Pest gourmet pea weevil: how to protect plantings

Description of the beetle

Name: Pea kernel
Latin: Bruchidius incarnatus

Class: Insects - Insecta
Squad: Coleoptera - Coleoptera
Family: Caryopses - Bruchidae

	Habitats:	fields, gardens
	Dangerous for:	legumes, mainly peas
	Means of destruction:	fumigation, processing of planting material

The pea weevil beetle is a small insect with excellent appetite. He eats only peas and does not like other plants. The adult is a broadly oval black beetle with yellow and white hairs.

There is a white cruciform pattern at the tip of the abdomen. It is this pattern that distinguishes the pea species from other representatives of the grains.

Life cycle

The eggs are small, from 0,5 to 1 mm, amber-yellow in color, oblong or slightly oval, always narrowed at one end. Masonry usually begins in early summer.

Life cycle of a pea weevil.

Are accommodated eggs on top of the beans. Females lay them most intensively at high warm temperatures. One bean can contain 35 eggs.

From an egg larva goes immediately to the wall or in the middle of the pea. It grows quickly and eats away the middle. Sometimes there can be several larvae in one pea, but often it eats the rest and only one remains.

Eating and evolving to become pupae lasts about 30 days. Pupae turn into adults within 14 days. With an insufficient amount of heat, some pupae may overwinter in this state, and adult hatching may begin only in the spring of the next year.

Often beetles, which were reflected hatched in the fall, fall into the granaries and winter there comfortably. Larvae, pupae and beetles tolerate low temperatures well in nature and storage. But the pea weevil shows active life activity only with stable heat.

Distribution

Geographically, the pea weevil is distributed wherever this crop is found according to climatic conditions. It is planted in North America, Africa, Europe and Asia.

On the territory of Russia in all regions of the European and Asian parts. On the territory of the former USSR, the weevil lives:

Harmfulness of pea weevil

Damaged grain.

The insect can spread on various legumes. With them, he gets into the ground or the place where the crop is stored.

But the pest damages only peas. The larvae spoil the appearance and quality of the grain. Adult beetles eat the insides, thereby negatively affecting germination.

Infected parts cannot be used even for livestock feed. Excrement contains the alkaloid cantharidin, a poisonous substance that causes poisoning.

Methods of struggle

According to regulatory documents, it is necessary to start fighting the pea weevil when more than 10 pieces of larvae or adult beetles are found in one kilogram of grains.

There are a number of ways to help get rid of insects.

Chemicals

Fumigation of the granary.

The use of insecticides is one of the main and most effective methods of protecting plantings and peas in storage. Bushes are treated at the very beginning of flowering and in the phase of antennae formation.

In the premises, in order to prevent contamination of grain and various products, fumigation, aeration and wet disinfection are carried out. Aerosol disinfection or a combination of these procedures is also often used.

Agrotechnics

From agrotechnical methods it is necessary to choose:

• the right varieties of peas that have immunity;
• early cleaning;
• deep plowing;
• cleaning of threshing places;
• before storage cleaning of the premises and full control.

Preparing for planting

Larvae in peas.

Seed peas are disinfected before planting. Apply means that do not affect germination. A solution of hexachlorane dust is suitable. After spraying, cover with a tarp.

The event can be held both in spring and autumn. If you do this before landing, then approximately 5-6 weeks before disembarkation. The drug first causes poisoning, then paralysis. The insect does not die immediately, it should take about a month.

Conclusion

Pea weevil is a gourmet pest. It can live on different beans, but feeds only on peas. With mass reproduction, it can devour entire fields of bean plantings and deprive the crop. They carry out the fight in stages, processing both storage and landing.