Features of fire beetles

Small bugs with red paws are familiar to the vast majority of gardeners and gardeners. However, not every time you meet, you can see this insect. As a rule, when a person approaches, the fire beetle flies away. It is worth noting that it has an ancient history, and the proof of this is the discovery of its ancestors in Lebanese and Burmese amber more than 100 million years old.

The firefighter beetle is a medium-sized insect, which is so called due to its originality in appearance. And in this case we are talking about the bright red elements of the coloring of the bugs. By the way, they are often confused with other representatives of the fauna, who are also called "firefighters". This refers to soldier bugs, motley bees, and onion rattles. But it is important to remember that these are different types of insects that look different and are not at all similar to the described beetles.

Biologists also call the beetle in question a soft beetle, which is due to the absence of chitin, as well as the bright burgundy color of the legs. One of the features is the soft and flexible elytra. According to many people, red soft beetles are more likely than others to be attacked by predators. However, in fact, this is a misconception, since the firefighter is able to stand up for himself.

Despite the existence of several different "firefighters" in the insect world, it is quite easy to find out the present. To do this, you need to know the main features of the appearance of this representative of the Coleoptera detachment.

• More than original, as well as the most striking and conspicuous color of the body. The elytra are black, and the abdomen and legs are bright red or brown. If we consider this small animal from above, then it will really resemble a real fire engine in miniature.
• The body is of medium size and slightly flattened. One of the main distinguishing features in this case is the soft structure. An equally important point is the complete absence of a hard chitinous covering of the body. At the same time, its length very rarely exceeds 15 mm in adults. From above, the body of the beetle is covered with rather thick hairs.
• The retracted head of the insect has a characteristic dark spot at its base, by which the insect is distinguished from other relatives. It also has antennae, thin as threads, consisting of 11 joints and constantly in motion.
• Soft, dark gray wings located over the entire back.
• Tenacious red paws have claws and are strong enough.
• For beetles, firefighters are characterized by differences in sex. It is worth noting that females are larger than the stronger sex. In addition, the pronotum in females is decorated with a symmetrical speck, which is individual and unique for each individual.
• Firefighters have slightly curved but very sharp mandibles... This is a kind of weapon, since with their help beetles are able to pinch strongly. Naturally, it is successfully used when hunting smaller insects.

In the overwhelming majority of cases, such insects can be characterized as bringing more benefit to humans. This is due to the fact that firefighters, being predators, actively exterminate many harmful insects during their hunt. An exception may be cases when the population is overgrowing, and you have to get rid of it. At the same time, it is not at all necessary to exterminate the beetles, since it will be enough to simply catch them and expel them from the site. On the other hand, such a humane approach and the desire to avoid pollution of the garden or vegetable garden will be relevant if the colony did not manage to grow to a critical scale.

The appearance of the red-legged soft beetle inevitably attracts attention and arouses interest. This applies to both children and many adults, since it is difficult to pass by this bright and beautiful insect in the warm season. Most often, during this period, you can meet a fireman in gardens, vegetable gardens and other areas with appropriate plants. In principle, this insect is ubiquitous, but most of all its attention is attracted by raspberry and currant bushes. This type of soft beetle can be found in locations with temperate and cold climates. At the same time, predictably, the main condition for the stay of fire beetles will be the availability of sufficient food. A fairly large number of insects are recorded on the territory of the Russian Federation and such former Soviet republics as Ukraine, Georgia and Belarus. In addition, they are common in European countries. But it is worth noting that these small representatives of the fauna prefer not to become an object of attention and when a person approaches them, they tend to leave as quickly as possible.

Fire beetles are very active. They fly a lot throughout the day, constantly moving from place to place between different plants. One of the main distinguishing features of this insect species is attentiveness and a very good reaction. As a rule, when any object approaches, they instantly take off into the air. If, for some reason, this cannot be done, then the beetle can pretend to be dead. In such situations, he simply tightens his paws.

In our latitudes, in addition to red-footed beetles resembling fire engines, such relatives of them live.

