The life span of midges. The natural value of midges

Sometimes even the smallest creature can cause a lot of trouble. AT modern world There are more than 4000 species and 78 genera of the small midge. About 200 species are distributed in Russia, and only four of them feed on the blood of mammals.

flower midge

What do these small insects interfere with, what harm do they cause, and what is their life expectancy? How much trouble the midge brings to man and animal. Of the most diverse complaints about midges, the following can be distinguished:

• their bites are very painful;
• spoil house and garden plants;
• can serve as a carrier of infection;
• with a large amount - get into the nose, ears, eyes.

Excursion to nature

Midges to their appearance, resemble small humpback mosquitoes. Their body size barely reaches 6 mm. The main difference from mosquitoes is the presence of a short proboscis and small legs.

The appearance of the larva

The fly has three stages of development: egg, larva, adult insect

In their natural habitat, midges usually settle near open water bodies with fresh water. This is where they lay their larvae. To complete this process, some descend under water, while others lay their larvae near the water, on the shore. And there are some very extravagant individuals. They drop their eggs into the water on the fly.

Egg laying is a group process. At the same time, whole colonies of larvae are formed in the riverbed (how many - up to 200 per square centimeter). Their food is dissolved in water. organic compounds and/or small aquatic microorganisms. The food that enters the body goes through a filtration process. Therefore, the faster the flow of the river, the more and faster the process of digestion.

Habitat

Midge larvae are very sensitive to the amount of oxygen in the water. Therefore, in places with a small content of it, they quickly die. Such places include stagnant water or an aquatic environment with large quantity decaying microorganisms.

If the environment in which midge larvae live changes, they are able to release cobwebs. How long is it? The length of this web reaches two meters. On it, they keep for some time in the fast flow of the river. If the natural balance is restored, the larva returns to its former place of residence along the cobweb.

An adult emerges from the larva in 10-14 days (the duration of the process: larva-pupa-adult - up to two weeks). When leaving its cocoon, the midge surrounds itself with an air bubble. It is in it that she rises to the surface from the water completely dry.

Live midge under a microscope

Nutrition

The process of nutrition occurs exclusively in the warm daytime. In the evening, at night or in cloudy weather, midges are not active. Blood is food only for females. Males feed on flowers.

AT different regions the same species of midges behave differently. For example: broad-legged, decorated or creeping - in the tundra zone they are a real disaster for the entire livestock of animals and humans. There is no life from her. And a little to the south, in the forest-steppe and steppe zone countries, they are not active as blood-sucking insects.

Bite process

midge bite

When bitten, a substance enters the wound with the saliva of the midge, which behaves like an anesthetic. Therefore, the very moment of biting and absorbing blood remains invisible to humans. The pain occurs only after some time, when it has already flown away.

At the site of the bite, redness, swelling occurs. The wound itches a lot. These phenomena are caused by the fact that midge saliva is poisonous.

If bites a large number of, edema can be observed not only on the surface of the wound, but also internal organs. In some cases, hemorrhage occurs, and symptoms of severe poisoning appear. This situation requires immediate medical attention and emergency care.

On Russian territory the largest number midges are represented in the taiga zone. How many species and who poses a threat to life? The following species pose the greatest danger to humans:

• tundra midge;
• midge Kholodkovsky;
• decorated midge.

The air temperature (comfortable for the life of midges), at which an attack on a person occurs, ranges from +6 to +23˚С.

How many diseases can this carry small insect? Of particular danger are midges-carriers of diseases such as:

• plague;
• leprosy;
• tularemia;
• anthrax.

Life at home

A wide variety of midges can be combined into four groups, according to their location in the apartment. Allocate:

• food, or Drosophila (often lives on rotten vegetables and fruits);
• wardrobe (dwells on old, or not washed things, put away for a long time in a closet);
• flower (settles on houseplants, which are improperly cared for);
• water (it loves heat and humid air very much, therefore, it will settle in the apartment mainly in the bathroom).

From the above, it can be seen that for a comfortable life in the house, as in the natural environment, dampness and moisture are very important for midges.

