Golden bronze: preventive measures. Bronze golden - a large green beetle, the enemy of flower growers What does bronze and mother-of-pearl look like

Many have seen a metallic-colored beetle flying through the air. Bright, shiny, he is like a small helicopter, conquers peaks, crashing into a person and falling on his back. What is this creature that shines so brightly in the sun? This is a bronze beetle. How this insect lives, reproduces, what it eats and what harm it can bring, remains to be learned from this article.

Beetle bronze is pretty large insects, the length of which is 23 mm. The coloration is very diverse and depends on the species. This beetle has 7 subspecies, which distinguish numerous aberrations. Bronzovka is often confused with the Maybug, because they belong to the same family. These insects can be distinguished by a brighter bronze color. And also in flight, bronzes leave hard elytra in a folded state, and thin wings are released through holes located on the sides.

Golden bronzovka can be found throughout Eurasia, with the exception of mountainous and desert regions. Bronzovka feeds on flowers of wild and cultivated plants, as well as inflorescences. fruit trees.

Appearance

The size of the bronze body reaches 13–22 mm in length and 8–11 mm in width. The body of the insect is presented in the form of an oblong-oval shape, slightly convex. In some species, the body tapers towards the back. In most individuals, the upper part of the body is covered with hairs, less often this area is naked.

The coloration of the upper body is bright green or golden green with a hint of red color, but always with metallic sheen. An interesting fact is that the insect is actually black in color. But thanks to the finest and most complex microstructures of the body cover, which refract light, the beetle seems to be of such an unusual color. This type of coloration is called optical pigmentation.

The antennae of the beetle are black. The clypeus of the insect is elongated and covered with numerous dots large size. In the anterior part, the corners of the clypeus are rounded and slightly raised. In the center of the clypeus there is a recess of a triangular-rounded shape. The head of the beetle is covered with thicker and deeper spots than on the clypeus, as well as with white hair. In the center of the head there is a keel in the longitudinal direction.

The bronze pronotum is wider at the base, and then narrows closer to the front. The disk in the middle is covered with numerous, rounded small dots. The sides are covered with larger dots.

Elytra covered with numerous large dots. And also on the elytra you can see thin transverse stripes irregular shape white. The posterior section of the insect is slightly convex with 2, sometimes 4 small white dots. The legs are covered with dots, wrinkles and longitudinal stripes.

general characteristics

All species are characterized by certain characteristics:

bronze beetles begin to fly from the end of May to the beginning of June. They make their flights within 3-4 months;
bronzes reach their greatest activity in the hot time of the day. At night, the beetles hide in the soil. AT cloudy weather the beetle does not come out of shelters in the form of leaves and roots of plants;
All bronzes feed on ovaries and young fruits, flowers of plants, as well as the juice that trees secrete.

Bronzovka beetle reproduction and life cycle

For reproduction, the female of the golden bronze lays eggs, which are white-yellow in the amount of 15–20 pieces. Such eggs can be found in rotten stumps, trunks of rotting plants, and also in manure. From the moment the eggs appear to the hatching of the larva, as well as the rebirth into a beetle, a whole year passes. AT northern areas this process can take up to 2 years.

The hatched larva feeds on fallen leaves, rotten wood, dead roots of plants and trees. In appearance, the bronze larva has a curved body of yellow-white color with short legs. The body of the bronze larva is large and thick, covered with hairs. The back is thicker than the front. The bronze larva molts 2 times. The mature larvae are up to 6 cm in size.

Then the larvae pupate. The formed pupa lies on its back in a strong oval-shaped cocoon. The bronze larva builds its cocoon from soil, its own feces and wood, gluing all parts together with the help of a special substance secreted from the back of the body. In appearance, the pupa resembles an adult beetle. In this state, the future beetle is within 2 weeks.

