Flies and mosquitoes are a. Flies and mosquitoes belong to the breeding stages of flies. The flies are engaged in sex fraud. The heat affects the sexual orientation of flies
Order Diptera or Flies and mosquitoes (Diptera)
Among the 33 modern orders of insects, the Diptera order occupies one of the first places in terms of abundance and diversity of representatives, yielding in this respect only to beetles, butterflies and hymenoptera. To date, this detachment is known for 80,000 species. Undoubtedly, in the near future this figure will increase significantly, since the study of Diptera is still very far from being completed.
General characteristics of the Diptera detachment
In the vast order of Diptera, there is a huge variety in size, shape and color of the body. The length of some gall midges is only 0.4 mm with a wingspan of just over 1 mm. Some ktyrs reach a length of 50 mm, and the wingspan of individual weevils exceeds 100 mm.
Rice. 1 . General view of Diptera
However, despite the large number of species and the diversity of Diptera, they all share common features. In a typical case, adults have only one pair of membranous wings, rather thin covers, 5-segmented tarsi, a licking or sucking mouth apparatus (proboscis) and well-developed compound (compound) eyes. Development occurs with a complete transformation (metamorphosis), i.e. a larva hatches from the egg, which, after several molts, turns into a motionless pupa, and an adult insect (imago) is born from the pupa. Diptera larvae, unlike caterpillars, are always legless.
Although large swarms of Diptera are often seen, they are not social insects such as termites, bees, and ants. On the contrary, most of them live alone, at least for most of their lives. However, many Diptera gather in a kind of swarm, attracted by the smell of food, a convenient place to rest or mate.
Diptera can flock to the light along with insects of other species. Mosquitoes, bellworms and weevils swarm closer to dusk, usually over bushes, paths or other landmarks, near which the swarm, if frightened off, gathers again. Such groups consist mainly of males; it is believed that the noise of their wings with its characteristic tone attracts females. In experiments, by reproducing sounds similar to the squeak of female mosquitoes of certain species, it was possible to cause swarming of the corresponding males. Accumulations are especially characteristic of blood-sucking dipterans (midges). If the species is active mainly in the dark time of the day, it is called nocturnal, if it is daylight, it is called daytime; an intermediate twilight group is also distinguished.
Hanging flight is observed in various species of Diptera, but is especially developed in hoverflies and hummingbirds. Representatives of these families fly fast and perfectly maneuver in the air. It is not uncommon to observe how they hover motionless in place, intensively working their wings, only to suddenly disappear from view.
Science and technology
Sexual dimorphism. One of the amazing phenomena often found in Diptera is sexual dimorphism, i.e. significant differences in appearance between males and females of the same species. For example, as noted above, males of many species have compound eyes that are holoptic; are in contact with each other, while in females they are separated by a frontal stripe (dichoptic). In female mosquitoes, the antennae are slightly pubescent, while in males they are densely covered with long hairs. Sexual dimorphism can also be expressed in size: males are usually smaller. In females of some species, wings are absent or greatly reduced, while in males they are normally developed. In one of the families of Diptera, in females, two veins of the wing merge at its edge, and in rare males, they are separated throughout. In another group, the legs, antennae, or other body parts of males often bear tufts of hairs with a metallic sheen, absent in females. The legs of the males of some mosquitoes are trimmed with a wide scaly fringe; females do not have it. Differences between the sexes in coloration are common, but usually not conspicuous. However, sometimes this difference is quite significant; for example, males of one American weevils are pale rufous, while females are nearly black.
Mimicry and protective coloration. Many species of harmless Diptera are strikingly similar in appearance to other insects, especially bees and wasps, which man and probably other animals try to avoid. This phenomenon is called mimicry. Its typical example is the appearance of a row of hoverflies; they are so similar to wasps that even an entomologist does not always immediately correctly identify an insect. Other hoverflies mimic the appearance of bees. Some flies are more or less like bumblebees. This similarity is also reflected in the Diptera nomenclature: the whole family Bombyliidae (buzzers) is named in Latin after bumblebees ( bombbus); there are bee hoverflies, bumblebee-like hoverfly, hornet-like hoverfly, etc.; one of the ktyr genera is called Bombomima("imitating bumblebees").
