2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
The broad-breasted slug is most often found in the steppe and in the south of the forest-steppe and is a very dangerous pest of tender shoots and seeds. This harmful beetle, along with the shoots of numerous weeds, also damages wilted crop plants (beets, sunflowers and corn with wheat in particular). And voracious larvae feed on corn ladders, sown seeds, beets, as well as seedlings of various vegetable and other crops
Meet the pest
The broad-breasted slug is a black beetle endowed with a long elongated body, the size of which ranges from 20 to 27 mm. Its body is weakly shining and naked, and its matt convex head is coarsely punctured. Fore tibia at bases narrower than at apex, twice. Pronotum with straight posterior corners, strongly transverse.
Males are distinguished from females by the presence of red hair brushes between the first and second abdominal sternites. In addition, in females, the elytra are slightly elongated in a triangle, while in males they are endowed at the very apices with a length of up to 2 mm and a well-developed caudal appendage.
The size of the flat-bodied larvae of this pest reaches 40 mm. Their shiny covers are characterized by the presence of sparse dots and transverse wrinkles. The color of the parasites can vary from yellow to dark yellow shades, while the prothoracic segments and heads are darker. The upper lips of the larvae are armed with a transverse row consisting of seven spinous setae, and their eyes are not at all pronounced. On the sides, the breasts of the larvae are strongly pubescent.
The surfaces of the bodies of pupae, reaching a length of 22 mm, are covered with short setae, which will be denser in the area of the abdomen and on the tergites of the thorax. And on the tenth segment of their abdomens, one can notice the presence of two sharp, short outgrowths. The short elytral rudiments cover single setae, and the wing buds reach the apex of the elytra.
The uneven-aged larvae, together with the beetles, overwinter in the soil. The emergence of the first adults to the surface is observed already in April; often they are characterized by unhardened integuments. They are especially active in the mornings and evenings. In the daytime, wide-breasted slugs hide in all kinds of shelters, they can even climb into warehouses and basements, as well as into holes of rodents.
Pests mate with subsequent laying of eggs in May, approximately in the first and second decades. Eggs are laid by females to a depth of five centimeters into the soil - each of them lays several hundred eggs. And the period of oviposition is somewhat extended in time, and therefore in the soil it is often possible to meet larvae of different ages.
Pupation of harmful larvae occurs at a depth of four to eight centimeters in the soil at the end of August. The development of pupae usually takes about twenty days. Some larvae hibernate and hatch at the end of April after additional feeding. And already in May, one can observe the appearance of beetles climbing to the surface, which live for several years.
How to fight
Among the agrotechnical measures used against broad-breasted slugs, weed elimination and timely soil cultivation can be noted. Also, high-quality mineral and organic fertilizers should be periodically applied to the soil.
The seeds are treated with insecticides. A drug called "Tabu" has proven itself well in this matter. Alternatively, you can apply phosphorus fertilizers to the soil, to which insecticides were previously added.
Also, the bait method is widely used to kill beetles - heaps of withering stalks of grass are treated with insecticides and placed over the site. Such natural shelters are very attractive for broad-chested sluggards, who, having climbed into them, quickly perish. Insecticides such as "Break", "Sharpei", "Borey" and others are suitable for processing grass heaps.
Recommended:
Lupine Is Touchy For The Lazy Florist And Hardworking Gardener
If you did not manage to plant flowers in your garden earlier, but really want to decorate your plot with a flower garden, you still have such an opportunity - sow lupine. It works great both when sowing in May and when sowing in June. And given the current weather conditions, it might even be better if someone was late with the crops. This year, June is more likely to have May weather. And even if the lupine sown now does not bloom at the end of summer, it is quite possible that it will have time to please with flowering in September, and then also in the next
Broad-leaved Bedbug
Broad-leaved bedbug is one of the plants of the family called cabbage or cruciferous, in Latin the name of this plant will sound like this: Lepidium latifolium. As for the name of the family of the common bugs, then in Latin it will be like this:
7 Ideas For A Lazy Designer
The dream of every summer resident is to rest and relax. Playing cleverly with landscape design ideas can help create a piece of paradise where you can relax and do nothing. We offer you 7 ideas that will help you make a beautiful site not for work, but for recreation
Garden For The Lazy
For those who do not really like digging in the ground, or simply do not have enough time for this, there are many options for arranging a suburban area. However, even for arranging a garden for the lazy at the first stage of its equipment, you should carefully calculate the area and determine what goals and objectives the site should fulfill. The first step is to zone the space. The main place in the garden for the lazy, of course, will be the relaxation area. This could be a barbecue area where
Broad-leaved Spindle Tree
Broad-leaved spindle tree (lat.Euonymus latifolius) - upright ornamental shrub; species of the genus Euonymus of the family Euonymus. It is found in thickets of bushes, gorges, valleys, on the slopes and in the shady mountain forests of the Caucasus, Southern Europe and Asia Minor.
