2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
The steppe cricket lives mainly in the south of Russia, although it can be found in small numbers almost everywhere. This polyphagous parasite damages onions, beans, peppers, peas, tomatoes, rye, wheat, carrots, flax, tobacco, potatoes, lentils, cabbage, beets, corn and various fruit crops. It eats up the ladders of growing crops and gnaws at the stalks located near the root necks, as a result of which yield losses can be very solid
Meet the pest
The size of the imago of steppe crickets ranges from 12 to 19 mm. The heads and bodies of the voracious scoundrels are painted in a uniform black color. Their wings are very well developed, and the length of their elytra is usually either equal to the length of the abdomen, or slightly exceeds it. Also, each individual is equipped with a gnawing mouth apparatus and antennae that exceed the length of the body. And the length of the ovipositor of harmful parasites reaches 12 - 17 mm.
The breasts of the steppe crickets are rather large, with highly developed pronotums. The lateral parts of the pronotum form the laterally covering lobes. The metathorax of the pests are closely fused with the mesothorax, and their pleural sections are sharply separated by sheer or oblique sutures.
On the fore tibia of steppe crickets there are tympanic organs of hearing. The hind legs are characterized by elongated tibiae and elongated and thickened thighs. At the same time, the front legs of the gluttonous parasites are walking, and the rear ones are jumping. Below the hind femora are painted black, and sometimes small brownish keels can be seen on them.
White shiny eggs of steppe crickets are about 3.5 mm in size. Larvae differ from adult crickets in underdeveloped wings and smaller size.
Wintering of harmful larvae takes place under the remains of plants. And the larvae of the last instar hibernate in deep burrows (their depth often reaches forty centimeters). At the same time, in deeper minks, up to thirty larvae or more often winters, and in less deep ones - single representatives or only a few individuals. Towards the beginning of summer, they transform into adult insects. Most often, these polyphagous pests live in lowlands, preferring to stay in humid zones - in areas with high groundwater, as well as along the sides of the irrigation network and along river banks. And the way of life of these parasites is predominantly nocturnal.
Females lay eggs in cracks in the soil, three to five eggs at a time. After that, they immediately die off. The embryonic development of pests takes from fifteen to twenty days.
From time to time, outbreaks of mass reproduction of steppe crickets can be observed - in this case, the yield losses are especially great, even despite the fact that these parasites give only one generation per year.
Steppe crickets are quite widespread not only in Russia, but also in Western Asia and in the southwestern regions of Europe. You can see them in the north of Africa. And in our latitudes, they are most often found in Kazakhstan, the Caucasus, Western Siberia and Central Asia.
How to fight
Watering crops of growing crops should be as careful as possible, since steppe crickets are especially dangerous during watering. In an effort to escape from flooding, they begin to accumulate in elevated areas, where in the shortest possible time they can completely destroy the entire crop.
In the fight against steppe crickets, poisoned wet baits have proven themselves well. It is also allowed to spray crops with "Karbofos" (for ten liters of water it is enough to take from 6 to 12 ml) or "Decis" (2 - 3 ml for every ten liters of water).
The autumn deep digging of the soil with a careful breakdown of earth clods can help to partially reduce the population of steppe crickets. And during the growing season, it is recommended to carry out inter-row loosening.
The main natural enemies of steppe crickets are various birds, which make every effort to feast on gluttonous pests.
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