Striped beetle, tiger bug or ruled shield beetle: what is the danger of the “Italian guardsman” in the garden
Watching insects living on plants, one never ceases to be amazed at their great diversity. On some crops there is a red beetle with black stripes. It would be interesting to know what it is called, it looks somewhat similar to the Colorado potato beetle, but differs from it in the shape of the body.
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Italian bug "Graphosoma lineatum": description of the insect
The line bug from the family of stink bugs got its name due to the red and black stripes on its body, which resembles the colors of the dress uniform of the Vatican guards.
Appearance of the pest
The insect has a body length of 8-11 mm. Black and red stripes alternate throughout the body and converge at one point on the head. A strong shield reliably protects the insides of the bug from damage. On the body of a three-coal head with 2-3-segmented antennae and a proboscis, 3 pairs of legs.
Life cycle and reproduction
Nutrition and Lifestyle
Adult insects and larvae live on umbrella plants. Here they feed on juice from leaves, flowers, buds and seeds. They move from one plant to another throughout the season. Also, Italian bugs eat eggs and larvae of other smaller garden pests. For the winter, they hide under a layer of dry leaves. Line bugs are able to tolerate winter frosts down to -10 degrees.
Habitat of the Italian bug
Although the bug is called Italian, it is found on the territory of Russia. It lives in the European part of the country, in the central regions of Asia, in the Crimea, in some regions of Siberia. Insects live in the forest-steppe zone, with a temperate climate. They can settle in the steppe zone near forest plantations.
The benefits and harms of the Italian shield bug
There is also a benefit, he basically feeds on weeds of the umbrella family. It eats cow parsnip, goutweed and other weeds. On garden crops, a large number of pests are observed only when there are a lot of weeds around. It is necessary, first of all, to destroy the weeds, and then take on the destruction of the shield insects.
The line bug feeds not only on plants, but also on larvae and eggs of other small pests, settling on the site it benefits.
The Italian bug is not considered a particularly dangerous pest. It feeds on umbrella plants; in spring, the bug harms young dill and parsley flower stalks.
What is dangerous Italian bug for humans
For humans and domestic animals, the line bug is not dangerous. Only, in case of danger, the bug emits an unpleasant odor, and this can cause disgust in a person who has touched it.
How to get rid of the stink bug
The Italian bug is not a pest, so farmers begin to fight it in the event of a mass invasion. Chemical preparations, mechanical and biological methods of struggle are used, plants are treated with folk remedies.
Special drugs
There are no special preparations for the treatment of plants from the linear shield insect, the treatment is carried out with insecticides against sucking insects.
Folk remedies
Available, but effective means are used to treat plants from stink bugs. They do not harm plants and do not accumulate in the soil.
| Garlic | Garlic powder is diluted in water. Take 1 teaspoons per 4 liter, mix and process the plant. |
| Infusion of onion peel | 200 grams of onion peel is poured with 1 liter of boiling water, insisted for a day, filtered. The finished infusion is brought to 10 liters by adding the right amount of water and the plants are treated leaf by leaf. |
| Mustard powder | 100 grams of dry mustard powder is diluted in 1 liter of hot water, another 9 liters of water are added to the mixture and the plantings are sprayed. |
| Decoctions of herbs | A decoction of wormwood, cloves, red pepper is used for the invasion of the bug. |
| Black cohosh | A black cohosh plant is planted around the perimeter of the field, it repels the pest from the plants. |
Other methods of struggle
You can collect the Italian bug by hand or shake it off the plants in a container of water. They do this for several days in a row until the number of bugs on the plants decreases, after a while it will be necessary to re-collect those insects that will appear from the eggs.
Prevention of the appearance of Italian bedbugs on the site
Prevention methods help reduce the appearance of insects on the site.
- The barred shield bug appears on weeds from the umbrella family. Timely weeding and cleaning of weeds from the site will not allow the bug to move to garden crops.
- Plant next to the beds of carrots, dill, parsley plants that repel bedbugs.
- To attract birds to the garden and garden, they will be happy to reduce the population of the shield bug.
- Collect dry leaves and grass, as insects hide in them for the winter.