His name sounds beautiful and unusual - Palomena prasina, but, despite the unusualness of such a name, this is a well-known insect - a tree bug. It is familiar to every Russian, because it is distributed almost everywhere in our country, preferring to settle near water bodies.
That's just the memories of meeting with him are not always encouraging. What child has not enjoyed freshly picked raspberries? Many bugs from the Shield family are also lovers of this berry. Perhaps, those who have seen, and perhaps even accidentally tasted a green bug, will never forget annoyance, disappointment, a characteristic unpleasant odor and bitterness in the mouth.
But it happens that people go to the raspberries not for fruits, but for bedbugs. From time immemorial, a recipe for getting rid of drunkenness has come down to us - vodka infused with green bugs.
How to recognize a guardian
Take a look at the photo: here they are, wood bugs. In their light green coats, they are barely visible against the summer foliage.
With the approach of autumn, the color of the insect changes, brown spots appear, and later the bug is completely lost against the red-yellow background of falling leaves.
It has a rather large oval body with characteristic protrusions on the sides of the pronotum, which indicate that the tree bug belongs to the family of the Shields. A strong shield of chitin protects the insect from external influences. In the posterior section, brown membranes of wings folded together peek out from under the shield.
In hot summers, wood bugs have time to lay eggs twice. They are the same light green as their parents, neatly stacked on the underside of the leaves. The tiny receptacles of the embryos of stink bugs have a microscopic device that helps the mature larva to leave it - the lid. On the opened egg, it is possible to see the finest notches, thanks to which the lid tenaciously holds in place.
The larvae are very similar to adults both in color and in shape; only the absence of wings gives out immature insects. A dense chitinous cover prevents the growth of the larva.
Having undergone 5 molts, the nymph of the wood bug reaches a size of 12-15 mm. Moulting for an insect is a serious test. It is at this turning point that the main part of the offspring dies, unable to get out of the chitinous shell that has become cramped.
Bed bug lifestyle
The stink bug spends the winter in a daze, burrowing into fallen leaves. In the spring "comes to life", enters the time of reproduction. In summer, the quiet and inconspicuous tree bug usually sits modestly on the branches.
The green stink bug flies rarely, only in case of special need, being in full confidence that a hearty meal awaits it ahead. Too much energy is required for the bug to rise into the air. Its wings have a small span, and do not provide sufficient lift.
The green tree shield deserved special dislike, primarily because of the characteristic unpleasant odor that the insect exudes in danger. And the second serious reason to treat it negatively is the ability of the bug to damage agricultural plants.
And further: Where the hell did the bugs come from in the apartment and what to do in such a situation
The bug has a detrimental effect on the plant in whose foliage it hides. Of course, for large shrubs, its harm is almost insignificant, only small brown spots on the leaves indicate that the tree bug was reinforced here. Its jaws are adapted to feed on plant sap.
But not only raspberries are food for the green bug.It, like other stink bugs, can feed on the juices of most deciduous trees and succulent grasses, and sometimes causes damage to grain fields.
The wood bug is not a "convinced vegetarian", he does not refuse animal food, however, he does not know how to hunt for insects, and finds their remains in the forest floor.
Why do shield bugs get into apartments?
It is completely incomprehensible how, having such food addictions, a tree bug ends up in people's apartments? After all, there is nothing for him to live with.
However, the stink bugs brazenly crawl into the windows, make clumsy attempts to fly indoors. They, too, are alarmed by the unfamiliar environment. The green bugs that you see in the photographs are not at all happy that they found themselves in a confined space.
This, of course, does not come from a good life. Green stink bugs always have good reasons for such an atypical act. Most often, insects are disoriented by a premature sharp cold snap, which is why the tree bug is looking for, refuting the name given to it by entomologists, a cozy place not in the shade of trees, but in the warmth of our buildings.
A forest fire or flood can also frighten an insect and push it in search of a new habitat.
The shield bug cannot bite a person, so you should not be afraid of it. Just let him out of the apartment on the street.
The best ways to get rid of wood bugs
In the countryside, seeing a tree bug thrown through a window by a gust of wind is not uncommon, but in the city it is an exceptional phenomenon. People are not inclined to show sympathy for an insect with an unpleasant odor and tolerate its presence in their own home.Therefore, as soon as at least one tree bug appears in the apartment, human thought begins to work on how to get rid of this unpleasant guest and his relatives.
