Who eats the Colorado potato beetle? The main natural enemies of the pest

Who eats the Colorado potato beetle? In domestic latitudes there are birds and insects that act as natural enemies of the pest. For example, it is known that guinea fowls eat Colorado beetles.

In the southern regions of the planet there are many more animals that can help in the destruction of an insect parasite. However, in this material we will not talk about this, since their use in our conditions looks impossible. Let us consider who eats the Colorado potato beetle in the existing climatic conditions.

ladybug

One of the main natural enemies of the pest is the ladybug. The insect is effective only when it is necessary to exterminate the Colorado beetle at its early stages of development. In other words, a ladybird can eat extremely small larvae and eggs of a potato parasite.

Golden-eyed

If we talk about who eats the Colorado beetle from insect representatives, we can not ignore the golden-eyed. In appearance it resembles a small dragonfly of a salad shade.

Golden-eyed is a predator. The insect is known for its voracity and unpretentiousness in the choice of food. Helping lace-eyed can destroy eggs and newly hatched larvae of the Colorado beetle. Due to its modest size, it is not capable of influencing adult pests that have developed.

Sierphids

Insects, known in our region, called bubbling, are predatory flies. As ladybugs and lacewings, syrphids act as one of the main natural enemies of the pest.

The tins do not reach the size of an adult Colorado potato beetle. Therefore, they are absolutely useless in the fight against large individuals. However, their distribution on the land during the formation of pest larvae significantly reduces its population.

Guinea fowl

What bird does the Colorado beetle eat? They recommended themselves as an effective fighter parasite guinea fowl. These small birds eat well the insects, which have a bright protective color. Guinea fowls not only larvae and egg-laying eggs from potato shoots, but also pick up adults from the ground, rake the ground in search of dug pests.

Pheasant

Who eats the Colorado beetle from other domestic birds? Pheasants perfectly cope with the task. Their paddock for these purposes on the plot is produced in the first half of the summer. It was at this time that a massive growth of the parasite population was observed.

Breeding pheasants allows coping with the extermination of a number of other harmful insects, in particular, the larvae of the May beetle and the bear. At the same time, these birds are rather whimsical to the conditions of detention and do not always survive in the conditions of harsh domestic winters.

What other birds eat the Colorado potato beetle?

In addition to the above-mentioned poultry, to some extent, the decrease in the pest population is capable of:

• Crows;
• Cuckoo;
• Starlings;
• Hazel grouses;
• Sparrows.

Can I use domestic chickens to destroy a pest?

As practice shows, it is possible to train chickens to eat the Colorado beetle. Tapping from the sheets of potato larvae and adults, such a poultry will only after a preliminary "training".

To teach chickens to eat an insect is necessary from an early age, when the chicks reach 3-4 months. During this period, the bird's favorite food should be mixed with the larvae of the Colorado beetle. Thus, chickens will not only have a visual, but also a taste, association of the pest with food. In the future, the prepared chickens will independently move through the beds, pecking the parasites from the tops.

Finally

The advantages of destroying the Colorado potato beetle without using chemicals are simply obvious. Ogorodnik does not have to spend precious time, effort and money to process the site. In addition, such methods do not carry a danger to human health.

As for the shortcomings of the above methods, it should be noted that their effectiveness is rather low. Even a large number of birds can not permanently exterminate the pest population.