With the onset of the warm season, those insects that hibernated during the winter begin to wake up. Often in a park or forest you can find, for example, red beetles with black dots, which are also called “soldier beetles.” In early spring or in late summer these insects gather in large colonies. It's hard not to notice red spots near stumps, near curbs and on trees. Who they are, these red beetles with black dots, and whether they are dangerous to humans, you will learn from our article.
Important external connections with the East Asian ladybug
It has few natural enemies, since, like other ladybugs, it can secrete a yellow, bitter and poisonous liquid when threatened. Invasive alien predator is causing rapid decline in European crop yields ladybugs.
Ladybug: 70 species in Germany
Numerous color variations make it difficult to identify. Ladybugs are usually very popular: they are considered lucky charms, but the large appetite of beetles such as the larvae on aphids is also appreciated. The offspring of one ladybug can eat up to a thousand lice over the course of the summer.Morphology of soldier beetles
The red beetle with black dots or the soldier bug is a hemiptera insect that belongs to the suborder Shield-like insects. In size, these insects do not exceed 1.2 cm in length. The color of soldier bugs is bright and does not change with age, so it is extremely difficult to confuse them with other insects. If you look at the photo of the soldier beetle, you can see that the back of the insect is decorated with black and red ornaments.
IN Federal Republic Germany approx. 70 species of ladybugs have been discovered, and even their color - red, yellow or black - is known throughout the world. It varies from species to species. But even within a species there can be significant differences that make identification difficult. Many species are named according to the number of their points, which is contrary to long-held belief, so that no statement about the age of the animal is allowed.
Of the domestic ladybirds, seven point is one of the larger species with up to nine millimeters. Woody inhabiting two-point contrast - sometimes red with black dots, sometimes black with red dots, and sometimes completely black without dots - is only half the size.
Original ornament - hallmark"fireman" or "soldier"
The larvae are smaller and duller in color, like adults. According to Wikipedia, the soldier bug in the nymph stage is completely red. There are barely noticeable black dots on the shell of the young. Thanks to these features, it is possible to accurately determine that these larvae are descendants of soldier beetles.
Other common species are the four-millimetre, black and yellow 14-spot ladybird and the 22-point ladybird, five millimeters and lemon yellow with black spots. The reeds in our wetlands often also contain a small 19-point or ladybird.
Astringent secretion for fine protection
Anyone who touches or handles ladybugs will notice a yellowish secretion that the beetles secrete when in danger. This fluid, released from a pore in the synovial membrane, not only smells strongly, but is also poisonous. No humans were harmed, but the ants, which are known to protect “their” sugar-producing aphids and also attack ladybugs, are effectively carried out with their secretions.
The oral organ of soldier bugs is a piercing-sucking proboscis, with the help of which red beetles easily pierce the hard shell of plants, as well as the chitinous shell of dead insects.
The eggs of soldier beetles (Wikipedia has a lot of information about these insects) are transparent white in color and oval-shaped. In most cases, the oviposition is located directly in the plants, closer to the food source, so that the larvae, after emerging from the eggs, can immediately begin their “meal”. Reproduction occurs under the bark of old logs, on dead stumps and abandoned wooden fences.
Mass quarters for wintering
Ladybugs, like most insects, have their time warm summer, when in the fall they look for suitable winter quarters. Often in mass aggregations of more than a hundred animals, the beetles experience an awkward winter season. Hedgehogs in the garden, as well as moldy stumps or pillars in walls and attics, provide shelter.
To survive winter without freezing, the ladybug has its own antifreeze in the form of glycerin and other sugars. There really aren't any insect species that are simply inconvenient, you just have to leave the human perspective behind sometimes. Even though insects may seem inconvenient to us, they usually have great importance for the ecosystem. The seven-spotted ladybug may also secrete a yellowish liquid; this is what he does to repel his enemies. This liquid smells unpleasant and leaves small yellowish spots on your fingers if you touch these animals.
Bedbugs most often breed and live in stumps
According to Wikipedia, the soldier beetle is active all the time except winter. During this period, they, like absolute majority street insects fall into a state of suspended animation (hibernation).
IN summer time years, these chitinous pests love to bask under sun rays. They prepare for wintering in advance, choosing a warm, dry place. As a rule, soldier bugs overwinter in cracks in fences, under the bark of dead trees, in outbuildings, and boards.
The ladybug you described could be the so-called Chinese ladybug, which has been spreading more and more in Germany for over 10 years. He may have refused to use it to control biological pests. It is very common, has become very common here in southern Germany. And if you are out in nature in autumn or see large collections of ladybugs in the garden, then this is often the so-called Chinese ladybug. Both larvae and beetles eat aphids. So they are, from our point of view, useful in that sense.