Some Diptera avoid predators with the help of patronizing, i.e. camouflage, coloring. The dark color of mushroom gnats makes them invisible when they sit motionless in crevices under fallen trees. Other Diptera have a "dismembering" coloration. For example, in liriopids, bright black and white stripes on the body are arranged in such a way that these insects, flying against a light or dark background, look just like sets of spots that do not add up to a single whole.
LIFE CYCLE Like other higher insects, the Diptera life cycle is complex and includes complete metamorphosis. The eggs of most species are oblong and light. They hatch into larvae, usually elongated, roughly cylindrical, soft-bodied and legless. In most cases, the hard parts of the head are greatly reduced; such worm-like larvae are called maggots. The larva feeds intensively and periodically molts as it grows. The number of larval molts in Diptera varies, but usually there are two or three. Then comes the pupal stage. In some Diptera, it is formed inside the larval skin, which turns into the so-called. "puparia". In the end, the pupal shell is torn, and an adult insect (imago) is born.
Life cycle of a house fly. On the example of a house fly, one can trace the course of development of Diptera. To lay eggs, the female seeks out accumulations of decaying organic matter, such as dung or garbage heaps. Thus, the fly instinctively leaves the clutch where the inactive larva will be provided with a sufficient amount of food. At one time, the female can lay 120 or slightly more narrow whitish eggs of approx. 1 mm long. Their huge masses are found in places where several females leave their clutches at the same time. At summer temperatures of 2435 ° C, the development of eggs takes approx. 8 ocloc'k. The worm-like larvae hatched from them are approx. 2 mm begin to eat greedily. They grow so fast that the first molt occurs after 24-36 hours, and the second one about a day later. The larva in the third stage feeds for another 7296 hours and grows to a length of approx. 12 mm, and then pupates.
An oblong pupa is formed inside the last larval skin, which becomes the pupal sheath (puparium). This shell changes its off-white color to brown and hardens. Within 4–5 days, inside the externally inactive pupa, the larval tissues disintegrate and rearrange, forming the structures of an adult insect. In the end, the imago comes out with the help of a special frontal bladder, which, under the pressure of the “blood” (hemolymph) injected into it, protrudes into the frontal part of the head. Under its pressure, the “lid” of the puparia opens, releasing an adult insect. It crawls out of the decaying debris or soil in which pupation has occurred, spreads its initially crumpled wings and flies away to feed and mate, starting a new life cycle.
Another curious form of reproduction found in some Diptera is pedogenesis, i.e. the appearance of offspring in outwardly immature individuals. So, in gall midges, an adult female lays only 4 or 5 eggs, from which large larvae are formed. Within each of them, from 5 to 30 (depending on the species and individual) daughter larvae develop. They feed on the mother's body and then reproduce themselves in the same way. After several such cycles, the next larvae pupate, and a generation of adults is formed. Reproduction of larvae occurs without mating. This development of unfertilized eggs is called parthenogenesis. This phenomenon in the absence of pedogenesis has been found in other Diptera, for example, in some midges. Females lay unfertilized eggs, from which only females emerge. Parthenogenesis can be cyclic, continuous or sporadic. See BREEDING;
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION On land, there is, perhaps, no such corner where Diptera would not live. This is the most common order of insects, although the ranges of many of its families are not fully known. Each of the large zoographic regions is characterized by its own set of taxa, but the genera and families to which they belong can be cosmopolitan, i.e. meet almost everywhere. About two dozen species of Diptera are also cosmopolitan. Approximately half of them were unwittingly settled all over the planet by man. These species include the ubiquitous housefly, the peeper mosquito ( Culex pipiens), gastric horse gadfly and autumn zhigalka. Among the approximately 130 Diptera families, less than 20 are truly cosmopolitan, although the ranges of many others are not much narrower; they are distributed subcosmopolitan.