To bring out the hated midge, the first thing to do is to conduct a “home investigation” about the ways it entered the apartment. Locations can be:

• vegetables, berries and fruits, cereals that have been lying for a long time and began to deteriorate;
• overcrowded (especially in the summer) trash can;
• poorly cleaned aquarium;
• excessively moist earth in flower pots (especially if it was fertilized with sleeping tea leaves);
• plumbing drains and ventilation shafts.

Fight and prevention with midges on the street

Chemical preparations for midges

Fighting a harmful midge living in nature is difficult, but possible. To do this, you must follow a number of rules:

• do not walk near the river in the hot daytime (especially where there is a lot of vegetation);
• use repellents;
• the midge does not like windy weather, so use this factor to your advantage;
• put on clothes light shades covering arms and legs.

Destruction in the house

How much effort and time must be applied to eliminate this misfortune, from which there is no life? The fight against midges at home should begin with finding out the place of their greatest deployment and centers of settlement.

Kitchen

The most important rule is never to leave a bucket of garbage overnight. The next steps will be:

Garbage bin in the kitchen with leftover vegetables

• monitor the freshness of products (prevent the formation of rot);
• the use of adhesive tape is recommended (both outside and inside the cabinets);
• washcloths and rags for washing dishes should be twisted and dried after use;
• prevent the formation of fatty deposits and clogging drain pipe sinks and hob;
• no leakage and contamination of taps;
• make homemade traps in the form of a glass with rotting fruit or unfinished juice (the field where a large number of midges get there, it must be tightly tied and thrown away).

Flower pots

Karbofos - a remedy for midges in the apartment

If the midge has settled on your favorite flowers and interferes with their development, you must do the following:

• reduce watering the plant to a minimum (how much to water? a little bit);
• if tea leaves were used as a fertilizer, it must be removed from the surface of the earth in a flower pot;
• stick up to five matches into the ground (gray down);
• spray the plant with a weak solution of potassium permanganate;
• the use of store-bought drugs: "Karbofos", "Fitoverm", "Agravertin".

Bathroom

Here, the main means of combating midges will be the elimination of dampness and moisture. It is necessary to monitor the flow of water and sewerage. Eliminate leaks in time, and remove the resulting pollution.

In the apartment, pungent odors of natural origin will help in the fight against midges:

• the smell of garlic;
• the smell of incense;
• the smell of citrus;
• the smell of camphor (camphor is crushed and heated in a pan);
• the smell of crushed horseradish root.

It is important to remember that the fight against midges is a laborious and lengthy process. But, having adopted all methods, a person will always emerge victorious in this struggle.

Video: Fly bitten in the eye

Spring comes, and people seem to wake up along with nature. Smiles appear good mood, expectation summer holiday… At the end of May, blossoming trees and early flowers delight us. It's a shame that our mood changes when midges, annoying bloodsuckers, appear in late spring or early summer. Every person is waiting for the time when midges disappear.

Most of them happen in Astrakhan and Siberia. People during the appearance of these bloodsuckers walk in special masks,

try to cover the body with clothes.

The midge is an insect that develops in flowing waters: fast rivers serve as a place for the development of its larvae. It differs from mosquitoes in shorter strong legs and a short proboscis. The midge has short antennae and wings. The length of her body is no more than 6 millimeters. Together with mosquitoes and midges, midges form hordes of midges that attack animals and humans.

Adults feed only on sunny, hot days. Cloudy weather and night twilight is the time when midges disappear. Only females are bloodsuckers, males collect food on flowers. I wonder if there has always been a midge that bites people and animals? It turns out that scientists have proven that its activity depends on how their larvae developed: if they were formed in adverse conditions, they did not accumulate a supply of nutrients.

The Astrakhan midge replenishes such substances with the blood of living beings. So different years differ in the activity of midges. But among them there are species for which bloodsucking - necessary step. It is no coincidence that you should carefully meet these "guests", because they can be carriers various diseases, and their bites in many people cause an allergic reaction. The saliva of midges is poisonous. Sometimes external or internal swelling appears at the site of the bite, signs of poisoning, the temperature rises, hemorrhage occurs, which can lead to death. If they bite small midges, then in this place the body burns and itching appears.

In Russia, such bloodsuckers are common in the taiga zone. As soon as the midge is not called! "Horror flying on wings", "bloodsucker", "murderer". Pharmacies offer many remedies that promise to alleviate the suffering of people. In the fight against midges are used folk remedies, for example, vanilla, cologne, chemical - spray, gels, aerosols and lotions. Know - when midges disappear, dragonflies appear! After all, they feed on these harmful insects.