Description of popular species

Most often found:

golden bronze. The size of such a beetle is 13–23 mm. It has a golden-green color, which casts a metallic sheen. The habitat is the territory from the south of Scandinavia to the Balkans, as well as Asia, Tajikistan, the Mediterranean coast;
fluffy bronze. Such a beetle grows up to 8-13 mm. The body is painted brilliant black and covered with numerous gray and yellow hairs;
small green bronze. The size does not exceed 20 mm. The body has a green color with a golden tint;
shiny bronze. This species has become popular due to the fact that it is listed in the Red Book of the Moscow Region. In its appearance, the shiny bronze resembles golden. Only an entomologist can tell them apart. This beetle is golden green, copper red, or light bronze in color. The insect can be found in forests with broad-leaved trees, especially oaks. The beetle feeds on the juice of trees and flowers.

beetle wrecking

Despite being beautiful appearance, these insects recognized as pests. The insect is a frequent guest of the garden and garden, destroying flowers fruit crops sucking juices and nutrients from plants. And also the beetle gnaws the leaves, leaving behind yellowed areas of plants. If an insect flew into the house, they will suffer from this indoor flowers, because the green beetle will gnaw their leaves.

Bronzovka harms such plants:

ovaries of carrots, cabbage, corn. Bronzovka destroys those parts of plants that contain seeds;
flowers of fruit trees. In this case, the beetles completely eat up the stamens and pistils, after which the flower is unsuitable for fertilization. Therefore, on such a tree or bush plant fruits and seeds do not ripen;
the insect destroys beet leaves;
ornamental plants after eating bronze lose their beautiful appearance as well as fragrance.

Previously, it was believed that this type of insect does not cause much harm to trees and plants, so accurate there are no instructions for killing bugs. Harm to plants is caused by adults of the beetle, but the fight should begin with their larvae.

The habitat of the larvae is rotten wood and a pile of humus. Therefore, if you periodically clean your site of old leaves and rotten wood, you can reduce the number of adults in the future. And on the other hand, bronze larvae contribute to the formation of a fertile soil layer by working through plant residues.

Fighting methods

The bronze beetle flies well, therefore chemical treatment will only harm trees and other plants.

manual method- by collecting and shaking off beetles. This method is the safest for the plant. To facilitate shaking off the bronze, you can sprinkle a plant or tree in advance cold water. Such water will stun the insects and they will easily fall off the plants. After the beetles have fallen, they must be placed in a container with kerosene. This method of struggle has low efficiency, because new beetles will fly to the place of the destroyed beetles.
effective method insect control is use of light traps that apply at night. Making such a trap is not difficult. To do this, take the usual glass container. Then you need to place a lamp there. Near the light trap, you should put a container with kerosene. Bronzovka at night will fly into the light, hitting the jar and falling into a container with kerosene.
The method of spraying plants with herbal infusions. Bronzovki do not tolerate the smell of wormwood, garlic, horseradish and onions. Therefore, you can spray the plant using tinctures of these vegetables and herbs.
Soil plowing method. After winter period you should dig up the soil, thereby destroying the beetles that are there.
Method of instillation of means against the beetle. The place where the beetle sleeps is the soil, so the buried poison under the fruit trees will definitely affect it. At the same time, such Chemical substance will not harm beneficial insects that pollinate flowers.
Another method is attracting birds to the garden that feed on this type of beetle.

All of the above methods will help get rid of golden bronze. But it should be remembered that green beetle is endangered Therefore, it is necessary to deal with it only in extreme cases.

Bronzovka (Cetoniinae) is a subfamily of beetles belonging to the family of lamellar mustaches (Scarabaeidae). Includes five subspecies, which differ from each other in appearance and range. Within each subspecies, several forms are distinguished, differing in color and the presence or absence of hairs. These beetles are distributed throughout Eurasia, except for desert and mountainous regions.

Bronzovka is often mistaken for an ordinary May beetle, since they belong to the same family. These insects can be distinguished by their bright metallic color and flight. When flying, the rigid elytra of the bronzes remain folded, unlike most beetles, and thin transparent wings are released through the notches on the sides. Therefore, despite their size, these beetles maneuver well in the air.

The most common are Golden Bronzovka, Shaggy Bronzovka and Small Green Bronzovka.

note

Smooth bronze (Protaetia aeruginosa) and marble bronze (Protaetia marmorata) are listed in the Red Book of the Moscow Region.