Diptera abound in the humid tropics. The distribution of most families in this natural zone is limited, while many others reach their maximum diversity and abundance here. In temperate or cold regions, there are fewer species of Diptera per unit area, but the number of their individuals is often not lower than in the tropics. In the windswept Arctic wilderness, on mountaintops and among the dunes, where harsh climatic conditions do not suit most insects, Diptera remain the most prominent representatives of this group of invertebrates. In the north of Greenland, a few hundred kilometers from the North Pole, there are weevils, carrion flies, flower girls, bells and mushroom mosquitoes. On the other side of the Earth, on the Antarctic islands, there are several species of midges, hoverflies, weevils, gall midges and some other groups. In Antarctica itself, only one species of wingless mosquito has so far been recorded, but it is likely that other diptera will be found there.
Diptera of mainland islands are usually close to those living on the nearest continents, but on more isolated oceanic islands, even though they belong to widespread groups, they are often very peculiar. Apparently, a single, accidental hit of some species on such islands in the distant past led in the course of evolution to the appearance of a whole set of various forms. This can explain, for example, the fact that almost a third of the 246 Hawaiian Diptera species belong to just one family.
ECOLOGY Possessing thin covers, most Diptera are not able to effectively retain water in the body. They would be in constant danger of desiccation if they did not live in more or less humid conditions. Although the larvae are in many cases aquatic, adults are almost always terrestrial. The only exception sea striders Limonia monostromia, whose entire life cycle takes place in warm sea waters off the coast of Japan.
Larvae. The habitats of Diptera larvae are much more diverse than those of adults and include almost all types of ecological niches. Some attack aphids or gnaw on the leaves of mosses and other plants, i.e. live openly. However, in most cases, they develop in the thickness of a moist substrate, for example, inside the leaves, stems and roots of plants. The larvae of many species burrow through decaying wood, fungi, or soil, feeding on organic debris or microscopic invertebrates.
Often they live in stagnant and flowing bodies of water of any size, where they feed on vegetation, microorganisms, or insects of other species. Most of these aquatic larvae prefer shallow places, but in some bell mosquitoes they dive to depths of more than 300 m. If their development requires a good supply of oxygen, they attach themselves to the stones of river rapids or mountain streams. The larvae and pupae of some Diptera prefer waters with a high content of alkalis or salts, and in one Californian species they live in oil pools. Others are found in hot springs and geysers where the water temperature reaches 50 ° C. The larvae of one of the mosquitoes survive even in the liquid filling the pitcher leaves of insectivorous plants, where other insects drown and digest.
EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY Judging by the fossil finds, insects already existed in the Devonian period, i.e. OK. 300 million years ago. However, until the Upper Triassic (about 160 million years ago), the remains of Diptera were not found among them. The most primitive representatives of this order are similar to long-legged and united in the extinct family Architipulidae. Many different Diptera, close to modern forms, are found in Baltic amber, the resin of coniferous trees, petrified in the Upper Oligocene, i.e. about 35 million years ago. In the Miocene shales from Florissant, Colorado, many fossil centipedes, mushroom mosquitoes, and other Diptera, characteristic of swampy habitats, have been found. Among them, even the tsetse fly is noted, although at present this genus is found only in Africa. The study of Baltic amber and fossils of Florissant showed that by the middle of the Cenozoic era Diptera had passed most of their evolutionary development.
SIGNIFICANCE IN HUMAN LIFE Many species of Diptera are best known as disease vectors, annoying bloodsuckers, and crop pests. Chemical methods of dealing with them are the most effective, however, even the latest insecticides cannot be considered a panacea, since insects quickly acquire resistance to them (resistance).
carriers of human diseases. Listed below are just some of the medically important Diptera.
