Compost is a place where you can come across many surprises. Maybe in insect larvae. What about them?
Compost is a nutrition not only for your flowers or vegetables, but also an ideal place for larvae growth and development. The insects are “stuck” there in the idea of a quiet place with lots of food. And he’s right… The larvae are pretty “tense” on the compost and then they just wait for them to turn into a beetle over time. But you have to be faster than nature itself, because some larvae can make a proper glade in the garden. So how do they correctly decipher them?
Zlatohlávek versus chroust
The larvae are mostly white or yellow. Many of them have a knurled body and a lot of legs. “The Golden Golden is rather smaller and more pudgy,” explains the expert, continuing, “On the other hand, the Chrousta larvae are already a big” piece ” – they have a larger and oblong body.” The difference between these two beetles is in appetite.
When the Chroust attacks
Chrousta larvae live mostly in the ground and feed on the roots. Initially they have a taste for roots of grass or agricultural crops. But as soon as they “hardened” a little bit to attack and attack the roots of young trees, which is a problem mainly for orchards, young stands and forest nurseries. “But the Iz of your garden can make a monthly landscape. Not only the roots of the plants will be heard, but they also go into tubers or buffs… And you only watch the greenery gradually dies and change color…
Tidy or destroyer
So how do the golden larva, which acts as a useful garden cleaner that feeds on the remnants of demented plants or stumps… and the insidious chroust, which attacks the root system of plants and thus practically kills them? “You can tell the Golden Starry simply – they have a soft, 3.5 centimeters rounded body, reminiscent of the letter“ C ”. Another sign is three pairs of short legs that grow from the chest, ”says the expert, adding that the larvae of the Golden Hall develops for one to three years. In the spring, adult beetles are going to timed, females load eggs and the cycle continues…
Pointed butt as a warning
Among the chroustas in Bohemia is the most widespread chroust, whose distinguishing sign is a strong buzz during flight. While an adult enjoys leaves, his young generation goes along the roots… You can recognize the Chrousta larva by whitish to yellowish color and a more distinct body that achieves an incredible length of 5 centimeters. Unlike Zlatohávka, the Chroust has very distinctive antennae and limbs. You can also recognize it according to a pointed buttocks.
Death in organic design
So if you find the “insect babies” in the compost, first find out to whom. If it is a golden back, it will only benefit your garden. The problem is with a chroust that means a great danger. “Although it is a pest, never use chemistry for its disposal. It is much better to deploy parasitic nematodes of the genus heterorhabditis downesi, which the larvae will be ecologically damaged.
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