Description

The size: 13-23 mm;
Color: Golden green, with a copper-red tint.

Description

The size: 8-13 mm;
Color: Brilliant black, with a lot of gray and yellow hairs on the surface

Description

The size: 18-20 mm;
Color: Green with a golden sheen.

General signs

Departure: in bronzes, it begins in late May - early June and lasts for 2.5-4 months.
Activity: most active in the heat, hiding in the soil at night.
Food: flowers, ovaries and young fruits, leaves, as well as the juice secreted by trees.

Damage caused by bronze

Bronzovka is a typical forest dweller who prefers sunny glades. Due to their frequent visits to garden plots in search of food, they are recognized as pests. Beetles are very voracious, destroy flowers of fruit and berry and ornamental crops, suck juices from plants, leaving behind yellowed areas, and gnaw leaves. If the beetles get into houses, they begin to eat houseplants.

The harm caused by bronze to garden plots is that this beetle feeds on:

flowers of fruit and berries ornamental plants, often eat young fruits of fruit crops;
cabbage, carrot, that is, parts of a plant or fruit containing seeds;
beet leaves.

note

Beetles completely gnaw out stamens and pistils - the reproductive organs of plants located inside the flower, so their pollination and fertilization becomes impossible, which means that the ripening of fruits and seeds is also impossible.

At the same time, ornamental plants cease to fulfill their function, acquiring a nondescript appearance and losing their aroma.

Measures to combat bronze

Until now, there are no exact instructions on how to get rid of bronze, because until recently, it did not pose a big threat. Some believe that these beetles cannot inflict great harm cultivated plants, due to late summer, when most of them fade.

Damage to plants is caused by adult bronze beetles. But you need to start fighting with the larvae.

The larvae of these beetles live in rotten wood or in heaps of humus, therefore, if you periodically get rid of such wood and clean your site from fallen leaves and fruits, the likelihood of adult beetles will be significantly reduced. On the other hand, the larvae process plant residues, contributing to the formation of a fertile soil layer.

Ways to fight

Ways to get rid of bronze do not differ much from the generally accepted pest control methods:

Collecting and shaking off beetles by hand. For relief, you can spray the plants with cold water, from which the bronzes fall into a stupor. After shaking off, you need to place them in a container with kerosene. This method is not particularly effective, since others will fly in to replace the destroyed bronzes;

Spraying with decoctions and infusions of herbs that repel pests, such as dandelion, tansy, wormwood, garlic, horseradish, onion, etc.
You can use pesticides, introducing them into the soil to a depth of 3-5 cm at night, since the beetles hide in the ground at night;
Plowing the soil after winter will destroy the beetles that are in the soil during this period

The bronze beetle does not mean a specific type of insect, but denotes a subfamily belonging to the family of horn beetles, in which there are more than 4,000 species. Most bronzes are residents of the tropics. At least 33 species of these beetles live in Russia. The family includes not only bronzes, but also. This family also includes one of the main pests. Agriculture – .

Beetles get their name from the metallic sheen of their shells. But not always the beetles of this subfamily can be identified at a glance. Some have plain black carapace without a hint of metallic sheen. The most recognizable golden bronze is the most common and numerous species in Eurasia. Some Eurasian species:

golden;
smooth;
smelly;
hairy;
marble;
copper.

Bronzovka Shamil is a rare species, endemic to the mountainous Dagestan.

General characteristics of beetles

The body is short. The back line is almost straight. The transitions from the back to the sides are rounded. The head is small, directed downward and forward. This family is called lamellar because of the special structure of the antennae, which, if necessary, the insect unfolds into a fan of plates.

Interesting!
The flight speed of bronze beetles is much higher than that of other flying beetles.

Such success with bronzers is due special structure elytra: on the sides between the abdomen and the rigid plate there are small cutouts. Through them, insects release translucent brown wings. The elytra remain folded and do not inhibit the bronze. Other beetles are forced to open their elytra, which stick up and to the sides in flight and greatly interfere with flight.

Coloring

The color of bronzes is very diverse. Not always these beetles have a beautiful color. Even within the same species and habitat, bronzes can vary greatly in color.