Housefly mechanically transfers pathogens of bacterial dysentery; it is possible that it can also spread the bacteria of typhoid, paratyphoid, cholera and polio virus.
horseflies can transmit from an infected animal pathogens of tularemia, as well as one of the filariasis loiasis.
cereal flies from the genus hippelates, feeding near the eyes, they easily introduce a bacterium into them that causes acute epidemic conjunctivitis.
Bloodsucking. Blood-sucking dipterans, even if they are not carriers of diseases, such as biting midges, autumn zhigalka, many mosquitoes and midges, during a mass attack worsen the state of human health, causing itching and allergic reactions, sharply reducing efficiency. In addition, all of these species remain potential carriers of pathogens.
Pests of agricultural plants. Compared with beetles, butterflies, herbivorous bugs, and representatives of some other orders of insects, Diptera cause relatively little harm to agricultural plants. Representatives of only 5-6 families have a certain significance in this sense. Serious pests of cereals include the Hessian fly from the family of gall midges. This species damages mainly wheat, but is also dangerous for barley and rye. Hessian fly larvae feed on plant sap at the base of the stems, causing them to stun and lodging. With the development of wheat varieties resistant to such damage, the importance of this agricultural pest has decreased. The variegated family includes many species that feed on the succulent fruits of various plants, but only a few of them cause serious damage. Thus, the larvae of the apple moth fly spoil apples, damage the fruits of citrus and other fruit trees, significantly reducing the yield. Larvae of other Diptera gnaw out passages in various plants. As an example, three species from the family of flower girls can be cited: sprout, cabbage spring and onion flies. Representatives of the family of cereal flies, living in many parts of the world, harm cereal crops.
CLASSIFICATION The Diptera order is divided, according to different systems, into 121138 families, which are grouped into two or three suborders. The classification most often uses such features as venation of the wings, the length of the antennae and the number of segments in them, the number and arrangement of setae and spines on the body and legs, the configuration of the external genital appendages, the presence or absence of simple ocelli, and the shape of the opening through which the imago leaves the pupal skin or puparia. The color, size and shape of the body do not always make it possible to judge the degree of relationship, because natural selection often leads to an outward resemblance of representatives of very distant groups. The scheme proposed below, which includes only the most important families, is only one of the possible ways of classifying the approximately 100,000 species of Diptera; the number of species in families is approximate.
Suborder Nematocera(long-haired). These insects are characterized by long antennae with more than three segments. The group includes 36 families. The antennae in adults consist of 6 or more approximately identical, movably connected segments, and the mandibular palps usually consist of 4 or 5. The larvae have a well-developed dark-colored head capsule. The pupa is not enclosed in a larval skin; puparia is not formed.
Tipulidae (long-legged): 10,000 species, cosmopolitan.
Psychodidae (butterflies): 400 species, sub-cosmopolitans.
Chironomidae (bells, or jerks): 2000 species, cosmopolitans.
Ceratopogonidae (midges): 1500 species, subcosmopolitans.
Culicidae (true mosquitoes): 1600 species, cosmopolitan.
Mycetophilidae (fungi gnats): 2400 species, cosmopolitans.
Cecidomyiidae (gall midges): 4500 species, subcosmopolitans.
Bibionidae (pasties): 500 species, mainly in Eurasia and North America.
Simuliidae (midges): 600 species, subcosmopolitan, but especially numerous in Eurasia, North and South America.
Blepharoceridae (Reticulata): 75 species, found in the highlands.
Suborder Brachycera(short-whiskered) includes approximately 100 families. The antennae of adult insects consist of three segments, of which the last (distal) segment is thickened and bears an appendage in the form of a bristle or rod on the dorsal side or apex. Palpi with one or two segments. The head of the larva is poorly formed or rudimentary. In representatives of some families (straight-seam), the pupa is free; in other cases (circular Diptera) it develops inside the puparium.
Tabanidae (gadflies): 3000 species, mainly in the tropics and subtropics.