• Brown soft beetle, which is an inhabitant of mainly forests and forest-steppe regions. The body length of reddish-black beetles in this case is from 10 to 15 mm. The larvae of this species have three pairs of legs and a flat head. Their diet includes small worms and other insects that are inferior to them in size. By the way, even cases of cannibalism are recorded.
• Flower soft beetle or, as it is also called, red... It is distinguished from other varieties by a square pronotum, as well as black tips of the elytra. As the name suggests, it is predominantly red in color. The body length of these beetles most often does not exceed 10 mm. You can meet them, as a rule, in thickets and on flowering meadows from May to September.

By the way, the overwhelming majority of the representatives of the family in question are predators and prefer to feed on small insects. However, there are also convinced vegetarians who prefer exclusively plant-based food.

In addition to the direct relatives of beetles, it is worth paying attention to their relatively rare congener. And in this case we are talking about fireflies belonging to the family of insects with soft elytra.Such unique living lanterns live in the tropics and subtropical climates. It is important to note that not all such bugs have the ability to glow in the dark due to the lack of corresponding luminiferous organs in some individuals. In different cases, the ability may be characteristic only of females or, conversely, males.

Completing the general description of fire beetles and their closest relatives, it is necessary to highlight another important feature. Despite the external defenselessness and miniature body size, they are not part of the bird's diet. This is due to the presence of rather potent toxic substances in the tissues of insects. Predictably birds prefer to avoid any contact.

Analyzing the features of the vital activity of the considered representatives of the class of invertebrates, First of all, it should be noted that they actively hunt for:

• small caterpillars;
• aphids;
• all kinds of larvae;
• leaf beetles, which are harmful to many crops;
• small worms;
• centipedes and other insects that are inferior to them in size.

Taking this fact into account, we can confidently state the benefits of these bright red bugs, since they successfully fight many pests. By the way, these insects are the safest, most natural and, as practice shows, highly effective means of removing such an unpleasant and dangerous pest for humans as cockroaches. In order for the Prussians to get out of the house, you will need to carefully catch a few beetles and launch them to the right place, leaving them alone with the cockroaches.

However, it is difficult to unequivocally call them useful animals. If soft beetles are actively bred, and their population in a certain location has grown significantly, then they can become partially vegetarians.

However, in some situations, people mistakenly blame them. For example, on lilies you can often find a pest that eats their leaves. However, in this case, the damage is caused by a red rattling beetle, which is also popularly called a firefighter. At the same time, it should be remembered that the insects described here are universal predators. This means that they do not categorize their potential prey. As a result, beneficial insects, among other things, can become their victims. These include, for example, lacewing larvae.

But even taking into account all of the above, the overwhelming majority of specialists, as well as experienced gardeners and gardeners, believe that the benefits of soft beetles are much more than harm... According to statistics, they harm much less often and, as a rule, not on a critical scale. But it is worth paying attention to such a moment as the potential danger to animals and, of course, humans.

There are several points of view in this context. So, according to some reports, any danger is excluded. This is due to the fact that red-footed soft beetles do not have the ability to bite. On the other hand, there is an opinion that fire beetles can theoretically bite and be quite painful, since they still have jaws.

Analysis of the diet of fire beetles allows you to determine who they are more related to: pests or still friends and assistants of gardeners and gardeners. The menu of red-legged soft beetles includes most insects that are smaller than themselves. Another condition is the absence of a chitinous cover on the body of hunting objects, like that of the predator itself. Biting the victim with jaws like the mouth of a snake, the firefighter injects digestive juice and poison into it.

In search of potential victims, beetles rise high enough in the sky, from where it is easier to look out for targets.Having decided on them, the hunter proceeds to the attack, followed by "cooking dinner" in the manner described. The seemingly simple process is not that simple. The soft beetle lands next to its victim or directly on it and bites several times, injecting the previously mentioned composition. From it, the bitten insect dies quickly enough. In the future, the digestive cocktail begins to actively soften (practically liquefy the body), which allows the beetle to easily absorb it.

