How long does a biting midge live. How long do fruit flies live: the life cycle of flies

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.

Sometimes even the smallest creature can cause a lot of trouble. AT modern world there are over 4000 species and 78 genera 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 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 cobweb larva returns to its former place of residence.

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 there are a large number of bites, there may be swelling not only of 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 indoor plants for which there is improper care);
• water (it loves warm and humid air, 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 of entry there a large number midges, it must be tightly tied and discarded).

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

Midges belong to the order of Diptera insects. They look like small flies, ranging in size from 1.5 to 6 mm. Fossil midges appeared about 137-195 million years ago. And today in the world fauna there are about 1800 varieties of midges.

Tips from Gardex

Midge bites cause severe itching, swelling, redness and long non-healing wounds. Therefore, protection from them is not only desirable, but necessary.

The midge is afraid of vanillin. Use protective equipment containing this substance in the composition.

For bites, the midge chooses the most tender places. Make sure your body is well protected by clothing.

habitats

These insects live on all continents except Antarctica. The rest of the land they inhabit almost everywhere, avoiding only individual islands and deserts in which there are no rivers.

The habitat preferences of midges are determined by the peculiarities of their reproduction: females lay their eggs under water, where larvae subsequently appear from them. Water is important condition for larval development. That is why a lot of midges live in areas abounding in reservoirs and rivers. The average lifespan of a midge is one month.

The natural value of midges

Midges are of great importance in natural communities. They are food for many small animals. In addition, midges, along with other insects whose larvae feed on aquatic microorganisms, largely ensure the inexhaustibility of the soil.

Danger of midges

The danger of midges lies in the fact that through their bite you can become infected with serious diseases, including bird leukocytosis, onchocerciasis of cattle and humans (mainly in southern latitudes), river blindness (in America and Africa).

A midge bite causes much more swelling and pain than a mosquito bite. The reason for this is that the midge bites the flesh and licks the protruding blood, unlike their blood-sucking counterparts that pierce the skin. In addition, midge saliva, which enters the wound at the time of the bite, can cause a severe allergic reaction - simulidotoxicosis.

Attack period

Midges attack during daylight hours, stopping their activity at night. AT northern latitudes during the white nights, the midge attacks around the clock. In this connection, numerous bites of midges are a big nuisance to the inhabitants of these territories.

Protection against midges in places of their accumulation are mechanical and repellent means. To mechanical methods protection includes clothing with a collar and long sleeves, since midges are not able to bite through the fabric. Treating clothes with repellents with a high concentration of DEET and vanilla will provide a higher degree of protection.

The black midge is a humpback mosquito that is less than 6 mm long. It differs from a real mosquito in shorter legs and a trunk. The wings of an insect in a calm state are folded one on top of the other, and its antennae have 11 segments.

What are midges

Before we find out how long midges live, let's take a closer look at their lifestyle. These little mosquitoes are happy to attack livestock, humans and wild animals. Their favorite places are near water bodies, where the larvae of these insects develop.

How does a female lay her eggs?

Experiencing complete comfort in the water, insects prefer to lay their eggs there. Clinging to stones and stems of plants, they calmly descend into the water and arrange incubators for their future offspring. However, not all types of females prefer this type of oviposition. Some drop them on the fly, while others choose coastal quiet areas for masonry. Moreover, all of them prefer to breed larvae not one by one, but in groups, eventually forming large colonies of embryos. On an area of ​​​​1 cm² there are up to 200 born individuals. In general, how many midges live, so much their reproduction continues.

How midges eat

If we consider such an individual as a midge under a microscope, you can see its short proboscis, well adapted for puncturing the skin surfaces of animals. She does this with sawing mandibles and tearing maxillas. At first glance, it seems that natural way her nourishment is the sucking of blood. However, this is not the case. As repeated studies show, female midges can only feed exclusively on the nectar of flowers.

Columbus midge

A real disaster for livestock breeders in the Danube countries is the Columbus midge. The pupation process of its larvae ends in May, and by the end of this month all coastal green plantings are attacked by hordes of flying insects. To the question of how long midges of this species live, it can be unequivocally said that after the process of fertilization, the males immediately die, and the females, literally brutalized, attack in a swarm the cattle peacefully grazing on the banks of the reservoirs.

Dangerous bites of midges

In appearance, these small insects seem harmless, but in fact, nature has endowed these small predators with the abilities of surgeons. Downtime can cause itching, burning, and even fever. But all these symptoms appear much later. First, saliva, which has an anesthetic property, is injected into the wound. During the bite, the pain initially disappears and reappears after the little predator has flown away. The liquid that got into the wound from the bite is very poisonous: after a minute, swelling is already growing there and itching is severe. With multiple bites, body temperature may rise. If signs of general poisoning appear and severe swelling of the internal organs begins, it is possible fatal outcome. Also, the company of flying gnats is a carrier of various infectious diseases, such as plague, ulcers, leprosy, and so on. How many midges live is a rhetorical question. They fly and breed only as long as their daily living requirements are met. Environment. In order for females not to be left without their offspring, it is vital for them to feed on blood. So, whether we like it or not, we cannot change the biological process. But it is simply necessary to beware of their bites.

Sometimes even the smallest creature can cause a lot of trouble. In the modern world, there are more than 4,000 species and 78 genera of small midges. 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 in their appearance resemble small humpbacked 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 fresh water bodies. 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). They feed on organic compounds dissolved in water 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 a large number of 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 cobweb larva returns to its former place of residence.

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.

In 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. A little to the south, in the forest-steppe and steppe zone of the country, 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 there are a large number of bites, edema can be observed not only on the surface of the wound, but also on the internal organs. In some cases, hemorrhage occurs, and symptoms of severe poisoning appear. This situation requires immediate medical attention and emergency care.

On the territory of Russia, the largest number of midges is 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 little insect carry? 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 warm and humid air, 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;
• wear light-colored clothing that covers the 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 of the drain pipe of the sink 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