On a note!
Sometimes the coloring is formed by special highlights that completely cover the main background. Color can be with a metallic sheen and without it.

With a metallic sheen, that is, shiny, bold-shiny and matte-shiny:

green with various shades - the most common in the group;
blue;
copper red;
purple;
purple;
bronze;
black with a metallic sheen.

In beetles without a metallic sheen, the color can be:

black;
brown;
brown;
red in different shades;
green;
yellow;
white with an olive or gray tint.

On a note!
All members of the family have feature: light spots, shaped like the edges of scales.

The spots may be:

yellowish;
clay yellow;
white;
pink.

They are located on the elytra, pronotum, underside of the abdomen and upper part of the hind legs. The spots may be different size and forms. Sometimes these markings merge, covering most of the beetle's body. Most often this happens on the elytra.

golden bronze

Other official name beetle - common bronze. Sometimes it is called the green Maybug. The name is completely wrong, since these two species differ not only in color, but also in structure, as well as the time of summer. If we compare the bronze beetle with the May one in the photo of the beetle, removing the insects from above and behind, it will be clear that the May abdomen is much longer than the elytra and has a sharp posterior tip. The elytra of the May is ribbed and directed at a greater angle to the ground than that of the Bronze.

Golden bronze - a small beetle. Among Russian Coleoptera there are much larger specimens. But you can't call her small either. The body length of the golden bronze is 13-23 mm, with a width of 8-12 mm.

On a note!
Golden bronze has many color variations. The only one common feature: it is a beetle with a shiny metallic coloring. You can even meet a blue beetle.

Color variations

Basic color options:

Top part the body is copper-purple with a metallic sheen. The bottom is black with a purple sheen.
Black without shine.
"Regular" emerald beetle, but there are no scales on the back, only two spots are present.
Iridescent beetle. The pronotum and head are emerald green with a golden sheen. When illuminated from the side, the reflection is dark blue. The wings are green. When light falls from the side - violet-brown. There are no white spots.
Elytra, pronotum and head green or golden green. The beetle is covered with bristles.
On the main background there are large and numerous white spots, which often merge into transverse wavy lines.
The back and legs are golden red or golden green. There is a strong copper-red tint.
Dark purple coloration. There are characteristic white spots on the elytra. There are no spots on the abdomen and pronotum.
The top is copper-red or copper-brown, the bottom is bronze-green. Many spots on the elytra.
Above the coloration is dark bronze or dark bronze-green. Bottom is black.
Scutellum, pronotum and head dark copper-red. Elytra black-green. The bottom part is black.
Olive green color without spots.
The upper side is dark purple with characteristic spots, the lower side is dark red with a strong purple sheen.
The back is golden green. May be copper red.
The upper part is green or golden green, the lower part is green.
The top of the beetle is green, the back of the abdomen is purple-red, the thoracic side is purple.
Upperparts golden green or copper red, without spots.
Dark blue back with a green tint. There are white spots on the wings.
The back is bright blue, the chest is black-blue, blue-green, blue.

Bronzovkas are very "democratic" in their coloring. In addition to those listed, there are about a dozen different variations.

On a note!
Another mother-of-pearl green beetle, the mint leaf beetle, is sometimes confused with bronze. This green bug 2 times smaller bronze and has a convex shell shape. It eats the leaves of essential oil plants and brings significantly more harm than bronze. But it belongs to a different family.

Lifestyle

Golden bronzes are common throughout the Eurasian continent. They are not found only in the mountains and deserts. They eat bronze flower cores. They have a wide menu, they are able to damage the flowers of cultivated and wild plants. Very often they can be found on roses, where they climb into the very core. But bronzes are not capable of causing serious harm to the garden.

Interesting!
Gardeners do not like these insects, as they believe that the larva of the bronze beetle eats the roots. horticultural crops. In fact, the plants are harmed, similar to the offspring of bronzes.

Bronzoviki are very light and heat-loving creatures. They are active during the day in hot sunny weather. On cloudy days, bronzes are apathetic. They sit almost motionless on the cores of flowers and do not try to fly. In rainy and cold weather they hide in shelter:

under rosettes of flowers;
in bedding on the ground;
under plant roots.

