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Speaking of aphids, aren't they just a bunch of little bad guys who nibble on plant juice! For agricultural production, the aphid is a serious pest!
In nature, there are many natural enemies of aphids, some of which are eaten directly, such as ladybugs, grasshoppers, and aphid-eating flies.
There are also creatures that you don't know,
They kill aphids invisible!
They are parasitic predators of insects and pathogenic microorganisms.
Parasitizes in the body of an aphid and casts mysterious magic...
<h1 class="ql-align-center" > magical aphids turn white pearls</h1>
First of all, there is the "magician", the smoke aphid cocoon bee. The smoke aphid cocoon wasp is a parasitic insect of the family Hymenoptera, mainly distributed in Asia, and the main hosts are peach aphid, wheat long tube aphid, cotton aphid, radish aphid and so on.
People's general impression of bees is stinging, pollination, sociality, etc., smoky aphid cocoon bee as an outstanding farm helper, appears to be indisputable; coupled with its body length of only 2 to 3mm, it is difficult to find them in the field with lanterns.
The "magician's" skill is to turn aphids into pearls. Under the operation of the smoke aphid cocoon bee, the green aphid turns into a white "pearl"!
The "pearl" is actually the shell of the bee parasitizing the aphid's body, after the aphid dies. Entomologists call it "zombie aphid", the English word is mummy, and the literal translation is mummy. It is easy to see in the field and the size is only millimeters.
Hey aphids, bad guys, see how the smoke aphid cocoon bee turns you into pearls.
The story of the "pearl" refining begins with the egg. Female smoke aphid cocoon wasps use a very ornamental pose, use an egg laying apparatus to pierce the aphid body wall, and lay eggs in the aphid body, which is the beginning of parasitism. After two or three days, the eggs hatch into larvae in the aphids.
The larvae molt 3 times and grow to 4 instars. At this stage of development, aphids can still feed normally, providing a steady stream of nutrients for the development of the bees.
The 4th instar larvae eat fast and in large quantities, and will finish eating the internal organs of the aphids in a day or so. The aphids, which had nothing, took the bento, leaving only a transparent shell.
After the aphid dies, in order for the shell to continue to attach to the plant, the 4-year-old parasitic wasp larvae use the upper jaw to scratch the aphid's ventral surface. In a continuous circle inside the shell, the shell is stretched out in all directions, and the shell of the aphid gradually expands into a spherical shape.
When the shell expands to its maximum, the larvae begin to spit silk to adhere to the aphid shell to the plant, and after the cocoon is woven, the larva rests still and prepares to pupate. The color of the shell also gradually changes from white to yellowish white.
Spit silk sealing, sealing project is about to be completed.
The formation of pearls is also the process by which the smoke aphid cocoon bee exterminates aphids.
<h1 class="ql-align-center" > magical aphids turn black sesame seeds</h1>
Let's applaud the magician, the short-winged aphid wasp. The short-winged aphid wasp is 0.7 to 1 mm long, and this small body plate makes it difficult to detect.
Short-winged aphid wasp is a polyphagous, single-parasitic internal parasitic wasp, feeding and parasitizing more than 40 species of aphids, female bees use egg layers to pierce into the aphid body, through parasitism, feeding and other ways to achieve effective control of aphid population.
The trick of the short-winged aphid wasp is - the aphid turns black sesame seeds!
This "black sesame" is generally ovoid in outline, 1 to 2mm in length and width, and is in the same size level as real sesame seeds, and it takes a little eye effort to mix it into a black sesame pile.
With the foreshadowing, you should know that the real body of the "black sesame" is also an insect. Look at its three legs symmetrical to the left and right, its long backwards antennae, and its two faintly recognizable abdominal tubes. This is a peach aphid, which is yellow or dark red in color, and turns black after being parasitized by insects.
Now ask the short-winged aphid wasp to start the show.
The short-winged aphid wasp will use its "ass backwards" posture to deal with peach aphids that are several sizes larger than it. The female bee will stab the egg layer into the aphid body to lay an egg, the aphid abdomen will slowly appear a black spot, and gradually expand, when the aphid dies and rigid, the shell will all turn black, becoming the "black sesame" we see!
Subsequently, the short-winged aphid wasp larvae pupate inside. A female can lay an average of 300 eggs in a lifetime, which means that a single female bee can turn about 300 aphids into "black sesame seeds"! "Pearls" and "sesame seeds" are masterpieces of natural enemy insects. The technology of "insects for insects" is comparable to pesticides that are friendly to the environment!
<h1 class="ql-align-center" > magical aphids turn white-haired women</h1>
In addition to the "super transformation form" of natural enemy insects, parasitic fungi can also turn aphids into unrecognizable! Aphid-infected fungi include Phyllox aphid fungus, fungus, coccidioides, scarab green zombie, and insect pathogenic fungi.
Now there is a magician - worm mold. Its magic is to turn the aphid into a "white-haired woman"!
Aphids are stained with fungal spores, and these spores penetrate into the aphids and grow in the aphid's blood lymph.
The surface of the infected aphid is covered with a wool-like substance and is constantly thickened. After a few days, the aphids die, the fungus releases the spores out, and a new round of parasitism begins.
Source of the article: People stupid hand household