2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
The noxious centipede lives mainly in the steppe zone on irrigated lands, as well as in the western regions of the forest-steppe and woodland. Sometimes this pest is also called the swamp centipede. Most often, it damages beets, flax, cabbage, onions, legumes, garlic, potatoes, cereals and other plants. The harmful centipede is rightly considered the most dangerous member of the centipede family, since it is capable of destroying a colossal part of the crop
Meet the pest
The harmful centipede is a gluttonous mosquito, whose wingspan can range from 32 to 38 mm. The mosquitoes themselves are brownish-gray, with brownish antennae. Their brown paddle-like webbed wings are framed with dark brown edges at the anterior margins. Thin long fragile legs of harmful long-stems fall off very easily, and their abdomens are painted in brown-gray tones. Females can be distinguished from males due to their more rusty coloration and shorter wings.
The eggs of harmful centipedes reach 1.2 mm in size. They are shiny, have smooth shells and are painted in intense black tones. The worm-like legless larvae, reaching a length of 36 to 44 mm, are earthy-gray and endowed with underdeveloped heads - their massive head capsules are retracted into the thoracic region. Brownish cylindrical pupae 38-40 mm long have a pair of straight brownish horns on the head, and rows of spines are located on the abdominal segments.
The overwintering of middle-aged larvae takes place in the soil, in its surface layer. They begin to eat as soon as they wake up in the spring. Moreover, in the spring period, their harmfulness is especially high. Parasites gnaw immature young plants near the root necks or even gnaw them at all. The most optimal parameters for the development of larvae are soil with a moisture content of at least 55% of its full moisture capacity and a temperature in the range from 14 to 16 degrees. Harmful centipedes pupate closer to mid-July. The development of pupae, as a rule, takes an average of 12-16 days. And the imago years starts at the end of July and lasts until mid-September.
Females lay eggs to a depth of one centimeter in the soil, trying to select the most compacted and clogged areas for this. Their total fertility ranges from 350 to 1300 eggs. The embryonic development of gluttonous parasites in moist soil takes about 12-16 days, and eggs most often die in dry soil. Until the end of September, the feeding of the hatched larvae is soil humus. Sometimes they feast on leaves, but they do not cause significant harm to vegetation. Generation in harmful centipedes is always annual.
To a large extent, the development of these garden pests is favored by waterlogged areas with heavy and acidic soils (mainly peatlands and swampy meadows).
How to fight
During the period of laying eggs by harmful centipedes, as well as at the stage of pupation of larvae, thorough soil cultivation should be carried out in a timely manner. Loose and plowed soils do not attract these parasites at all. Acidic soils are additionally limed, and wetlands are drained. Systematic destruction of weeds is also important. And at the end of the harvest, deep autumn plowing is carried out, which is destructive for tiny larvae.
In early spring, as well as in autumn, against hatching larvae of the youngest instars, it is recommended to use bait made from ground corn cobs or sawdust. Such baits are pre-well treated with insecticides.
Calcium cyanamide also inhibits the development of gluttonous parasites, but it should be used very carefully.
In the soil, the number of harmful long-stems is noticeably reduced by parasitic nematodes, as well as epizootics of bacterial and fungal origin.
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