Stratiomyiidae (lionfish): 1500 species, subcosmopolitan.
Rhagionidae (snipes): 500 species, mainly in North America and Eurasia.
Nemestrinidae (long-proboscis): 250 species, sub-cosmopolitan, but mainly in Central and North Africa.
Bombyliidae (Buzzers): 2000 species, sub-cosmopolitan, but mainly in North America and the Mediterranean.
Asilidae (Ktyrs): 5000 species, sub-cosmopolitan, but most diverse in the tropics.
Mydaidae: 200 species, distributed in many but isolated regions.
Dolichopodidae (greenfinches): 2000 species, cosmopolitans.
Empididae (pushers): 3000 species, mainly in Eurasia, North and South America.
Phoridae (humpbacks): 1000 species, mainly in the tropics.
Platypezidae (mushroom flies): 100 species, mainly in Eurasia and North America.
Pipunculidae: 400 species, mostly on the northern continents.
Syrphidae (Hoverflies): 4000 species, sub-cosmopolitans.
Conopidae (bigheads): 500 species, subcosmopolitans.
Ortalidae (spotflies): 1200 species, cosmopolitan but especially abundant in the tropics.
AVERAGE LENGTH OF DIPTERS, MM |
|
| buzzed | |
| Bolshegolovka | |
| Midge | |
| Goldeneye | |
| hessian fly | |
| Gadfly gastric | |
| Horsefly bull | |
| Runet sheep | |
| Mosquito | |
| spotfly | |
| Ktyr | |
| Gadfly subcutaneous | |
| hoverfly | |
| hedgehog | |
| American meromiza | |
Trypetidae (stripedflies): 2000 species, mainly in the tropics and subtropics.
Sciomyzidae (tennis): 200 species, mainly in the northern continents and southeast Asia.
Drosophilidae (fruit flies): 750 species, subcosmopolitan.
Ephydridae (shorebirds): 800 species, mainly in Eurasia and North America.
Chloropidae (grass flies): 1200 species, cosmopolitan.
Agromyzidae (mining flies): 1000 species, cosmopolitan but especially abundant in Eurasia.
Anthomyiidae (flower girls): 3000 species, cosmopolitans.
Calliphoridae (carrion flies): 500 species, sub-cosmopolitan, but mostly in the Northern Hemisphere.
Sarcophagidae (grey blowflies): 1000 species, sub-cosmopolitan, but mostly in the tropics.
Muscidae (true flies): 150 species, cosmopolitan.
Tachinidae (Hedgehogs): 5,000 species, cosmopolitan but most diverse in the tropics.
Oestridae (nasopharyngeal gadflies): 150 species, sub-cosmopolitan, but mostly in warm areas.
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Order: Diptera (Mosquitoes and flies)
The Diptera order (including mosquitoes and flies) is relatively young among insects. The earliest finds of fossil flies date back to the Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago. Their heyday began with the expansion of flowering plants and mammals around the planet. Diptera's mouth is designed in such a way that they can feed only on liquid food: the nectar of flowers and the blood of animals.
About 85-100 thousand species of Diptera are known. They are named so because only the first pair of wings is developed and used in flight.
The malarial mosquito, when landing on something, raises its abdomen, the common peeping mosquito keeps it parallel to the surface or even lowers it a little. The larvae of the squeaker mosquito hang vertically at the surface of the water, head down, and the malarial mosquito hangs horizontally.
Both insects are from the family of real mosquitoes, in which one and a half to two thousand species. From the tundra to the tropics, representatives of this family can be found, and everywhere they are the most obnoxious of bloodsuckers. However, not all real mosquitoes suck the blood of animals, many species are content with nectar and plant juice. And in bloodsuckers, only females feed on blood, males - only plant sap.