At night, the beetles also descend to the ground.

The similarity between bronze beetles and May brown beetles is the time of summer. Bronzovki are thermophilic and the time of their life depends on the climate in the region. In the northern regions, beetles only appear in June, while in the southern years, bronze starts from mid-May.

The period of development of the beetle from egg to adult can take from several months to a year, depending on when the eggs were laid. If the insect has managed to develop to the adult stage by autumn, the adult winters in shelters and wakes up much earlier than the main summer time of this species.

What does the bronze beetle eat?

What bronze is not like the May beetle is the food base. The May beetle damages the leaves of bushes and trees. Bronzovka eats the core of flowers. The larva of the May beetle (Khrushch) feeds on the roots of living plants. Bronze - rotting organic matter.

The insect eats the flowers of plants from 31 families. The list includes rosaceous, mulberry, umbrella, dogwood, ranunculus and many other families.

Larva

All larval stages of lamellar beetles are similar to each other. And the larvae of representatives of this subfamily are also so similar that it is often difficult to understand the types of insects not only from the description, but also from the photo. In order not to remember the signs that distinguish one C-shaped larva from another, gardeners prefer to fight all at once. Measures to combat the bronze beetle have not been developed, since it cannot cause serious harm to the crop. The years of these shiny green beetles begin after flowering fruit trees. Only individual individuals that emerged from hibernation before the bulk of the bronzes can damage the flowers.

On a note!
Some types of bronzes in Russia are under state protection.

The larvae of these beetles process organics more than earthworms. As a result, the benefits of the larvae are greater than the harm from adults. And given that three species are protected, it is easier to separate different types larvae.

The table clearly demonstrates the differences between the larvae of the bronze and the May beetle:

Bronzovka	Khrushch
Eats decaying organic matter	Eats living plant roots
Body covered with bristles	The body is smooth
Paws short, non-functional	Paws are long, tenacious, enabling rapid movement
Body of the same diameter along the entire length	The body is strongly thickened in the caudal region.
The head is small, inconspicuous compared to the diameter of the body.	The head is huge compared to the bronze. The diameter of the head is equal to the diameter of the body
Mandibles are small, weak	Powerful mandibles of the gnawing type

At home, only those who are not afraid of worms and insects can understand the larvae. The rest just kill everyone in a row.

On a note!
You can save the future harvest by manually collecting adult bronzes.

Very similar to one of the variants of the golden bronze beetle is a smooth bronze beetle, listed in the Red Book of the Moscow Region. This species prefers old forests and parks, where there are a lot of rotten trees.

Distributed in Southern Europe. In Russia, in the north, the border of the range passes through Kaliningrad, Voronezh, Samara. In the south - across the border with Ukraine to Orenburg.

This beetle with a green shiny back is larger than its “relative”. Its body length is up to 3 cm. There are no white marks on the elytra and cephalothorax. Elytra cast either golden or copper-red sheen. Legs and underside of the body with a bluish tinge.

Marble

An analogue of a golden bronze with a green shell, decorated with white marks. In marble, a greenish tint of the shell is often found. The body size is slightly larger: up to 27 mm.

Distributed throughout Eurasia, except for the mountain forests of the Caucasus and Crimea. Prefers lowland forests. Settles on old trees. The species is numerous, but insects are found singly. These beetles are active from June to August in the European part of Russia and from mid-May to mid-August in Ukraine.

The life cycle in warm regions takes 1 year, in the northern regions - 2 years. The eggs of the female are laid in old tree stumps.

Bronzovka Shamil

Little-studied endemic of Intramountainous Dagestan. Until 1981, it was listed as an extinct species. Color dark bronze green. The upper part of the body is matte, the lower part is shiny. Body length 2 cm.

Meet on various plants. The larvae develop in the soil, feeding on detritus.

smelly

Other names: speckled deer or fetid deer. A small shiny black beetle. Body size up to 13 mm. There are many small white spots on the elytra. The body is covered with thick white bristles. Lives in warm regions, including in the south of Russia.

