Longhorned beetle is an insect. Description, features, types, lifestyle and habitat of the longhorned beetle

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Small in size, with a bright interesting color, attracting attention - this is the blister beetle. But appearances are deceiving and touching an insect in some conditions is life-threatening.

Blister beetles can be very dangerous

Blister beetles: photo

Blister beetles.

Marble

An analogue of the golden bronze with a green shell decorated with white markings. The marbled fish often has a greenish tint to its shell. The body size is slightly larger: up to 27 mm.

Distributed throughout Eurasia, except for the mountain forests of the Caucasus and Crimea. Prefers lowland forests. Settles on old trees. The species is numerous, but insects are found alone. These beetles are active from June to August in the European part of Russia and from mid-May to mid-August in Ukraine.

The life cycle in warm regions takes 1 year, in northern regions – 2 years. Females lay eggs in old stumps of some tree species.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with the beneficial properties of dill seeds for humans. Dill seeds beneficial properties and contraindications

Who are the naryvniki

Name: family Blisters Lat.: Meloidae
Class: Insects - Insecta Order: Coleoptera - Coleoptera

Blisters are representatives of one of the most famous families of Coleoptera. These insects stand out from the rest due to their bright color, the presence of strong poison in the blood and the interesting lifestyle of their larvae.

What do blisters look like?

Life cycle of a blister beetle.

Most members of the blister family are medium or large-sized bugs. Their body length can vary from 5 mm to 50 mm. The head is round or triangular in shape, and is equipped with complex faceted eyes and antennae. The latter consist of 8-11 segments and in most species they are slightly expanded towards the upper edge.

The pronotum in many representatives of this species is the narrowest part of the body. The elytra are quite elastic, oblong in shape and most often painted in bright colors. The most popular color options for elytra:

• bright red with black dots;
• black with yellow-orange spots and wide stripes;
• green with a metallic sheen;
• bright orange with small black spots;
• black or blue-black with a metallic sheen.

Female and male individuals usually do not have striking external differences, but in some species one can observe a strong increase in the abdomen in females, or modified antennae in males.

Blister beetles.

Many species of blister bugs boast well-developed wings, making them considered skilled flyers. The legs of representatives of this family are well adapted for walking and running. There are a number of spurs on the shins.

At the larval stage, blister bugs are very active and lead a predominantly parasitic lifestyle. Immediately after birth, they have well-developed legs and their main goal is to move to a place where there is a suitable food source for them. At the next stages of development, the larva spends almost all its time eating.

Twirly

This family of small-sized water beetles (on average about 6 mm) includes several hundred species, mostly inhabiting tropical waters, but such beetles are also found in the northern regions, in particular in fresh water bodies near the Black Sea coast, in Sweden, Norway, Spain. And a couple of dozen species live in Russia.

Such beetles, like the previous ones, belong to the suborder of carnivores and feed on small aquatic life, not only alive, but also dead. Their way of digesting food is very interesting, because the main processes occur not inside, but outside their body. The spinners inject enzymes into their prey, which dissolves it, and then only suck it up.

The body shape of such creatures is oval, convex; The color is predominantly black and shiny. On the surface of the water they move energetically, quickly, stay in groups, constantly describing circles and dancing in circles without rest, for which the beetles got their name. And only sensing a threat, they dive into the water.

In addition, they can fly, as they are naturally endowed with membranous, well-developed wings. For their tirelessness, these waterfowl insects have been awarded the title of the fastest swimmers among their own kind. The largest species of such organisms are found in East Asia; their representatives can grow to a size of two or more centimeters.

Blister Habitat

For a long time, the habitat of blister beetles was limited to the countries of Europe, Asia and Africa. Insects prefer open steppe and semi-desert areas, and due to their heat-loving nature, the bulk of these beetles are found in tropical and subtropical zones. At the moment, these bright bugs can be found on all continents except Antarctica.

Schiffer's blister.

Within Russia, different types of blister beetles live in the following areas of the country:

• South-Eastern regions;
• European part of the country;
• Southwestern and Eastern Siberia;
• Primorye;
• North Caucasus.

Smooth bronze

Very similar to one of the variants of the golden bronze beetle - the smooth bronze beetle, listed in the Red Book of the Moscow Region. This species prefers old forests and parks where there are many rotten trees.

Smooth bronze

Distributed in Southern Europe. In Russia in the north, the border of the range passes through Kaliningrad, Voronezh, and Samara. In the south - across the border with Ukraine to Orenburg.

This beetle with a green shiny back is larger than its “relative”. Its body length is up to 3 cm. There are no white markings on the elytra and cephalothorax. The elytra have either a golden or copper-red sheen. Legs and underside of body with a bluish tint.