It should be remembered that children and allergy sufferers most often suffer from midges. You need to try to reduce the number of walks during their greatest accumulation. When the midges disappear, danger and discomfort seem to leave the city, the streets are again filled with people and domestic animals.

It's good that this period passes quite quickly. In the 80s, the midge was not so active. Due to improper work on the rivers (construction of canals, dams, etc.), her life has changed. Currently, areas are being processed, where there are especially many midges, but chemistry kills not only midges, it damages flora and fauna.

When midges disappear, only mosquitoes and ticks keep us company until frost. Stock up on the right supplies, build up your defenses, and don't let the little things ruin your summer!

In the hot summer season, a large number of different insects, so you need to be fully equipped and know how many midges live and how to get rid of them.

Basic information about the insect

The fruit fly is the most common insect in our climate zone. Its size is a maximum of three and a half millimeters in length and 0.5 millimeters in width. Creatures live around fruits and vegetables that have deteriorated or are simply in uncovered containers. The body of the midge has a brown color, small black wings are located on the back.

The female insect lays 200 to 500 eggs in her lifetime. How long do midges live? An average of fifteen to twenty-five days. This indicator depends on climatic conditions and nutrition. In apartment conditions, the larvae turn into young individuals after 27 hours. On average, they need four to six days to mature.

The small larvae of these midges also feed on fruit rot. They are attracted by the smell of wine and grapes. Each of us constantly sees these insects in the summer, they are everywhere: on the streets, in our apartments, shops. That is why the problem of getting rid of them becomes relevant. This is quite difficult to do, but in the article we will still consider several ways.

Their attack on our products continues just as long as the midges. Throughout its short life they feed on rot and other waste so that they can lay eggs and produce offspring.

What do fruit midges eat?

Such insects feed on absolutely all types of fruits, or rather, their rotten remains, and other products of natural processing. Young individuals prefer to eat fresh fruit juice. It helps them grow faster and produce healthy larvae.

A common question is how long midges live in the summer. During the warm season fruit fly is one month. In nature, due to the lack of fruits in the cold season, the fly can feed on the sap of trees, grass, flowers and leaves.

The insect lives in countries with warm tropical, subtropical or temperate climate. Some species of fruit flies can drink the blood of humans or animals for their life cycle.

How long do midges that feed on blood live? Approximately 20 days. The most massive place of their life is vineyard plantations, because no one will fight the influx of such insects over vast areas. Plus, midges are very fond of grapes.

Methods for getting rid of fruit flies

Midges appear in our apartments along with southern fruits, they can live in garbage cans or fruit bags. Midges can appear even if nothing has gone bad at home and there are no fruits. The thing is that eggs can be laid in advance.

Absolutely fresh store-bought products may already contain fruit fly eggs. They are not dangerous for human body, but it's still quite unpleasant to be aware of the presence of fly larvae on food.

20 days is the answer to the question of how long midges live on the street. In the garbage dumps, it is quite easy for them to find something to eat. However strong winds and other weather factors significantly shorten their outdoor lives.

In order to destroy the maximum number of midges and their larvae, follow these tips:

1. Find and destroy their main habitat in your home.
2. Set the traps in other places where they can be found.
3. Do it regularly preventive measures, which will not allow fruit flies to appear indoors in large quantities.

How many midges live at different times of the year?

Midges live in our microclimate all year round, but depending on the time of year and the temperature outside, they become less.

17 is the number of days that shows how long the midges live fruity spring. In summer, their activity noticeably increases and their number becomes a record high for the entire season.

In winter, midges are practically not active and live only in well-heated rooms that are not exposed to drafts. Even with short-term contact with snow and ice, the midge dies. Cold weather can kill a large number of insects of this species.

How long do midges live indoors when they have nothing to eat? A few days. Due to the lack of food, both adults and larvae die. Eggs can ripen, but then all the same, offspring from them will not appear.

How long do midges live in an apartment?

The most favorable habitat for midges is our apartments. This is where they feel the best way. The number of eggs laid over a lifetime increases in proportion to the improvement of the habitat.

