Further Information
Aphids
There are around 500 species of Aphid in Europe, but the most common of these in the garden is generally the Black Bean Aphid (Aphis fabae). It is also known by its common name: Blackfly.
Widespread throughout Britain and frequently a pest, aphids are about 2mm long. They possess specialised piercing and sucking mouthparts, which are used to obtain plant juices. It is this characteristic, coupled with its prolific reproductive capabilities, that has made the species a notorious enemy of farmers and gardeners alike. The widespread aphid is a minute species with a small head and bulbous abdomen. The body is blackish or dark green in colour and the membranous wings are held angled over the body (like a roof) when at rest. Not all individuals possess wings, and the wingless forms have squatter bodies than winged specimens. Two tube-like protrusions at the rear of the abdomen, known as cornicles, are the openings of wax glands. This wax protects the aphid from certain predators.
Aphids appear in a range of habitats including crop fields and gardens; they have fascinating and complex life-cycles, comprising of several different forms and numerous generations each year. The eggs over-winter on certain host plants, which in the black bean aphid are the spindle tree (Eunomys europaeus), or on Viburnum or Philadelphius plants. The aphids that hatch from these eggs in spring are all special wingless females, known as ‘stem mothers’. These stem mothers are able to reproduce asexually through a process known as ‘parthenogenesis’ that does not involve mating. Furthermore, they do not lay eggs but give birth to live offspring, which are also females and able to reproduce without mating. The next generation to be produced are typically winged forms, and these undertake migrations to new plants. These summer hosts include a range of species such as beans, docks and spinach. Further bursts of asexual reproduction and live births on these hosts allow large populations to build up quickly on these plants. Winged and wingless forms are produced throughout the summer, with the winged forms allowing dispersal to new plants. Towards autumn, migration back to the primary hosts occurs. Sexual females are produced on the winter hosts and males mate with the females. It is on these plants that the mated females lay eggs which will over-winter, allowing the whole cycle to start once more the following year.
Aphids do have many natural enemies and these include Ladybirds and numerous species of bird including Blue Tits and House Sparrows who will collect large numbers of aphids to feed to their young. However, the sheer number of aphids in some years will mean that these predators have little visible affect on them and measures need to be taken to reduce their numbers (complete ilimination is very hard to achieve).
Flies
It has been calculated that there are approximately 10,000 flies for every single human being – that's about 60,000,000,000,000 flies alive at any one time. Throughout the world there are more than 85,000 different species of fly, but the one which is the common pest in our homes is the House fly.
Flies have a very sophisticated in-built gyroscope that constantly stabilises their movement and they can take off in any direction – not just forwards like most creatures. So even when a fly looks as though it's bouncing all around a room, it has probably got everything under control.
House fly (Musca domestica)
The House fly is, perhaps, the most common and widespread animal in the world. It is a serious pest, which spreads many disease-causing pathogens including Salmonella, anthrax and polio. It is 8mm long, greyish in colour with four dark stripes along the back. Like all flies it has one pair of membranous 'true' wings and the second pair of wings are modified into drumstick-like appendages known as 'halteres', which are used in balance. The sponge-like mouthparts are adapted for feeding on liquids, and the reddish compound eyes are large.
During her 25-day lifespan, a female House fly can lay more than 600 eggs.
House flies undergo 'complete metamorphosis': the larvae (maggots) progress through three stages known as 'instars' before a pupal stage develops in which complex changes take place as the body of the maggot re-organises into the adult fly. Adults feed on rotting plant and animal matter and sugary liquids. They repeatedly salivate on food, ingest it and regurgitate it in order to pre-digest the food.
This species is ubiquitous throughout Britain and is found in many parts of the world.
Flies occur in a wide range of habitats, and are often associated with human activities. They tend to breed in manure and other decomposing material.
House flies contaminate food, and in developing countries are responsible for millions of infant deaths per year as a result of dehydration caused by diarrhoea. Because flies feet are sticky, they usually pick up small amounts of whatever they're standing in and take it to the next place they go to. A single fly is capable of carrying more than 6-million bacteria.
Mosquitoes
There are about 2500 species of mosquitoes in the world today, of which 30 live naturally in the UK. In warmer countries, mosquitoes are responsible for transmitting a number of serious diseases to humans including yellow fever, malaria, filariasis dengue and Japanese B encephalitis. While the UK has many of the same species of mosquito as these countries, the diseases are generally not present (though there is speculation that this may change in the future as a consequence of global warming). Therefore there are no known incidences of mosquitoes transmitting disease to people in the UK. However, bites can become infected and especially if they are scratched.
Different species of mosquitoes show preferences and, in many cases, narrow restrictions as to the host animals they suck blood from. It is only the female which bites to suck blood, and the reason it does this is a requirement for the protein found in blood in order to mature their eggs (not for food as is often thought), which are then generally laid on the surface of water. They are apparently attracted to host animals by moisture, lactic acid, carbon dioxide, body heat, and movement.