Blister lifestyle

Adults of most blister species feed exclusively on food of plant origin. Some representatives are aphages and do not need food at all. The diet of adults may include:

• leaves;
• young shoots;

• inflorescences;
• flower nectar.

The larvae are mostly parasites . Blisters most often lay their eggs near the home of a potential victim, which could be:

• bees;
• wasps;

• grasshoppers;
• locusts

Larval transport

Small blister beetles on a flower.

Thanks to its well-developed limbs, soon after birth the larva climbs up plant stems and waits for a suitable candidate. As soon as a potential “breadwinner” appears on the horizon, it quietly attaches itself to his body. The unsuspecting victim delivers the dangerous parasite directly to its nest, where the larva descends from its “transport” and begins to consume food. Her diet may include:

• oviposition;
• larvae;
• food supplies stored by adult insects for their offspring.

Imago lifestyle

Clumsy insects with a thick body stay on the ground and crawl along stumps and herbaceous plants. Adults feed on cereals and love clover, dandelions, buttercups, anemones, and violets. If they find themselves near fields with vegetables, they damage agricultural crops. Beetles can be found in various biotypes: steppes, meadows, forest edges. To continue the life cycle, it is important to have nearby open areas suitable for solitary bees to settle.

Information. On a hot day, the beetles hide under the leaves; their soft abdomen is buried in the ground to avoid drying out.

Adults appear in spring, in April. After additional feeding they begin to mate. Beetles are slow and clumsy and do not run away from danger. Their hemolymph contains a highly toxic substance called cantharidin, which can kill small animals. When the oily liquid comes into contact with human skin, it causes an allergic reaction and blisters appear.

Interesting fact. In case of danger, the purple T-shirt falls to the ground and pretends to be dead. An additional defense mechanism is an oily, unpleasant-smelling liquid secreted from the joints of the limbs and abdomen.

In regions where the area of ​​meadows is shrinking, construction is taking place, plowing is taking place, grass is being mowed, and the number of purple t-shirts is decreasing. Due to the lack of wings, beetles cannot move long distances in search of new habitats.

Reproduction

Mating is the finale of the life of males; after transferring the seed to the female, they die. For laying, a place is chosen close to a colony of solitary bees. The female digs a hole in soft soil. In one clutch the number of eggs reaches 1000 pieces. The female makes 2-3 separate burrows with eggs. After this, it also dies. The larvae appear after 30-40 days.

The blister family is characterized by hypermetamorphosis. This type of insect development is transitional between complete and incomplete metamorphosis. The first instar larvae, called triungulins, differ from the older instars. External differences are related to lifestyle. Triungulins are actively moving, looking for hosts for further development. Once in a bee's nest, they moult and turn into short-legged, worm-like parasites that feed on honey. Before true pupation, insects go through a “false pupae” stage.

Harm and benefit from blisters

Since adult blister beetles are phytophagous, some of their species can harm crops. This most often occurs during periods of strong population growth. The following plant species most often suffer from blister infestations:

• legumes;
• potato;
• strawberry;

• onion;
• oats;
• asparagus.

For people and animals

Blister venom is dangerous to people.

Due to the fault of adult blister beetles, not only plants, but also animals . Since the hemolymph of these insects contains a dangerous toxin, they pose a threat to almost all living organisms. The beetles spend most of their time on the leaves and inflorescences of the plant, so livestock grazing in the fields often eats them along with the grass. Such an addition to a plant-based meal can be dangerous to the life and health of the animal.

Blister venom can also be dangerous to humans . Even for an adult, healthy person, one insect eaten can cost his life. If you pick up this beetle with your bare hands, it will sense danger and, in self-defense, will release toxic hemolymph from special glands on its legs. After contact with a toxic substance, very unpleasant symptoms begin to appear on the skin:

• burning;
• itching;

• redness;
• formation of blisters and abscesses.

The only benefit that blister beetles can bring is pollination of plants. Species that feed on flower nectar contribute to the pollination of a huge number of different crops. Moreover, the reproduction of some representatives of the flora directly depends on these insects.

Blister larvae

Unlike adult beetles, blister beetle larvae do more good than harm. They often parasitize locust nests and destroy the young generation, which significantly affects the number of these insects. And as you know, locusts are the most dangerous pests of cultivated plants.

It is worth noting that the young generation of some types of blister bees prefer to parasitize in the nests of honey bees and such proximity can cause serious harm to the bee colony.

Nutrition

What the longhorned beetle eats depends on its habitat. Adult beetles feed on pistils and stamens of flowers, young bark and leaves of bushes and trees. Pieces of fallen or healthy bark, petioles, plant sap, pulp of cacti or other plants - this is what the longhorned beetle feeds on.