The continuation of the genus of these harmful insects occurs quickly: one oviposition contains two to three dozen eggs, from which nymphs appear after 7-10 days.
VIDEO: Beetle - Fireman (soldier bug, wingless red bug) Soldiers
Nutritional Features
If we talk about the nutrition of these insects, then they absolutely do not care what they eat. To ensure a full-fledged existence, they have more than enough sap from plants, which they feed on from early spring until late autumn. Due to the fact that these insects live in large groups, after “attacking” the plant, it begins to wither and gradually dies.
Ladybug doll Blank ladybug dolls Ladybug. The cute ladybug knows every child. But not all ladybugs are the same; there are about 100 in Europe various types, and even their color around the world - red, yellow or black - varies from species to species. However, almost all of them have a huge appetite for aphids. On their behalf, as was previously believed, small caterpillars participate in the destruction. In addition, they must protect against witches and harm. To determine the species, the number of points on both winged ceilings is tallied for all ladybugs.
If we talk about the harm that soldier bugs can cause, then having settled on a plot, they can “attack” seedlings of vegetables and fruits, which leads to a decrease in yield.
Insects feed mainly on plant sap
Most often, vineyards come under attack, and insects destroy not only foliage, but also seedlings and even berries. After a mass settlement of soldiers near the vineyard, a few months later the harvest will be destroyed.
Ladybugs are widespread throughout Europe. They are often found in large numbers in areas with heavy aphid infestations. Ladybugs are very useful. Beetles and larvae feed on aphids. Blue-gray larvae with red-yellow warts consume up to 50 aphids per day, beetles, depending on their age, of approximately the same size. 22-spotted ladybugs and their larvae feed on mealy fungi. The beetles overwinter in soil debris or old grass. Fertilized females laid several hundred eggs in the spring on the undersides of leaves.
After about a week, the larvae hatch. After 6-9 days, the cats hatch. The seven-spotted warbird is one of the most common species in our latitudes. The beetle has a length of 0.5 to 0.8 mm, is colored red and has 3 points on the wing cover, the point is located below the pronotum, in the middle of both covers. The twenty-two-spot ladybug is a member of the ladybird family. The beetle is about 0.5 cm long, lemon yellow and bears 11 round dots on each wing cover.
Despite the fact that these beetles are absolutely safe for humans, they are almost a disaster for Agriculture and winemaking. But another fact is also interesting - when there is no food source, toy soldiers very actively eat the corpses of any insects, including their relatives. Such cannibalism is common in nature, but is rarely observed in insects.
It has 4 to 8 black spots on the pronotum, which partially overlap. Black spots on yellow wings vary in shape and number. Fauna of Serrania de Ronda. His appearance also called puffin, kurita or kurilla. This beetle or beetle, which lives throughout Europe, is a large insect, measuring between 5 and 8 cm, making it one of the largest in Europe. It has a long black body with red stripes on its back and appears to wear a tunic. This color actually refers to a toxic warning.
The beetle cannot fly, having small wings at the beginning of its abdomen, but it is useless. Like all insects, it has 6 legs and a body divided into a head, chest and abdomen. Once it is disrupted, it secretes a red liquid, an oily substance similar to blood, that irritates the skin of its enemies. Be very careful with this substance as it can cause blisters on the skin and be very painful if it comes into contact with the eyes. There is a legend that says that if this animal spits or spits on it, it dies, but this is completely false.
VIDEO: Insects are cannibals
How to eliminate pests?
Despite the fact that soldier bugs do not pose any danger to humans, they can cause quite a lot of damage in the garden. For this reason, many owners land plots People often wonder how to eliminate soldier bugs.
All he does is pour this liquid in, making it look like blood, and he dies. Its form of reproduction is another feature. The female lays thousands of eggs on the ground or sand, the larvae when they hatch on the plant, waiting for the insect to pass by so that it can latch onto it, for which it has strong nails. Then his parasitic era begins. Many larvae do not find flying insects, especially bees, and they die.
Those who receive it end up in ridges where they eat the eggs of parasitized insects. It is very easy to identify, especially the female, for its unusually elongated abdomen and fusiform black color with transverse stripes of orange or red. There are not enough red spots in the temples. This data is important because it helps us differentiate it from real species oil mills, very similar, but with red temples.
Before you actively fight these pests, be sure to make sure that they are the ones attacking the garden. A few pieces of insects basking on a stump are not yet the starting whistle for disinfestation. But if at least one of the signs listed below is observed, you must begin destroying the soldiers immediately.
It is the most common and widespread type of all types of oil in Spain. Adults eat grasses and are one of the largest predators of garden and other garden plants. But do you know how to identify beneficial insects and how they help your garden?
Get to know good insects, how to identify them and their functions. There are two types of beneficial insects, those that control pests and those that help improve our garden. Within insects that control pests we find predators and parasites.