A pest of agriculture, as the larvae eat the roots of plants. Imago feeds on pollen. Summer starts from May.

hairy

The beetle is 8-13 mm in size. The color is black, matte, with yellowish or white spots. The pattern of spots is very variable. The bristles on the body are of two colors: white and gray. The underside is covered with dense light hairs. Adults eat buds and flowers, larvae eat rotting organic matter. Shaggy bronze is one of the.

Copper

The view is very similar in appearance and size to a smooth bronze. The sizes match too. Body length 1.6-2.5 cm. Elytra and pronotum green with a golden sheen. The head, lower body and paws are black with a purple tint.

Lives in Southern Europe. Found in Cairo. In Russia, this species is absent.

Genus Goliathus

Or goliath beetles. The largest representatives of the bronze subfamily. The weight of the beetle can reach 100 g, and the body size is 11.6 cm.

Interesting!
The largest species of the genus, Goliathus regius, is twice the size of a mouse.

Large green beetles of the species Mecynorrhina torquata are not much inferior in size to Goliathus regius. The length of the male can reach 8.5 cm.

The main color of the representatives of the genus is black with white spots. Sometimes there is more white in color than black.

Goliaths are inhabitants of Central and Southeast Africa. They do not meet in Russia. If such a beetle was found on Russian territory, it means that it escaped from someone from the terrarium.

Bronzing golden (Cetonia aurata) is a beautiful large "metal beetle" that flies beautifully. It eats away the core of the flowers and feasts on the pulp of the fruit.

Bronze in a peony flower

Description of golden bronze

Bronze golden ( Cetonia aurata) is a representative of the Coleoptera order (beetles), the Lamellar family x. It belongs to the genus Cetonia ("metal beetle"). Entomologists distinguish five main subspecies of golden bronze and a number of aberrations (options with additional and signs, deviation from the typical sample). The body length of the golden bronze is up to 22.5 mm. Coloring - emerald, green "metallic".

In fact, the beetle is black, but the thin and complex microstructures of its integuments, which refract and decompose light, create a play of rays, and the beetle appears metallic green, blue, and even copper-reddish. Such a coloration, in contrast to ordinary pigmentation, is called structural, or optical (V.S. Grebennikov "Secrets of the world of insects").

Golden bronzes feed on flowers (wild and cultivated herbaceous plants, trees and shrubs). They gnaw leaves, young shoots and petals. A delicacy for these beetles are the hearts of flowers. They do not disdain juice and juicy pulp of ripe fruits.

The bronze is golden, maybe not elegant enough, but it is beautifully colored and shimmers with gold. Who has not seen this beetle, which looks like a large emerald, when it sits on a rosehip branch, standing out with its brilliant color against a delicate background of petals! He sits motionless, day and night, enjoying the scent of a flower, and at the same time having dinner. Only too hot sun brings the beetle out of its stupor, and it flies away. According to one type of this lazy person, it can be said that the bronze is a glutton (Jean-Henri Fabre "The Life of Insects. Stories of an Entomologist").

On a warm sunny day, bronzes are especially active. They fly from place to place, sometimes during the flight they do not have time to go around a person and crash into him. As a result of such a collision, the beetle flops to the ground. Usually on the back. After a lot of effort, he manages to roll over and stand up in a normal position. The golden bronze is arranged incredibly interestingly. The mechanism of its functioning has been worked out in detail. Here is just one example:

… in aircraft handsome bronze ovok nature has patented something interesting. The elytra of the bronze are almost not raised during flight, they lie tightly in their place, on the back. And strong ringing wings are set on the side, for this there is a special cutout on the elytra, which is characteristic only of bronzes. And these fast, agile beetles in flight, with good maneuverability, can compete with such first-class flyers as bumblebees (V.S. Grebennikov "Secrets of the insect world").

Bronzovka larva

In a pile of humus, you can see large white larvae. He is fat and well-fed. They are often mistaken for the larvae of the cockchafer.