By autumn, all males of the common mosquito die, only females overwinter in different cracks. In the spring they wake up and rush to the water. Eggs are laid on its surface, which float in small piles with a diameter of about 7 millimeters, and in each pile there are several hundred eggs. If for some reason the mosquito female could not drink blood before laying eggs, then she lays fewer eggs - 40-80.
Soon the larvae hatch. They are heavier than water, and in order to stay near the surface, they have to make considerable efforts: twitching and wriggling, they float up and hang upside down near the surface film of water. But a little danger, they immediately go down. Then they pop up again. They feed on microscopic algae, the remains of dead animals and plants, filtering up to a liter of water each day.
After about three weeks, mosquito larvae pupate. The pupae are lighter than water and float to the surface. They already have eyes, however, still hidden under the covers of the chrysalis. But these covers are transparent, and sudden illumination frightens mosquito pupae - they all immediately sink into the depths. But they soon resurface. Pupae do not eat anything: their mouth organs turn from filtering into piercing-sucking. Other transformations quickly take place, and a few days later a long-legged winged mosquito appears from its bursting covers.
On quiet windless evenings, male mosquitoes gather in flocks: they usually hover over some tree, bush, bell tower, even over a person walking along the road. Turning their heads against the wind, rhythmically rising and falling, mosquitoes seem to dance in place. The smell emitted by the special glands of the mosquito in flight is amplified thousands of times when they gather in a flock. Dancing, mosquitoes scatter it in all directions, and, attracted by this smell, females rush to dance from all sides. Sometimes they also gather in a flock, which winds just below the dancing males. Suddenly, one or another female breaks out of the flock and soars up into the company of males. A moment, and the united couple falls to the ground.
How does a male find a female so quickly among thousands of mosquitoes scurrying up and down randomly? He hears her! Hear the beating of her wings. They oscillate five hundred times per second, and in unison with their oscillation, the male's antennae begin to vibrate. A special organ, located in the second segment of the antennae, perceives only the beating of the wings of a sexually mature female. It is the sexually mature, the immature flapping its wings in a different rhythm, just like male mosquitoes. Therefore, mosquito antennae, tuned to a certain frequency of oscillation, do not respond to the flapping of the wings of other males in the flock.
The old question—whether all female mosquitoes must first drink blood in order to lay mature eggs—has not been definitively settled. Apparently, for some subspecies of common peeping mosquitoes, this condition is not necessary. And hungry females develop eggs, only the fecundity is much less than that of sucking blood.
Copied from the site: http://invertebrates.geoman.ru.
There are over 100,000 species of flies in the world. Some buzz, some bite, some spread disease. The most famous is the housefly, a frequent visitor to our house in warm weather. Flies can be found in almost every corner of the planet Earth. They look very different - for example, blue flies, weevils, houseflies, midges and mosquitoes look very little alike.
The fly is one of the most common and annoying insects on Earth. Her flight both delights us with its accuracy and gets on our nerves. And since this ubiquitous gossip has excellent eyesight and speed, it is not easy to catch it, despite the fact that it has only one pair of wings.
Flies belong to the phylum Arthropoda, class insects, order flies and mosquitoes, family flies. The body length of a fly ranges from a few millimeters (drosophila) to 1.5 cm (house fly) and even up to 2 cm. The body length of a representative of the largest fly species is about 7.5 cm. The fly lives from 1 to 2.5 months.
Squad of insects. Fossils have been known since the Late Triassic. A progressive group with a fast pace of evolution. They have only the front pair of wings (hence the name). The hind wings are transformed into flask-shaped organs - halteres, presumably organs of sense of balance and direction, sometimes reduced in a few wingless forms. The head is rounded, with large compound eyes on the sides. The mouth apparatus is piercing-sucking or licking. The segments of the chest are fused together. The abdomen consists of 4-10 visible segments, the last of them are transformed in females into a telescopically retractable ovipositor, in males - into a copulatory apparatus, the structure of which is a systematic (species) character. Suborders; long-whiskered (or mosquitoes), short-whiskered (or flies) straight-sutured and short-whiskered round-sutured; division is based on the structure of the antennae, head, features of hatching of adults from the pupa shell. Over 150 modern families. About 100 thousand species are widely distributed; over 10 thousand species are known in Russia. Most adult Diptera fly well; can hover, hover motionless in the air.
