Shaggy deer - flower beetle in the garden and in the flowerbed

Bronzes are plate-shaped beetles that are easily recognizable by color with a characteristic metallic luster. Many species eat in the garden, eat flowers, ovaries, feed on tree sap or ripe fruit. In the southern part of Europe and Central Asia, one of the most dangerous pests is the shaggy deer. The beetle is a polyphage, adults are gnawed by flowers of fruit trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants.

Morphological description of the species

Shaggy deer (Tropinotahirta) is a small beetle from the family of lamellar, subfamily of bronzes. The body of the insect is wide, flattened. Length 8-13 mm, width - 5-7 mm. The integument is black, matte. The body and head are covered with long gray hairs. The head is directed forward, the antennae with a plate club, the mouth apparatus is gnawing. Pronotum slightly convex, of the same size in length and width. Scutellum covered with coarse puncture and reddish hairs.

Information. In case of danger, the shaggy bronze gives off an unpleasantly smelling yellow caustic liquid.

Elytra in shagreen pattern of yellowish or white spots and stripes. Variable patterns. A characteristic feature of bronzes is the holes along the edges of the elytra. Beetles release hind wings through them during flight. The lower body is light, with dense hairs on the sides of the abdomen. Tibia of forelimbs with three sharp spines. On the middle and hind tibia, two spurs and three teeth. Paws are thin, elongated. Long hairs on hips.

Distribution area

Asia is considered the birthplace of bronze shaggy. Due to the general warming of the climate, the beetles spread to a vast territory. Representatives of the species Tropinotahirta can be found in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, North Africa, Western Asia. Fawn lives in Kazakhstan, the Caucasus, everywhere in Ukraine and in the Crimea. Insects prefer the steppe and forest-steppe zone.

Lifestyle

Adults hibernate deep in the earth; the way out of the soil begins in early spring - March 12. The peak of the summer of bugs falls on the period March 20 - June 20. Adults appear until mid-August. At first, the deer eats on dandelions and coltsfoot. From the moment of flowering of fruit trees and berry bushes, insects switch to them.

Beetles climb into the buds and gnaw out the vegetative parts of the flower - pistils and stamens. Some plants damage young leaves. Behind the trees comes a line of strawberry beds, sunflower and rye crops. Bronzovka are active in warm sunny days from 10 to 15 hours. After 16 years it is reduced, and after 18 they go on vacation.

Information. The soil is a refuge not only for larvae; on cold rainy days, beetles burrow 1 cm into the ground.

Breeding

The start of the mating period depends on weather conditions. Females begin laying eggs in mid-June. For the development of larvae, soft, nutritious is selected. Well fertilized soil. The main part of the masonry falls on the aisles, overgrown with cereal grasses. Eggs are placed near heaps of plant debris and burrows of rodents.Fertility of the female is 15-20 pieces. The eggs are white, shiny in diameter of 0.5 mm. The embryonic phase takes 6-7 days.

The larvae are thick, grayish-white, the body is curved c-shaped. The offspring of beetles are covered with long hairs. The head is yellow, rounded, with strong jaws. The structure is transverse, the thickest part is at the base of the antennae. On the anal, erase two rows of sharp spines. There are three pairs of limbs on the chest. Legs are short with modified claws. Larvae are harmless, they feed on humus, dead parts of plants. The period of their development is about two months. The larva molts twice and passes three ages. Before pupation, its length is 31 mm.

Adult larva builds a cradle from the ground. In an oval cocoon 14-16 mm long, after 2 days it turns into a chrysalis. This phase will last two weeks. At first the pupa is light, almost white. Before transformation into an imago, the color changes to red-brown. The young beetle does not leave the cocoon. He remains deep underground until next spring.

Information. Shaggy bronze - a beetle with a complete transformation, one generation is replaced in a year.

Malware

The main harm to agricultural and ornamental plants is caused by beetles during the summer and mating. In the garden, cherries, apricots, cherries, and peaches suffer from it. Shaggy bronzes have no food cravings; they feed on rose hips, grapes, lilacs, currants, strawberries, watermelons and melons, and legumes.

The harmfulness of beetles is not limited to the flowers of fruit trees. Decorative crops no less suffer from their gluttony. The deer actively eats roses (prefers light shades), tulips, irises, daffodils. Beetles are kept in small groups; 3-4 large individuals are often observed on large flowers.

On an industrial scale, the absence of plowing leads to an increase in the number of pests. Plots of land overgrown with cereals are an excellent food supply for young beetles and their larvae.

Methods of struggle

Early and warm spring creates favorable conditions for the mass reproduction of the shaggy stag beetle. A large number of insects flies into the gardens, attacking flowering apple trees and cherries. On flower beds, they are not immediately noticeable. Only the appearance of deformed buds makes you look inside the flower, where pests break down.

In the fight against insects, the most effective were physical methods:

1. Mechanical collection. In the morning hours and cool weather, when the beetles are inactive, spread the film under the trees and crush insects on it. Before collecting it is recommended to water insects with water, which makes them fly worse. On flower beds and strawberry beds, pests are collected by hand. All insects are destroyed. The procedure will have to be carried out throughout the season. New bugs fly into the garden daily.
2. In the gardens, raw straw and leaves are burned so that the smoke scares off the bronzes.
3. Digging the soil near the trees contributes to the destruction of the larvae.
4. The use of traps. On the plot, industrial plantations and gardens traps for shaggy deer are used. Mass capture of insects provides 13-15 containers per 1 hectare. When making traps, we took into account the special attachment of beetles to blue and blue. The lower part of the structure is a detachable plastic container. The upper part is funnel-shaped, with a shield of blue color. To attract bronzes, a chemical bait is placed inside.

Homemade traps set up in private gardens are buckets, basins, blue bottles. 3-5 liters of water are collected in the container. Beetles fall into the trap in dozens, but cannot get out. It remains to periodically get drowned insects.

Chemical method

Insecticide treatment of flowering gardens is a dangerous and unpopular measure. Together with pests, beneficial insects pollinating flowers die. Their destruction will lead to a meager harvest. Chemical preparations for bees are especially dangerous; insecticides are not allowed to be used next to an apiary.

One of the few recommended Calypso 480 products manufactured by Bayer. Contact-intestinal insecticide is resistant to high temperature and exposure to sunlight. The drug is safe for bees, can be used during flowering. Enough 1 treatment of apple trees per season.

Reducing the number of insects helps spraying insecticides trunks circles. Bronze larvae live in the soil. Adult beetles also often burrow into the ground under adverse conditions. For processing, Aktara and Karbofos preparations are suitable. Spraying is carried out 3 times, with a break of 1 week.

Biological methods

Spraying trees, bushes and decorative flowers with biological pesticides allows you to safely get rid of harmful insects. Biological agents based on crystal-forming bacteria have an intestinal contact effect. Attraction of insectivorous birds (starlings) helps to reduce the number of bronzes. Among natural enemies, deer are ground beetles and staphylinids. They destroy eggs, larvae and pupae in the soil. Vertebrates — moles, field mice — reduce the number of offspring.