Wasp-like flies - hoverflies: striped enemies of gardeners and flower growers
Everyone is used to the fact that a flying insect with yellow-black stripes is a wasp that stings painfully, so you need to stay away from it. However, in nature there is another Diptera - a fly, similar to a wasp and a bee. Unlike its counterpart, it does not bite, does not pose any danger to humans and is generally considered a beneficial insect.
Content
- Common hoverfly: description of the insect
- Reproduction and development cycle of the hoverfly fly
- Where does the wasp fly live?
- Types of hoverflies
- What are the benefits of the wasp fly
- Natural enemies of the hoverfly
- How to attract a hovering fly to the site
- Possible harm from a murmuring fly
- Methods of dealing with hoverflies
- Folk remedies
- Preventive measures
Common hoverfly: description of the insect
Male and female wasp flies look about the same, but there are minor differences. The eyes of males are located very close to each other, in females the eyes are smaller and separated by a peculiar forehead.
On closer examination, one can see the differences in the lower abdomen: in males, one can see curbed asymmetric genitals, in females, the abdomen is smoother, the genitals are not pronounced.
Syrphid larvae are slimy caterpillars that are shriveled and tapered at the front. Their size is from 4 to 18 mm., The color can be yellow, pink, brown or green.
Reproduction and development cycle of the hoverfly fly
Where does the wasp fly live?
As mentioned above, the hoverfly is distributed throughout the globe, with the exception of hot deserts, Antarctica and the tundra.
Types of hoverflies
Wasp flies are usually classified depending on the feeding habits and lifestyle of their larvae.
| Water | They are found in small natural reservoirs with stagnant water, most often with an unpleasant smell of a muddy day (swamps, lakes, ordinary puddles). The larvae have a distinctive feature - a long outgrowth, which is often mistaken for a tail. It is actually a breathing tube that acts like a diver's tube and helps the insect breathe underwater. |
| bee-eater | Their other name is bee-eaters or ilnitsa. Adults are medium to large in size and feed exclusively on plant nectar. The larvae live in manure, ponds rich in rotting vegetation, as well as in human toilets. Sometimes people accidentally swallow bee eggs, after which larvae appear in the intestinal tract and provoke the development of myiasis. |
| Ordinary | The length of an adult individual reaches 12 mm. Mature flies feed on nectar and are excellent pollinators. The larvae are predators and feed on smaller insects such as aphids. |
| Onion | Representatives of this species are pests of agricultural crops, namely bulbous plants. Adult females lay their eggs on green onion feathers, and the larvae that appear infect the bulbs, causing them to rot. In addition to green onions, the fly also affects other crops: tulips, gladioli, daffodils. |
| wasp | Adult individuals are quite large - their length reaches 20 mm. They are most similar to wasps and bees. The larvae feed mainly on rotten wood. |
What are the benefits of the wasp fly
The larvae of most hummer species feed on insect pests such as aphids, thrips, grasshoppers, and other soft-bodied pests. The larvae of the hummer crawl up the stems of plants and raise their heads to detect the pest. When prey is found, they grab it and suck it dry, after which they discard the exoskeleton.
A small larva in its life is capable of destroying a huge number of pests and in total reducing the aphid population by 70%.
Natural enemies of the hoverfly
There are not many natural enemies of wasp flies in nature. They are preyed upon by birds and some species of large spiders. In addition, some species of wasps parasitize hoverflies, and they can destroy half the population of young insects. They also attack adult insects.
Commercial use of hoverflies
Wasp flies are used commercially as an alternative to chemical pesticides. This method has a number of advantages: it is safe and does not cost money.
Hoverflies help to destroy all the aphids in the area without using even 1 gram. chemical poison.
How to attract a hovering fly to the site
Possible harm from a murmuring fly
As mentioned above, some varieties of syrphid are pests. For example, the daffodil fly attacks bulbous flowers: daffodils, gladioli, and others. Larvae that have not completed their development during the season burrow into the ground for wintering and make their way into the bulbs. They eat away its inner part and the plant most often dies, but even if it survives, it grows very slowly in spring.
Methods of dealing with hoverflies
Most species of sirfid are beneficial insects, but if a hoverfly is seen on onions or garlic, it means that a pest has wound up in the garden and needs to be dealt with. To exterminate harmful wasp flies, you can use chemical compounds and folk recipes.
Chemicals
If there are too many pests, then it is advisable to use insecticidal preparations.
Folk remedies
If there are not many parasites on the site, you can use folk recipes:
- Ammonia. 5 tbsp dilute the main component in 10 liters. water. Water plants and soil with the resulting solution.
- Copper vitriol. After harvesting, treat the soil with the substance.
- Wood ash, tobacco powder. Sprinkle the soil with plenty of substances.
- Carrot. Hoverflies do not tolerate the smell of carrots, therefore, in order to scare them away, it is recommended to plant this vegetable next to onions and carrots.
- Urea. At 10 l. dilute water 1 tbsp. l. the main substance, the resulting solution to cultivate the soil.
Preventive measures
- In order to prevent a harmful wasp fly from starting on the site, it is necessary to follow the rules of crop rotation: do not plant bulbous crops in one place every season.
- You should also carefully loosen the soil in order to destroy the larvae hiding in it, dry the harvested crop in the sun for 3-4 days.
- Before planting, it is recommended to soak the sowing onion in a solution of potassium permanganate, pour the rest of the seeds with depleted chalk (20 g of chalk per 1 kg of seeds).