That is, an adult beetle is almost harmless. But the larva of the longhorned beetle is a scourge for trees, wooden buildings and wooden objects. They develop in trees and feed on wood, causing enormous harm to forests on the planet.

Many beetles were divided into subspecies precisely due to the choice of the type of tree they chose to feed their larvae. For example, the oak longhorned beetle prefers hardwood trees, oak, for example.

It can settle in oak stumps, as well as in places where the tree is damaged. This beetle is medium in size, 3 to 6 cm, black with a brown tint, and glossy like resin. The elytra are reddish at the tips. In addition to oak, he chooses beech, hornbeam, elm, and walnut for feeding future larvae.

The black or pine longhorned beetle prefers to choose coniferous trees. It is also called the ship beetle. Its larva inexorably destroyed even ready-made ship structures if they were built from infected pine. He himself feeds on pollen, pine needles and leaves.

The beetles that prefer coniferous trees for their clutches - larch, spruce, pine, also include the flat beetle, with a purple color.

The purple longhorned beetle itself feeds on the soft bark of young trees and tender young needles. But its larva causes damage to trees on an almost industrial scale. They continue to destroy wood, even harvested and cut for consumption. They also love to live close to humans, destroying buildings.

The most famous types of blisters

The blister family includes more than 2000 species, but only about 100 of them can be found within Russia. The most common types are:

ladybugs

What types of beetles are most recognizable in Russia ? Ladybugs have been familiar to us since childhood and are common not only here, but throughout the world. In total, about 4 thousand species of these creatures are known, which are united in the family of ladybugs. Their habitat is a variety of plant types. Some species spend their lives on trees and shrubs, others on field and meadow grasses.

Being members of a suborder of carnivorous beetles, these useful creatures, measuring approximately 5 mm in size, are known as aphid killers. They protect themselves from their enemies by spraying a yellow, unpleasant-smelling, poisonous liquid, a kind of milk. It is believed that it was for this feature that these insects were called ladybugs.

Their colors are always bright. The elytra usually have rich red or yellow colors, but sometimes brown, blue, black, and are also decorated with dots, the number and shade of which can vary. Representatives of this family also belong to the species of flying beetles .

Use of blisters in folk medicine

The toxic substance contained in the blood of blister beetles is called cantharidin. This toxin is very dangerous to human life and health, but despite this, it was widely used as an aphrodisiac until the 20th century.

Representatives of the species, the Spanish fly, were used to prepare “healing” powders, ointments and tinctures.

The use of such drugs, even in small quantities, ultimately led to disruption of the functioning of many vital organs, but even knowing this, many people continued to use them.

Spanish fly.

Killer Cow

We have already mentioned enough species of black beetles . Ground beetles, whirligigs, some longhorned beetles and cockchafers may have this color. And even the firefighter beetle just described has extensive dark areas in its outfit.

But few of us have seen black ladybugs. However, they exist. This is a type of Asian ladybird. It may be black, decorated with red dots; it can also be yellow-orange with numerous blurry spots of black.

Such creatures are usually larger than other cow relatives, measuring about 7 mm. They are given the nickname killer cows because among insects they are fearsome and insatiable predators. We have already noticed that carnivorous beetle species tend to be beneficial.

And here we can assume that the more active the predator, the more positive its activity is for humans. The Americans thought the same thing about a quarter of a century ago. But they made a mistake by bringing the Asian ladybird to their lands, in the hope that it would become a successful destroyer of annoying midges and aphids.

The fact is that such cows, called “harlequins,” in addition to harmful insects, devour their fellow cows, other types of cows, which are very useful and valuable. Moreover, they damage grapes and berries. Now, having realized their mistake, they are fighting them, however, it is useless, because the dangerous species is spreading more and more widely.

European countries have already suffered from it, in particular Belgium, France, and Holland. In winter, Asian women climb into human homes, causing allergies in their owners. But no reliable means of combating killer cows have yet been invented.

How long do these insects live?

The Mike beetle lives very little. Their entire life span is until reproduction. The male dies immediately after mating. The female dies after laying eggs.

The female of this insect manages to lay from a couple to ten thousand eggs. She lays eggs in peculiar nests. These are not particularly deep holes, going 25-30 millimeters into the soil. She makes the masonry in the form of a heap and sprinkles it with earth. The female of this beetle never starts arranging a new nest without making sure that the previous one is completely complete.

Signs of pest presence

The following signs may indicate that there is a longhorned beetle in the house:

• the presence of small holes and passages on the surface of the wood;
• rustling, clicking and ticking - these are the characteristic sounds that longhorned beetles make when gnawing passages in the wood of a house;
• brown or yellowish powder (drill flour);
• the presence of pests themselves flying around the house.

Therefore, if you detect the listed symptoms, it will not be superfluous to know how to get rid of the longhorned beetle in a wooden house.