How long do midges live at home? In our homes, they live from one to two months.

Destruction of the place of residence of midges

Most often, fruit flies live in the bin, rotten products (apples, strawberries, grapes, strawberries, blackberries, watermelon, melons and other common summer fruits and vegetables), bags with vegetables and fruits, in cabinets and flowerpots.

How long do Drosophila midges live? One fly lives in a warm room for a month, but their numbers can grow in Find the place where they are most concentrated. Sometimes insects can live in a container from under some chemical agent like a paint can.

Check the refrigerator. Midges can live in jars of jam, in jugs with compote. It is necessary to try to hermetically close all containers in which products prepared from fruits or vegetables are stored.

Usually, the larvae turn into full-fledged fruit flies in the early morning, so they accumulate a lot in the first half of the day. Toward evening, the activity of annoying insects gradually fades away.

Traps

Prevention

In order to maintain cleanliness and hygiene in the house, regular prophylaxis against long-lived fruit flies should be carried out. How long do midges live in the kitchen? 35-45 days. Such a long period of residence is explained by a sufficient amount of food and a warm, well-lit room.

Rinse out the bin, even if you use bags. Don't put vegetables in cupboards. Regularly take inventory of the refrigerator and pantries.

By following all the simple instructions that are described in this article, you will forget about such a pest as a small fruit fly.

Drosophila - no matter how much you look at this creature, it seems that it is harmless, which does not bring harm to a person. But it only seems so, including about harmfulness. When midges curl in a column in the kitchen, this is already an unpleasant situation.

They lay their eggs in spoiled food, so over time they only become more, and if you do not start getting rid of them, these creatures themselves will not go anywhere. On the contrary, over time there will be as many of them as it is difficult to imagine.

Flying around the house, fruit flies can get into dishes and drinks on the table. This is the worst thing that can happen, because then adults and, for sure, children will eat this food and liquid. That is why it is necessary to get rid of the flying misfortune immediately.

Where do midges come from and where do they live

It always seems that little creatures appear literally from nowhere. As if they are just waiting for spoiled food to appear in the house - and right there. The fact is that adult females begin to lay eggs even at the time of ripening fruits and vegetables. Getting into warm conditions, the fruits begin to deteriorate. At the same time, the midge begins to grow, since this is an ideal habitat for it. As a result, a larva is obtained from an egg, and then an adult insect. These midges are also called fruit midges, and now it’s clear why.

Drosophila live not only in spoiled fruits: they can also become pests for indoor plants. All they need is constantly moist soil, so look for a source not only in the kitchen.

What is the lifespan of Drosophila

How long do midges live? Actually, not for long. How better conditions the longer they will live. For example, in winter they can exist for almost three months. At a temperature of 18 degrees above zero - about 20 days. And if the mark on the thermometer rises to 25 degrees - 10 days.

The process of their development is in the following way: the fly that found optimal conditions lays eggs. Once in the nutrient medium, half-millimeter eggs produce larvae. The latter are up to 3.5 mm long, white color. The main period in the process of their development begins. The viability of Drosophila depends entirely on how they live at this moment. Young midges appear after four days, and after another eight hours they are ready to become mature and also begin to lay eggs. As you can see, this process happens very quickly, therefore, no matter how many of them there are now, it is better to destroy them immediately.

For your information - the female lays (it's scary to imagine) up to 80 eggs at a time!

How to prevent the appearance of insects in the apartment

• Store fruits and vegetables in a cool place where they will not spoil.
• Before putting dirty dishes into the sink, clean it from the remnants of food, jars - from the remnants of berries and fruits.
• Take out the trash regularly, and wash the bucket every time after that if it is dirty.
• Monitor the condition of the site near the house (relevant for private development) so that there is no debris left there, since midges can initially start in the grass.
• Don't leave open banks and bottles of beer, compote, wine, jam, syrup, and so on. All this can cause the appearance of small flies.

How to deal with apartment mosquitoes

Although prevention is always easier, getting rid of it will not be difficult either. To do this, you need to take only a container and bait (and it doesn’t matter how much), and a person can already be said to be on the way to destroying a flying swarm. When fruit flies gather for sweets, you will need to close the lid and place the box or jar in the freezer. They will die in 10 minutes. You can also warm them up microwave oven- a few seconds will suffice.