And further: Deadly methods of destruction of bedbugs that really work in practice
As a rule, there is no talk of an invasion. In the vast majority of cases, single individuals penetrate the houses, which will not be difficult to drive out. Throw a stray green bug out the window and be sure: it will not disturb you again.
If the number of shield bugs in the house is growing day by day, then the following control measures will still have to be taken:
- Catch all the insects that have settled in your rooms. In this case, there will be no special difficulties. Shield bugs, unlike bed bugs, will not be able to hide from the eyes of the owners. Catching them is quite simple, they do not have much agility.
- Block all possible ways of penetration of wood bugs into the apartment. We are talking about doors and windows. You can, for example, use mosquito nets.
These measures will be quite enough to protect their buildings from representatives of the Shield family.
But for gardens and orchards, sometimes green bugs can pose a real threat. Karbofos and chlorophos are effective against these insects, but it is not always justified to use insecticides once again. Therefore, mechanical methods of dealing with tree shield insects still come to the fore.
Effective and another method of getting rid of bedbugs. This is the creation of biological protection against pests on your personal plot. Plant an ornamental cimicifuga plant. It has been noticed that the stink bugs do not like its aroma, for which it received another name - black cohosh.
You can also scare away wood bugs with an infusion of onion peel or mustard solution.
Do you know that…
The forest bird - the hawker eats indiscriminately a wide variety of insects, including bitter bugs. True, it is risky to use this ability to destroy bedbugs in the garden, since the bird's gastronomic preferences can change, and it will enjoy a juicy berry with excellent appetite.
Americans are looking for a new, safe method of dealing with wood bugs. They hope to deceive the sense of smell of insects with artificially synthesized pheromone analogues and distract stink bugs from planting.
Whether a tree bug and a person can coexist peacefully depends largely on our prudence. It makes sense to conduct an active fight against stink bugs only with a threatening increase in their numbers.
Interesting video: green stink bug up close
Hello!
Yesterday I was attacked by a shield )) ... I was lying near the window, watching a movie.Suddenly I felt something on my eye, I didn’t even have time to “process” the information, what and how, automatically my hand began to wipe the upper eyelid, which was itchy from tickling. Immediately I felt a strong burning sensation, by smell I realized the presence of a “stink bug”, and the next moment I saw it on my arm. Here is the news, which is not mentioned in the article, that apparently there is some kind of gland in the bug, which provides defense in the event of an attack on the insect's body.
During the night, a tumor formed (upper and part of the lower eyelid).
And I accidentally sat on it in the car. The dress is all in this smell (And also bitten, out of fear, probably ...
We have been living in a hostel for 7 years and only this year we encountered bedbugs. Very unpleasant. Threw about 10 out the window this week. Today I crawled onto the bed (at this time I was going to feed the baby). I hope when it gets quite warm outside, they will leave us!
Bed bugs also appeared at home in March, they appear almost every day, today 3 of them flew in ... We think that from the hood. We'll buy a mosquito net and try to close them.
There are a myriad of them in the garden. Only not green, but brown. As it gets dark, they fly into the house into the light. You can't kill it, it stinks. And they ate all the fruits on the trees, in particular, peaches and medlar 🙁
How to deal with them?
The cat ate a bed bug, what should I do?
The female bug laid her eggs on the window frame of my balcony. What to do with it? Throw it out of the balcony, maybe they will fall on some blade of grass and hatch in the natural environment?
we also have a female laying eggs, we can’t press, because.of them look at us with innocent eyes full of tears, larvae. Help! Maybe some services?
He put on a helmet, and under it was this American skunk. I felt a pungent smell and a rather strong burning sensation in my hair exactly at the place where the bug released the secretion of his gland. Immediately in the garage, I rinsed my head with shampoo (fortunately I had everything for this with me, I went to training). But even after that, there was a burning sensation. After a couple of days, a spot and a crust formed on the head, as if from a burn. In general, the booger is harmless until you touch it.
We have this wonderful beast in the winter lived for almost a month. And he made me happy every day - either he ran along the edge of the plate in search of the end of it, then he climbed and fell on the chandelier, and even in the New Year tree he was looking for happiness.
But they accidentally stepped under the old NG. The child cried all day, I poured vodka 🙁 Well, show off, but it's a pity ...