Firefighters are harmless only to humans, but for a garden or vegetable garden they are a complete disaster
Signs of the presence of soldiers in the garden beds:
- Inhibition in the development of seedlings vegetable crops. We can also talk about the death of plants.
- Decrease in yield and underdevelopment of fruits.
- On mature plants, leaf curling is observed.
- The inflorescences and buds of seedlings are sprinkled almost immediately after “visiting” these chitinous plants. And this leads to complete loss of the crop.
- Vegetation of the umbrella group (coriander, dill) is extremely poorly tolerated by the bites of soldier beetles, so they often die immediately after such a “visit”.
- Cabbage leaves become covered with yellow spots. If you look closely at such marks, you will notice small dots where, in fact, the plant was pierced by the pest’s proboscis. Such attacks can lead to partial loss of the cabbage harvest. Especially if a large colony of soldier bugs is “operating” in the garden.
Ladybugs are also known as ladybirds or vaquitas depending on the country. They are characterized by a size of 1 to 1 cm, their head and antennae are black and small. They have 3 pairs of black legs. Its "shell" may be yellow, orange or red with small black spots. The most famous is red with black dots, known as 7-spot catarrhina. Catharine larvae look like small black crocodiles with orange spots.
Typically, ladybugs place their eggs in aphid colonies so that the larvae feed directly on the pest. These plants will attract them and provide shelter against ladybugs' predators, such as birds. 
Laceworts are insects of the chrysopid family. They measure 2-3 cm long and their color can be green or Brown. The body and antennae are long and thin. Their wings are different from other insects, they are transparent and innervated. Lace larvae are long, opaque brown and beige with small mites for eating insects.
- To prevent the penetration of red beetles with black dots into agricultural land, seedlings are planned to be planted at a decent distance from weeds, alfalfa and perennial legumes. This is due to the fact that such vegetation is used by soldier bugs for wintering. Whereas after cold weather they need nutrition, which is what the nearby crops provide.
- In addition, weeds, as well as alfalfa, are mowed as low as possible. Maximum height grass - 2 cm. Thanks to this, it will be possible to prevent the settlement of red beetles with black dots and their reproduction in the garden.
- When planning to plant in an area where weeds previously grew (quinoa, wormwood, acorn grass, etc.), you must first remove the tops from the area and then burn them. Only after this can ornamental or agricultural crops be planted.
- If it was not possible to avoid the penetration of these pests into land plot, you can resort to the help of insecticides. For example, many gardeners recommend using Bankol. This product has no harsh fragrance and is absolutely safe for humans and pets.
Prepare the solution as follows:
Lace larvae and adults feed on a variety of pests such as aphids, thrips, mealyfish, other larvae, mites and others. Many times we find them inside our home as they are looking for a warm welcome at night. 
The praying mantis is another excellent pest predator, especially grasshoppers. Its color can be bright green or brown, which serves as camouflage in vegetation. Its head is triangular in shape with strong jaws. His eyes are large, helping him see the hunt better. The front legs are able to pray, for this reason it is called religious.
- 1 bucket of water;
- 7 gr. Bankola.
Pour into a spray bottle, after which the infected seedlings are sprayed.
- As a preventive measure, you can plant a plant such as black cohosh along the contour of the site. It can be used to repel unwanted pests.
VIDEO: Bedbugs are soldiers
These legs help him hunt and hold his prey with force. They have wings to move easily. Their speed and agility make them excellent hunters. The main prey of mantids are grasshoppers, crickets, butterflies, moths, flies, chanterelles and larvae. It can also absorb beneficial insects.
We can find them in bushes, flowers and places with big amount vegetation. 
The shield shield measures 1 cm and its color is light brown. His mouthpiece sucks, so he inserts his stylet into the insects to feed. In its adult state, it feeds on various insects, such as the larvae and eggs of various pests.
There are a large number of different bees in nature. One of the popular interesting species is the black bee, it includes the bumblebee, carpenters, workers and honey insects. Some are completely black, others may have black and yellow stripes.
Appearance of a black bee
Types and breeds of black bees
Bees are a common insect species. They bring not only wax and honey, but also cleanse environment. Insects are the main pollinators. Exist different types and breeds of bees that differ in their color, functions, and productivity.
The black breed is especially interesting; almost all insects are of this color, but they still have brown, gray spots or stripes. There are pure black, blue, green, and red bees. They all have different colour and size.
Black bees have the following types:
- Pets, when the beekeeper accustoms them to live in the hive. In this situation, the insect undergoes a little socialization. They are easy to recognize: their bodies are small, their hair cover is sparse, and thick hair is noticeable on the insect’s chest. If yellowish stripes are noticeable on the side of the belly, this indicates that the subspecies is aggressive.