Some interesting facts about mosquitoes:
- A mosquito can fly an estimated 1 to 1.5 miles per hour
- Mosquitoes can dash between raindrops and even fly backwards
- Mosquito is the Spanish name for little fly
- Biting increases by a massive 500 times when there is a full moon
- The wings of a mosquito beat 500 times a second
- A mosquito can smell a crowd from 20 metres away
- A mosquito can detect a moving target at 18 ft away
- Mosquitoes fly a huge 150 miles in their lifetime
- The average mosquito weighs in at a tiny 2 to 2.5 milligrams
- Mosquitoes’ bodies are divided into three parts and they have six jointed legs
- They also have scales on their wings
Wasps
The common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) is a familiar and much feared social insect, often taking the edge off many an otherwise happy garden party or barbecue with their incessant behaviour. They are found in a wide range of habitats and, as well being common in gardens, are also found in woodlands and meadows.
They are quite large insects at around 2cm in length, with an obvious 'waist' between the thorax and abdomen. They have bright yellow and black bands along the body, two pairs of wings and fairly long, robust antennae. The sting is located at the tip of the abdomen. The queens (reproductive females) are larger than workers (non-reproductive females).
The main reason that wasps are so feared is of course their sting, which can be quite painful and can be used more than once (unlike those of bees). The sting has evolved from a modified ovipositorr, a structure used in egg-laying, and so only workers (which are all females) are able to sting.
The common wasp usually forms large colonies below ground, but occasionally nests may be made in wall cavities, hollow trees and attics. Queens emerge from hibernation during the spring, and they search for a suitable location in which to start a new colony. She then begins to build the nest with chewed up wood pulp which dries to make a papery substance. A few eggs are laid, which develop into non-reproductive workers. These workers eventually take over the care of the nest and the queen's life is then devoted solely to egg laying. At the end of autumn, a number of eggs develop into new queens and males which leave the nest and mate. The new queens seek out suitable places in which to hibernate and the males, and the old colony (including the old queen), then die.
The developing larvae are fed on insects which the workers bring back to the nest. Few people are aware of the role the common wasp plays in keeping the populations of many insect pests under control, so in this respect they are a friend to us. The adults require high-energy sugary foods such as nectar and fruit and they also feed on a sugary substance exuded by the larvae.
Common Clothes Moth
The Common Clothes Moth (sometimes called the Webbing Clothes Moth) is very destructive and damage to clothing occurs most commonly in dark hidden areas, such as under collars and cuffs. In addition though, sometimes the larvae are very active and may be seen crawling on clothes or on the floor beneath badly infested furniture.
Besides feeding on clothes, carpets, rugs, and upholstered furniture, the clothes moths feed on furs, stored wool, and such miscellaneous things like the animal bristles of brushes (and even the felts in pianos). In an outdoor environment, it feeds on pollen, hair, feathers, wool, fur, dead insects, and dried animal remains.
Identification
Adult clothes moths have a wingspread of about 12mm and that of the male is somewhat less. The body is about 3mm long with wings folded and golden-yellow with a satiny sheen. A tuft of reddish golden hairs on the head is upright and reddish-gold. Eggs are oval, ivory, and very tiny. Larvae are a shiny, creamy white with a brown head, up to 15mm long. The larvae spin long threads and construct tunnels of silk.
Life Cycle & Habits
Clothes moths rarely fly to lights at night and instead prefer dark places such as wardrobes or storage chests. The adults are very active and can get through surprisingly narrow cracks. They can also fly considerable distances. Any clothes moths fluttering around the house are probably males, because females travel by either running, hopping, or trying to hide in the folds of clothing (the female is a weak flyer). The female dies after attaching about 40 to 50 eggs, singly or in groups of 2 or more, to the threads of infested clothes over a period of 2 to 3 weeks. The eggs hatch within an average of 4 to 10 days in summer, but take as long as 3 weeks in winter. The life cycle is about 65 to 90 days.
The newly hatched larvae are only about 1 mm long, and translucent white. Some larvae may spin a small, frail, silken tube or tunnel, incorporating into the silk some fibres, excrement, or cast skins. They then feed within the confines of the tube. Others may merely spin flat mats under which they crawl about, or remain naked for several days before they spin any webbing. Some larvae leave the webbing and crawl about unprotected. The feeding tubes and silken mats make up the webbing that characterises an infestation.
Control & Treatment
Obviously before you can treat you have to locate the source of infestation. Examine wardrobes and cupboards etc. and stored goods for larvae cases, moths, and of course damage. As larvae prefer to feed in secluded, dark places, use a torch and something like a nail file to check for woollen lint and hair under furniture baseboards, in and under upholstered furniture which is seldom moved, in air ducts, in carpets at the corners of the room and along edges and in stored clothing etc. In addition and if you have such things in your house, check fur coats, feathers (e.g. in stuffed birds or hats), antique feather beds and felt in pianos.
It is best not to treat clothing with insecticides due to possible damage to the garments. All cracks and crevices in infested areas should be treated with a residual insecticide. After thoroughly cleaning rugs, rug pads, under heavy furniture, and carpets, especially around the edges, dust with bendiocarb (Ficam D) under the edges of carpeting, cracks in closets, under baseboard, and moulding or other hiding places. Any wall void that might contain old rodent, bird, or insect nests should be drilled and dusted.
We offer a non-toxic product to deal with clothes moth problems: these are sticky traps which are hung up with clothes, and attract moths by using a slow-release pheromone. Please see the product section for further information.
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