Latin name Diptera
A very large order of Diptera includes over 85,000 species of highly organized and specialized insects.
These are insects with only a pair of membranous front wings. Diptera are the best flyers among insects.
The rear pair of wings is reduced. Its rudiments are transformed into halteres, inside which are placed chordotonal organs, which are of great importance in the flight of Diptera. The wings in the middle part are usually expanded, and at the very base they are strongly narrowed, sometimes forming a small protrusion - a winglet.
Diptera are characterized by a mobile head with very large compound eyes, a powerful chest, where the mesothorax is most developed, to which wings are attached, small prothorax and metathorax; sessile, rarely stalked abdomen. The larvae are legless, with or without a head. Pupae are mobile or in a false cocoon - puparia.
Diptera classification
The Diptera order is divided into two suborders: 1. Long-whiskers, or Mosquitoes (Nematocera), which includes mosquitoes and forms close to them; 2. Short-whiskers, or Flies (Brachicera). These suborders differ in a number of features of adults, larvae, and pupae.
The suborder of long-whiskers, or mosquitoes (Nematocera), is characterized by long multi-segmented antennae, an elongated abdomen. Larvae with head and gnawing mouthparts. The pupae are free, often mobile, usually without a cocoon.
This suborder includes various mosquitoes and mosquitoes: mosquitoes, midges, midges, bloodworms, centipedes, gall midges, etc.
The mosquito family is of particular importance. Mosquitoes have piercing-sucking mouthparts, with males feeding on flower nectar and females sucking the blood of warm-blooded animals. After bloodsucking, they begin the process of maturation of eggs, and then oviposition.
Of the blood-sucking mosquitoes, the mosquitoes of the genus Aedes are the most numerous, causing the greatest disturbance in the summer, especially in the forest. Of the malarial mosquitoes, the common malarial mosquito (Anopheles maculipennis) is widespread. Mosquitoes of the genus Culex practically do not attack humans. An exception is the mosquitoes of the urban population - Culex pipiens molestus, which hatch all year round in warm cellars.
Anopheles females, starting from sunset and throughout the night, fly into living quarters, where they most often attack people. During the day, malaria mosquitoes are not active, they sit in dark rooms or in natural shelters. Female mosquitoes, like males, suck nectar from flowers. Bloodsuckers need additional carbohydrate nutrition. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in water, and in stagnant water bodies, where the larvae that breathe atmospheric air develop. During the summer there are from 2 to 5 generations of the malarial mosquito, depending on the latitude of the place. For the middle forest belt of Russia, 2-3 generations are common, of which one winters. The life expectancy of males is several days, females (summer) - up to two months. For wintering, females of the malarial mosquito climb into basements, cellars, attics, into livestock rooms, etc.
The biology of malarial mosquitoes and their larvae also determines the methods of dealing with them as malaria vectors. Adult mosquitoes are destroyed on their day and wintering grounds. The most effective fight against mosquito larvae. It boils down to the following: 1) draining the area and destroying shallow water bodies that are convenient for breeding mosquitoes; 2) destruction of larvae by treating reservoirs with persistent insecticides (hexachloran, landrin, karbofos, etc.) used in the form of dusts, suspensions and granular preparations. For the treatment of swampy areas and large reservoirs, pollination from specially equipped aircraft is used, which gives the most effective results.
Not all mosquitoes are blood-sucking, causing this or that harm. Harmless mosquitoes include the cirrus mosquito (Chaoborus). The transparent larvae of this mosquito are common in our water bodies.