You can collect them periodically and with a vacuum cleaner from the ceiling, walls and other surfaces where they like to sit down. After collecting, it is enough to clog the inlet of the vacuum cleaner pipe for several hours, and the midges will not disturb anyone from there.

First you need to determine the place of "residence" of insects and understand how many of them there are in the house. For example, if a crowd of small flies has accumulated on the balcony, clean it well and treat the places with a special solution. The bathroom is simpler: something sweet can be poured directly into the bath, and when fruit flies accumulate there, just rinse with a shower.

Choose a way to fight insects: using a jar, a cup, a bag, Velcro:

• In a jar of compote or other liquid, you need to insert a paper funnel with a tiny hole at the end. So it turns out that they can easily get inside, but they will not be able to get out.
• Bait (specially bought in the store) can be poured into a plastic cup. Also, some fruit or even a recently used tea bag can be used as bait. From above, on the neck, a cling film is applied and strengthened with a thread or elastic band. On it you need to make a lot of small holes. It will work according to the same scheme: they will not be able to fly out.
• Pieces of fruits and vegetables can even be simply put in a bag, no matter how much it is a pity, and left for at least a day. When they accumulate there, the bag is closed as quickly as possible and thrown out. Preferably, immediately on the street, away from home.

You can buy and hang around the apartment the usual flypaper bait for flies.

Midges are a fairly common phenomenon that almost every housewife faces. They appear suddenly in the room, so you need to know how many midges live and what measures to take to prevent their spread.

In appearance, the midge looks like an ordinary humpback mosquito. In length, it reaches six millimeters, has short legs and a proboscis. At rest, the wings of an insect are stacked one on top of the other. Articular antennae have eleven sections.

Features of the life of midges

A close relationship with determines the similarity of the conditions in which pests live. For an ordinary midge, it is important to have aquatic environment, because it is there that they lay eggs, from which its larvae develop. Insects descend under water and equip large colonies there, numbering up to two hundred larvae per square centimeter. Midges have an amazing ability - they breed all their lives.

Interesting! Food is of particular importance to them. Warm-blooded blood is preferred. Their proboscis has a structure that allows you to easily bite through the skin. Males feed mainly on the nectar of flowering plants.

To a certain extent, they pose a danger to people and animals. The liquid injected into the wound is poisonous and can cause severe itching and an allergic reaction. The lifespan of midges, according to scientific research, is about 96 hours. During this short period of time, the individual must find food for itself, find a partner, lay eggs in a secluded place and then die. There is evidence that the male immediately dies after fertilization.

Drosophila midges

Seemingly harmless insects live next to a person, which do not bring him much harm. The presence of midges in the kitchen is unpleasant event. They lay their eggs in rotten food, which is a breeding ground for the development of larvae. If you do not start getting rid of pests in time, then a great many of them will divorce. Moving around the apartment, they get into drinks and ready-made meals that are intended for people. For this reason, it is necessary to destroy midges at the first sign of their appearance in the kitchen.

Fruit flies or Drosophila lay their eggs on the surface of fruits, berries or vegetables even at the time of their ripening. Once in warm rooms, the fruits begin to deteriorate and become a favorable environment for the development of larvae, which reach sizes up to 3.5 mm. The viability of Drosophila depends on the degree of comfort of the living conditions of the larvae. fruit midges live not only on spoiled vegetables and fruits, they can eat indoor plants. To do this, they only need a well-hydrated kidney.

life span of insects

In the microclimate of city apartments and houses, midges live all year round. Depending on the time of year and the temperature outside, there may be more or less of them. The better the conditions, the longer the Drosophila fruit flies live. The most favorable habitat for and food products are well-heated city apartments, in which they can live from one to two months.

• If the temperature environment reaches 18 degrees and above, then they live for about 20 days.
• With more high rates thermometer this period is reduced to 10 days.

Scientists have determined at what temperature midges die. Cold frosty weather with temperatures below 0 can kill a large number of flies of this species. Even with short-term contact with snow and ice, Drosophila dies.

Many are concerned about the question of how long midges live without food. If the pests have nothing to eat, and they are indoors, they will last for several days. Lack of food will lead to the death of adults and larvae.