The bronzing larva eats continuously and turns dead leaves and stalks already destroyed by rotting into powder. The veins would have remained intact for a long time in rotting leaves. The larva also eats these slowly decaying remains: with strong jaws, it splits them into fibers, and then gnaws. In her intestines, they turn into dough, quite suitable for fertilizing the soil. One of the most active manufacturers of chernozem is the larva of the bronze (Jean-Henri Fabre "The Life of Insects. Stories of an Entomologist").

Interestingly, the larvae, planted in a jar of rotting plant debris, continue to exist perfectly in captivity. They become the object of observation:

And the larvae lived for a long time in a jar of dust and sometimes showed my guests an original attraction: they rode around the table ... on their backs. Don't be surprised: back riding is the only possible way the movements of these creatures, overweight, fat, very similar to the larvae of the May Khrushchev, but “offended by God” in relation to the legs, thin, short and weak. The poor fellows, who find themselves outside the underground abode, in open space, have no choice but to move due to the energetic contractions of the body; it turned out that it is more convenient to do this, lying upside down, until you manage to crawl to the shelter and return to your dungeon (V.S. Grebennikov "Secrets of the world of insects").

It is curious that the bronze larvae feel great not only in a heap of humus, but also in an anthill. Many wild animals know this, such as badgers and foxes. In search of food, they tear open forest anthills, and then devour the appetizing fatty larvae of the bronze beetle wintering in it.

Bronzovka as a pest

Florists do not like bronzovok, because for them these beetles are deservedly a pest. I get annoyed when blooming white lilac in just a couple of days it loses its luxurious inflorescences. It is she who attracts the attention of large green beetles. They suck all the juices from the flowers, leaving behind brown spots on inflorescences. I got the impression that bronzovok especially attracts precisely White color. Such a conclusion can be drawn if you look at the lilac bushes of other colors growing nearby, compare the wild rose (white and pink-raspberry) and peonies (very different). Of course, charming gluttonous beetles are not limited only to white or very light flowers, but they are happy to savor them first of all.

Bronzovki did not appear on our site immediately. They had nothing to do in the village in which they had not yet grown up blooming gardens. From some point on, these emerald beetles became very numerous. They have become a pest. I know many places in the Moscow region where golden bronzes Hardly ever. Whether it's a coincidence or not, the May beetle, which is not found here, is well known there.

The golden bronze flies beautifully, so it makes no sense to destroy it with the help of "chemistry". Everyone has different methods of destroying bronzes. Some owners of beetle plots crush them with their feet, others collect them and drown them in jars of water. Golden bronzes fly into open windows and doors of terraces and balconies, with a crash they plop on the windowsill or on the floor. Beetles quickly come to their senses and taste indoor plants. The other day I took off the bronze from an orchid flower (phalaenopsis). Even here, the gourmet beetle did not change its taste preferences. He chose phalaenopsis with white flowers! AT last years in the media, alarming information is increasingly appearing that bronzes willingly switch to ripe fruits, which, of course, does not please gardeners.

Bronzovka in the Red Book of the Moscow Region

The Fiber bronze, or brilliant ( Protaetia fieberi), which differs from the golden bronze "by a smooth, shiny, raised parasutural region of the elytra and a wide process of the mesothorax between the middle pair of legs." It is clear that only an entomologist can tell the difference between these species. Golden-green (copper-red or light bronze) beetle often lives in broad-leaved forests. Especially in oak. It feeds on tree sap and flowers. Its larvae live (and hibernate) in the rotten wood of oak, poplar, willow and others. deciduous trees. In the Moscow region, the Fiber bronze has become a very rare species: “The highest number is near the r.p. Booloomut, where you can observe 3-4 individuals per field season. It has not yet been found in similar biotopes in the Ozersky and Serebryano-Prudsky districts. The brilliant bronze can be found in one of the reserves of the Serpukhov region and in the southeast of the region.

In addition to golden bronze, smooth bronze is included in the Red Book of the Moscow Region ( Protaetia aeruginosa) and marble bronze ( Protaetia marmorata).

It becomes uncomfortable at the thought that the population of the pretty bronze is golden, worst enemy flower growers, also has a clear downward trend. "Irresponsible" gardeners (including myself) are confidently approaching the day when this beetle will be listed in the Red Book.

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