Very useful are bloodworms, or ringing mosquitoes (family Chironomidae). These mosquitoes can be seen swarming in one place in the air on summer evenings. Larvae of various types of bloodworms often inhabit the muddy bottom of reservoirs in large numbers. The most common are large red bloodworm larvae (Chironomus plumosus). They are interesting for the presence of hemoglobin in their hemolymph. Chironomus larvae are an essential part of fish food in pond farms, they are specially caught for feeding fish in aquariums.
Mosquitoes - tiny insects (2-2.5 mm long) - are a group close to mosquitoes. In our country they are common in the Crimea, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Mosquito larvae live in moist, organically rich places. Mosquitoes enter houses and inflict painful bites. The mosquito Phlebotomus papatasii, which is common in Crimea, transmits papatachi fever. This fever passes quickly and does not recur, but is very debilitating, despite the short duration of the disease (two or three days).
Mosquitoes are also carriers of Leishmania.
Diptera Flies
The suborder of the short-whiskered, or flies (Brachicera), differs from the long-whiskered ones in short, usually three-segmented antennae, a wide, mostly ovoid abdomen, and mouth limbs of a licking or stabbing type. Their larvae are headless or with a retractable head armed with hooks (modified mandibles). The pupa is often in a false cocoon or without it.
The common housefly (Musca domestica) is of great importance, since it often appears in large numbers and plays the role of a mechanical carrier of pathogens of various diseases (typhoid fever, dysentery, etc.). The housefly is very prolific. The female lays 130-150 eggs in one clutch, and up to 600 eggs throughout her life. She lays her eggs in various decaying substances (in garbage dumps, landfills, etc.), in manure and human feces.
Similar to the housefly, but somewhat larger and less mobile than the housefly (Muscina stabulans). The body length of a house fly is 6-8 mm, brownie - 9 mm. Smaller flies often fly into rooms, usually hovering under a lamp or near the ceiling. This is a small house fly (Fannia canicularis) (body length 5-6 mm), it also lays eggs in manure and human feces. All fecal flies can participate in the transfer of pathogens of intestinal infections and carry the eggs of worms. The transfer of a bacterial infection occurs with the help of a licking proboscis and sticky pads on the paws. In addition, pathogenic bacteria are usually not digested in the fly's intestines and get into food products with its feces.
It is said that in autumn the flies become "evil" and bite painfully. However, none of the mentioned flies sting. At the end of summer and early autumn, the Stinger (Stomoxys calcitrans) often flies into the rooms. She has a hard proboscis with piercing bristles. It pierces the skin and sucks blood, attacking mainly domestic animals.
In human housing, large blue blowflies (Calliphora erythrocephala) and green carrion flies (Lucilia caesar) are often found, painted in blue with a metallic sheen, flying with a strong buzz - small green flies, only 3 mm long. They lay their eggs on the carcasses of animals, on meat thrown out or left uncovered, etc.
Finally, a large, gray and black blowfly (Sarcophaga carnaria) is common, remarkable in that the eggs of this fly develop in the body of the female and she gives birth to larvae already hatched from the eggs (live birth).
The tsetse fly (Glossina palpalis), a fly found in Africa that transmits sleeping sickness, is systematically close to house flies.
The harm caused by flies is not limited to the spread of pathogens of infectious diseases. Among the flies, there are species that are very serious pests of crops. Such, for example, is the cabbage fly (Hylemyia brassicae), which lays its eggs in cabbage seedlings; its larvae eat cabbage roots. This is one of the most dangerous garden pests. Other types of flies are harmful to cereals (cereal flies).
Worthy of mention is also a very large group of flies belonging to the family of hoverflies, or flower flies. They are usually seen in large numbers flying near the flowers and landing on them. Many of them are excellent examples of mimicry in shape and color, and for some the model is the bee (bee fly), for others - small wasps or bumblebees. Of the flower flies, the genus of sirphs is remarkable in that their predatory larvae live on the leaves of plants and eat aphids. Among the hoverflies, however, there are agricultural pests, such as the onion hoverfly (Eumerus strigatus).