- Bumblebees form one of the larger groups of black bees and also have yellow stripes. Insects pollinate the plant. Most often, bumblebees are pure black. Despite all the benefits insects have for nature, they are dangerous because they are aggressive, constantly irritated and sting painfully.
Characteristics of black bees with blue wings
Carpenters are not completely black, they have blue wings.
The main function in nature is to prepare a place in the tree for nests. This species is solitary; the female bee can build nests and continue the generation.
The insects are not dangerous, although they sting. Some carpenters are classified as purple bumblebees; they have nothing in common with this insect. Insects with large blue wings up to 3 cm, black body. The head has a purple or blue tint, the wings can be blue or purple. Black bumblebees can build nests on poles, trunks, they are often seen making their passages on the roof, attic, which is why they are called carpenters. They can gnaw out a deep canal.
They differ from others in the following features:
- A special partition is made in the nests, then a sufficient amount of pollen is prepared and eggs are laid; insects of different ages can winter in them.
- Their legs are hairy, with the help of them they carry a sufficient amount of pollen, they can collect it on different trees, flowers, when they accumulate as much as they are supposed to, they are engaged in laying eggs and sealing entrances.
- The larvae hatch independently; they begin to gnaw through the partitions in the spring, so they end up outside.
- When working, the bumblebee begins to gnaw passages, you can hear how it works, a loud sound comes out.
- The head is very large and contains a powerful jaw.
- The insect stings more painfully than honey bees.
- You can meet a black bumblebee with purple and blue wings in Ukraine and Turkey. Here it is a rare breed, which is listed in the Red Book. Also sometimes found in the Caucasus. The reserves of Yalta have been protecting this rare and unique insect for a long time.
In nature, these black bees are rare, less and less began to use wood for construction, and there are also a small amount of dead wood, so the black bumblebee is a rare insect.
Popular varieties of black bees
Highly social bees are considered separately. This group differs not only in behavior and structure, but also in its body structure.
- Ordinary. The insect is very similar in color to a wasp. black insect small size, is not aggressive, the wasp is more irritated. Yellow and black stripes can be seen on the body. They build underground passages.
- Honey-bearing. They accumulate a large amount of honey in the honeycombs; they are small in size, black in color, and have brown and yellow stripes on the belly. Beekeepers breed these bees to produce large quantities of honey. Such bees can be different, there are black and white, pure black. They all differ in their feeding habits - they prefer different nectar, and also differ in their lifestyle - you can find semi-social, social and solitary bees. If you keep a black breed, you need to take care of protection. Such a bee is very painful to bite. Some sting several times, so the skin becomes irritated.
- Public. Insects can be of three types: bumblebees, stingless bees, and honeybees. They all have General characteristics, difference in color, behavior. They are divided into two groups – black and brown. Can be found in Great Britain, Europe, North Africa, America.
Black insects can be divided into Dutch and heather insects. The Americans brought them from Holland. Such bees are clever thieves. Positive quality is their productivity - they collect a sufficient amount of dark-colored honey in a short time, for this they use buckwheat. They are characterized by increased nervousness. When the hive opens, they can rush around wildly. After the beekeeper has taken out the frame, they hang in clusters, only then begin to fall and run around. to different parties. In this situation, it is impossible to quickly find the queen.
The black American bee constantly stalks the beekeeper in the apiary. Tends to swarm. Has a white signet. Such insects are easily shaken off the honeycomb when the frames are removed. In some situations you are calm. They are dangerous when they get under clothing and severely sting the beekeeper.
The German black breed originated in central Europe. The yellow cannons are the border for the black stripes. They do not accumulate on the frame and are highly resistant to various diseases.
The black North African bee is especially dangerous; it is irritable and can smear everyone with red propolis. Exists in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia. The breed is very angry, irritable, when the nests are inspected, it begins to hang in clusters. They have a wide belly and slight fluff. The length of the proboscis reaches about 6.5 mm. Bees are fertile; after they lose their queen, the bees begin to lay eggs.
The dark European bee originated from this breed, so the French insects have a large number of characteristics, the same as those of the North African ones. Twice a year, families are actively involved in raising brood; this happens in autumn and spring period. The beekeeper must take into account that insects are restless at this time and may leave brood and food. At the same time, they are resistant to diseases such as nosematosis and European foulbrood.
The Sicilian bee is also black in color, of North African origin, and this breed never steals honey. Sicilian bees are small in size, with yellow spots in some situations. The African mountain bee is pure black without yellow spots, is distinguished by its peaceful nature, large size, and has a very long proboscis.
In nature, there are a large number of different black bees, all of them differ in the following characteristics: size, lifestyle, natural functions, productivity. Each breed makes some contribution to nature, therefore it is protected by the Red Book and nature reserves. Beekeepers breed only honey insects adapted to their area.
