Bark beetle - a dangerous pest

A real disaster can result in the appearance of such a beetle as a bark beetle in a wooden house. It has long settled in the vast territories of the European part of Russia, the Far East and Siberia. What is the bug so hampering ordinary people and what damage does the forest cause?

The bark beetle has its name not by chance. If a family couple of such insects settle in the tree bark , their further life will lead to the fact that the trunk will be like an imprint of a typographic machine.

Quite young beetles, recently emerged from the pupa, are very small in size, their calves soft, light brown in color. Growing up, they change color, becoming very dark and even black, with small dots on the back. The maximum height is 4.5 mm. At the tip of the trunk there is a depression with pointed edges, called a wheelbarrow.

The bark beetle (photo presented in the article) lives on healthy and fallen trees, in the thickness of wooden logs, sometimes stumps. At the same time, only male individuals participate in the exploration and search for suitable housing. Choosing a worthy wooden shelter, the male gnaws a spacious cavity, where 2-3 females creep in, each of which is fertilized. After that, the females build themselves a uterine process. The tunnel, which gnaws through the bark beetle, is intended only for the laying of eggs. The length of the stroke can be up to 15 cm, with each testicle laid out in a specially progryzennuyu dimple. At this stage, the mission of adult beetles is over. They go outside, fly, eat wood bark, twigs, bite the shoots. And young larvae begin to develop actively, eating everything in their path.

A gluttonous brood creates moves of a bizarre form, in which a man considered a "typographical" drawing. The stage of development of the larva lasts 60-70 days. Then, out of the chrysalis, adult beetles-typographers come out into the light. They are still in the habitual place for a while, under the bark, and then fly out into the wild. The young generation is ready for the mating season and goes in search of a suitable tree. The process is resumed. In the hot summer can be deduced consistently three generations, which completely spoil the wooden buildings and damage the forest. A healthy tree perishes in 2-3 years. Trying to defend itself, it releases tar and juices into the cavity, but it does not withstand constant invasions. And the wooden frame turns into a pile of rubbish even faster.

In this regard, the struggle against the bark beetle should begin when the first signs of his presence are discovered. Folk remedies are unlikely to help. Science has established that the bark beetle printer reacts sensitively to smells. During the mating season, males excrete ferromones - odorous calling substances. This served as an idea to use smells in traps. The method is very effective, as all females in the district flock to the same scent. But, unfortunately, the larvae remain in their places. Therefore, the cardinal method is used - removal of the bark from infected trees and burning it, cutting down the diseased shrub, annealing the territory.