A weakened and small insect has no chance of breaking out of the powerful jaws of the hunter. However, larger specimens will be able to cope with this task. It is with these risks in mind that firefighters carefully select targets for attack.

Initially, it should be noted that, like all soft beetles, representatives of their red-footed species mate exclusively in warm weather. Main condition, so that the air and soil are well warmed up by the sun's rays. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the breeding period of fire beetles falls on July. Before mating itself, females and males are divided into pairs. After that, the fertilized females lay eggs in a substrate that should be warm and soft. Foliage, decaying plants, wood debris, as well as rotten stumps and branches become ideal shelters for them.

The incubation period lasts from 15 to 20 days and depends directly on the ambient temperature. After the eggs are fully ripe, larvae appear, which outwardly look like very small beads, covered with stripes and with three pairs of legs. They are developing at a record pace, but at the same time they have been at this stage for quite a long time. It is important to note that, like adult insects, firefighter larvae are predators. Their diet at the stage of active growth is made up of small worms and millipedes. Another feature of them is the implementation of the digestion process outside the intestines and the body as a whole. This refers to the use of poison that the larva injects into its prey. This potent substance dissolves tissues very quickly, after which it remains only to absorb food in liquid form.

With the approach of winter, some of the larvae of the red-footed soft beetle turn into pupae. The remaining animals survive this time in the shelter. With the onset of spring, the pupae transform into caterpillars and get out of the shelter. By the way, taking into account the peculiarities of the appearance of these furry, crawling creatures, they are called "Snow worms". Already full-fledged beetles appear as soon as the warm weather settles. Unfortunately, the described processes associated with these unique insects do not last long. These representatives of the soft beetle family are characterized by a short independent life.... Winged firefighters live only about two months.

As already noted, the benefits of fire beetles on sites far outweigh the potential harm from them. That is why some gardeners and gardeners seek to attract these soft beetles. In principle, in order for them to settle in the garden or among garden trees, you will not have to make supernatural efforts. It's just that all actions should be focused on natural farming. We are talking about what will be required in certain places to refrain from:

• digging up the soil;
• raking up fallen leaves before winter under bushes and trees, especially from burning them;
• the use of chemicals in the process of implementing agrotechnical measures that have an extremely negative effect on all living things.

Naturally, these are far from the only ways to get the attention of firefighters.It is important to remember that aphids, ticks, caterpillars, locust eggs and many other small pests are the basis of the diet of the described insects. Experts, as well as gardeners and gardeners, have long noticed that soft beetles are attracted by representatives of the Asteraceae family (they are also Compositae) and Umbelliferae. In addition, firefighters are also interested in plants with clusters of small flowers. These include, for example, euphorbia.

Most often, they make a choice in favor of inflorescences that have bright yellow flowers, the list of which includes:

• fennel;
• yarrow;
• goldenrod;
• sulfur-yellow space and many others.

Another important point is that this type of pollination, like cantarophilia, is also carried out by fire beetles. Taking into account all of the above, it can be concluded that in order to attract and comfortable habitat of the red-legged soft beetle, it is necessary to ensure the presence of the corresponding plants on the site. And their main feature is flowering throughout the summer. The source of water will be no less significant in this case, since the bugs in question try to choose wet places.

If the situation has developed in such a way that the fire beetles have multiplied excessively and began to cause significant damage to the crops cultivated on the site, then it is worth thinking about fighting them. And in this case, the simplest way of action is to collect bugs with your hands and then drive them out of the property. It should be borne in mind that, in theory, the insect can bite, and therefore caution is advised.

An alternative to collecting beetles is to spray their habitats. The mixture prepared according to the following folk recipe has proven itself best.

• Tobacco dust (you can thoroughly crumble cheap cigarettes) - 1 tsp.
• Wood ash - 3 tsp
• Red pepper.
• Hops-suneli and Provencal herbs.

The last two ingredients are added, as they say, to taste. As a rule, a small pinch of each seasoning is sufficient. With the powder prepared in this way, it will be necessary to abundantly process the plantings cleaned from soft beetles. Of course, you can always resort to less mild measures when dealing with insects.