Young EJ Best matches for intestinal parasites // Clinical Infectious Diseases. — 1995. Vol. 21. - P. 283-290. Link
- Yushchuk N.D., Vengerov Yu.A. Infectious diseases: textbook. — 2nd edition. - M.: Medicine, 2003. - 544 p.
- Prevalence of parasitic diseases among the population, 2009 / Kokolova L. M., Reshetnikov A. D., Platonov T. A., Verkhovtseva L. A.
- Helminths of domestic carnivores of the Voronezh region, 2011 / Nikulin P. I., Romashov B. V.
An article for patients with a doctor-diagnosed disease. Does not replace a doctor's appointment and cannot be used for self-diagnosis.
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Preventing an attack
The main prevention of a rider attack is considered to be careful behavior in nature. You should not come into contact with the parasite, try to catch it or kill it. When getting ready for a picnic or to a pond, you should wear thick clothes with long sleeves. It is better to treat children's skin with repellents, which will also protect the baby from bites of mosquitoes, other wasps, and midges.
Wasps are parasites that are harmless to humans and attack only insects. Fertilized females hunt for caterpillars, beetles or other wasps to lay their eggs. The hatched larvae are very voracious and can completely destroy the prey in just 5-6 days.
Source
Brazilian wandering spider
Also known as Phoneutria, Brazilian wandering spiders are venomous creatures that live in tropical South America and Central America. In the 2010 Guinness Book of World Records, this type of spider was called the most poisonous spider in the world.
The venom of this genus of spiders contains a powerful neurotoxin known as PhTx3. In lethal concentrations, this neurotoxin causes loss of muscle control and breathing problems, leading to paralysis and eventual suffocation. The bite is of average pain, the venom causes immediate infection of the lymphatic system, entry into the bloodstream in 85% leads to heart failure. Patients feel wild rigor during life, sometimes causing priapism in men. There is an antidote that is used on par with antibiotics, but due to the severity of the damage to the body from the poison, the detoxification procedure is essentially equal to the victim's chance of survival.
The most dangerous insect in Russia
Blister beetle
The most dangerous insect in Russia is the blister beetle. The seemingly harmless beetle leaves marks on the skin that turn into blisters. After all, his body is saturated with the poison cantharidin, which is dangerous even upon contact with the skin. If poison gets into an open wound and into the blood, it leads to disruption of the kidneys and bladder. The beetle is especially dangerous for children; an encounter can end in failure. It is worth excluding any contact with these insects and not touching them. In the old days, the poison extracted from these insects was used as a poison, and worked flawlessly, sending important people to the next world. Swallowing a beetle is extremely dangerous and will require immediate medical attention.
This is a list of the most dangerous insects in Russia. In addition to them, other creatures also pose a danger - spiders, which are not classified as insects. A meeting with karakurt, which can occur in the Astrakhan steppes, Orenburg region, and on the Yenisei, is dangerous. It is always necessary to be careful; insects are not large in size, and the danger from them is usually underestimated, but every year hundreds of people die from fatal encounters, bites, or even skin contact.
Separately, it is worth noting ticks, which dig into the body and carry numerous diseases that can lead to death or disability. It is worth behaving carefully with bees and wasps, large and brightly colored beetles, and ants. When going out into nature, to the country, children should be instructed about safety measures, and adults should be vigilant.
