What are the visible differences between the larvae of the May beetle and the bear

What does a bear look like

Medvedka is one of the worst pests in our garden. The people also call it "earth crayfish". Most likely due to the hard front back, which looks like a crayfish shell. With its front limbs, the insect, like a mole, makes its way underground. Some have nicknamed the bear - “cricket-mole”. It flies and swims well, runs quickly on the surface of the earth, but is mainly located under it, crawling out at night, its characteristic lingering sharp sounds create a very frightening sensation, hence another popular name "spinning top".

By and large, for a bear larva it's like sharpening: cabbage, potatoes, cucumbers, onions, eggplants. She settles in the soil, with good access to the sun, which means that all plants that will shade her burrow (the size of a hen's egg) are in danger of destruction. The depth of the mink is about 10-15 cm, so some gardeners, digging up the soil in autumn and spring, hope that this pest will not be on their site. How to get rid of the bear, what should be done? First you need to study the insect itself in order to understand who we are dealing with.

The common bear is common throughout the European part of Russia. The most favorite habitats are moist, loose soils, near the banks of rivers and streams. In the garden, her favorite place will be planting cabbage, manure, compost heaps. You can find out that a bear has settled on your site by winding exploded soil areas, after rain in late May - early June. And, of course, on the plants cut at the base. The bear's nest sticks out a little under the ground, resembling a simple hummock. Only now, nothing grows within a radius of 20 cm from this bump. The insect often visits its nest, whether everything is in order with a clutch of gray-yellow eggs a little less than a pea in size.

Larva description

At the end of the mating season (from May to early July), the insect lays in the nest from 50 to 500 eggs of future larvae. Externally, the eggs resemble millet grains, they are dark brown in color, about 3.5 mm in length. Under favorable humid conditions, larvae emerge from the eggs after 9-18 days. The larva of the bear outwardly looks like an adult, only without wings. The first food of the bear larvae is the remnants of the shell and the mother's salivary secretions on the walls of the nest. Full ripening of the bear will come only after a year, and before this period the larvae grow and clean up your garden.

From the first to the fourth stage of growth, the larva grows from 15 to 35 mm, it feeds on other small insects, earthworms, and before the emergence of new shoots of plants on fruits left over from the fall. An interesting fact is that the fertility of the bear decreases if there are no cereals in its diet.

Video "Fighting the May Beetle"

Differences from the May beetle

It is quite simple to distinguish the bear from the May beetle. The beetle or beetle larva looks like a white caterpillar up to 2-2.5 cm in size and up to 6-8 mm thick.The vitality of the beetle's offspring is large, from 3 to 4 years, they hunt mainly in underground storerooms. During this time, they can pretty much harm your plantings. The body of the larvae is soft and unpleasant to the touch. The larvae are taken into the ground 60 cm deep, which means that when digging the ground, you may not find them.

In front, the May beetle larva has 3 pairs of legs, covered with fine hair. There is a kind of oral apparatus with very strong jaws that are able to cope even with thick tree roots. However, they prefer something tastier: the roots of strawberries and various vegetables. On the sides, her body is covered with small brown dots. The back of the beetle larva is colored slightly darker than the rest of the body.

Pest control

The consequences of the stay of the bear and the May beetle in your garden are enormous and the principles of sabotage are similar for them. Therefore, there are some general methods of dealing with these pests. Consider how to effectively get rid of these insects.

Agrotechnical method. After harvesting and in early spring, you need not only to loosen the ground, but to dig deep to disrupt all the underground passages of the bear, destroy its egg clutches and larvae. To get rid of the May beetle, it is necessary to destroy the larvae that fall into it when digging. And in May and early summer, loosening of the earth will disrupt the conditions for molting and pupation of the beetle larvae, as a result of which they will die. You should know, however, that in a dry summer, the larvae of the May beetle will lie in the ground for half a meter and this method will not work.

Planting in places where pests of special plants are found. Medvedka is frightened off by the smell of marigold, plant this plant around the perimeter of the garden. An infected field with beetle larvae can be planted with perennial lupine, since other weeds will not grow here, the beetle larvae will have to feed only on lupine roots, which, in fact, is poisonous for them.

Watering the site with a special solution. The area inhabited by a bear should be watered with infusion of onion husks or onion waste (pour 900-1000 g of husk with 10 liters of warm water, leave for 5 days). Before watering, the infusion is diluted with water 1: 5 and the plants are watered 2-3 times in 5-7 days, preferably after rain or organized watering. An infusion of chicken manure (2 kg per 10 liters of water) also helps from the bear. After dilution with water (1: 5), it is poured over dry soil.

A solution of potassium permanganate (5 g per 1 liter of water) will save you from the voracious larvae of May beetle. It should be watered with plant bushes. Another effective way for watering beds from beetle larvae, prepare a solution: 200 g of ordinary salt and 2 tbsp. l. ammonia. During the flowering period, it is used for prophylaxis against pests.

Capture of adults. One of the most environmentally friendly ways is to lure, catch and neutralize. Lure the bear into vegetable oil. Pour a couple of drops of vegetable oil into the hole left by the bear, then pour water (no more than a glass). A bear will crawl up to the smell and die. The May beetle flies well, more often at night, so you need to make a light trap for it. We hang the light bulbs, and under them are containers with water and a few drops of kerosene. The beetles fall into the water when they fly into the light. Do not want to rack your brains with traps, then in the morning just scrape the beetles off the branches onto the blanket and burn them or pour boiling water over them.

We use assistants in the garden and vegetable garden. Some gardeners noticed that if a couple of cats live on the site, then the plants remain in their places, because the cats catch everything that moves, including the bear. Starlings will be good helpers in the fight against May beetles and their larvae. We've hung up a birdhouse and don't have to worry: it has been proven that one singing family destroys up to 8 thousand May beetles and larvae. Even common chickens will help you destroy the beetle larvae.

Chemical attack.If you decide to radically fight pests and use chemicals, remember that you can use products from the garden only 30 days after the last treatment. From the bear and its larvae, Vofatox, Medvetoks-U, Thunderbolt are used. The "Regent" preparation is mixed with boiled buckwheat chaff and drops of beer (for the smell).

From the bear and the May beetle, potato plants and tubers are treated with Prestige. For soil from the larvae of the May beetle, use Medvetox U, Thunderbolt, Thunderbolt2. The garden is treated immediately after flowering with preparations: Aktara, Arrivo, Decis, Sherpa, Match, Confidor, Confidor Maxi.

Prevention has always been one of the most effective methods of pest control, inspect your garden and vegetable garden. Uproot old stumps, remove rotten and rotten boards and beams from the ground, if any. Medvedka and May beetle, their larvae are harmful and dangerous insects. They multiply very quickly, so pest control must be balanced, clear and thoughtful. So you will save your long-awaited harvest and protect plants and trees from damage.

Video "Getting rid of the beetle larvae quickly"

To cleanse your garden or vegetable garden from this annoying pest, do not be lazy to watch the following video below.