The midge’s proboscis is quite short, however, is has 6 cutting parts with small sharp teeth, so that the midget can cut its way to the blood. It cannot bite through clothing. Midges seek out thin-skinned places on the face, arms and legs. The midge bite is easily noticed, and because midges often attack in […]
Biting midges
The biting midgets are tiny. At only 1-3 mm long, the gray midges (Ceratopogonidae) are the smallest blood-sucking midges. The most troublesome belong to the genus Culicoides, which includes more than 1000 species and can be found in most parts of the globe. Most species of the Culicoides have wings with dark and light spots. […]
Prevention and protection
Mosquitoes have been kept away from humans and animals using smoke from fires. The ancient Egyptians and Romans rubbed themselves with highly odorous plants. At the beginning of this century, numerous mosquito balms of plants like clove, cinnamon, lavender, camphor, etc. were developed. The best was citronella oil, which is extracted from a tropical ryegrass. […]
Transmission of disease
As mentioned, there are malaria mosquitoes in Denmark; however, the malaria has died out. Malaria parasites are not present in Denmark. Therefore, it is not dangerous to be bitten by mosquitoes in Denmark. They are not suspected of transmitting serious diseases. It has been discussed whether mosquitoes can transmit infectious jaundice or AIDS to humans. […]
Control
In Denmark, mosquitoes are not of importance as related to public health, and eradication campaigns have been abandoned. The campaigns were carried out in the 1960s and 70s, where puddles and ditches were sprayed with diesel oil in an attempt to suffocate the larvae, and large meadows were treated with insecticide. A more reasonable approach […]
Mosquito bites
Most mosquitoes can lay a few eggs even if they do not get to a single drop of blood. They simply tap into their food reserves or produce some eggs at the expense of the flying muscles. In order to exploit its possibilities to lay eggs to the full, the female mosquito will attempt to […]
Life cycle
The mosquito larvae and pupae live in water. The species that are particularly troublesome in Denmark do not breed in lakes, ponds, streams or rivers, which are always water-bearing. However, they breed in ditches and puddles, which occasionally dry out. These are mosquitoes of the genus Aedes. In Denmark, they are divided into two types […]
Mosquitoes and flies
Mosquitoes and flies make up the insect order, which is called dipterans (Diptera). They have, in contrast to most other insects, only one pair of wings. The second pair of wings is small, knobbed structures modified from the hind wings. These are called halteres and are help the insect balance during flight. The larvae are […]
Larder beetle larvae hairs.
Many of the beetle larvae that are common in Denmark, especially the larder beetle larvae (Dermestidae), have very crafty hair. Some larder beetle larvae have spines on their tale end. The spines end in something that resembles a harpoon with 4-6 long barbs and along the shaft are 30-40 shell crests of barbs facing upwards. […]
Beetles
Both adult beetles and their larvae have biting mouth parts. They can bite if you get them under your clothes or squeeze them. However, this rarely happens. The only Danish species, which bite humans on its own initiative, is the seven-spot ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata. Usually, this only happens, when the ladybirds are quite numerous and […]
Butterfly larvae hair
Butterfly larvae are wanted by many animals. The larvae protect themselves by either coinciding with the surroundings or appearing unpleasant. They can smell or taste badly or be covered with stinging and annoying hair so that predators learn to stay away from these kinds of caterpillars the next time. Stinging hair. Some caterpillars have special […]
Butterfly scales
Adult butterflies dust may cause allergic reactions. The dust is small scales, which give the wings color and gloss. The scales are converted hairs that easily break off and float in the air. People, who work in areas where butterflies are bred, or where there are many moths, often suffer from asthma and eczema caused […]
Butterflies
Butterflies do not bite – simply because they do not have biting or stinging mouth parts. The butterflies’ larvae have biting mouth parts, however, they are customized to only eat certain kinds of food – and human skin is not on the menu as long as it is on living people.
Butterflies and beetles
Butterflies (Lepidoptera) and beetles (Coleoptera) are the animal orders which are richest in species. 140,000 different kinds of butterflies and 350,000 kinds of beetles are known, and a huge number of new species from the tropical rain forests are waiting to be discovered and described. Despite there being so man are no known blood-sucking butterflies […]
Water bugs
Back swimmers (family Notonectidae) actually swim upside down. They live in fresh water, where they hunt insects, fry and tadpoles and suck out the intestines with their short, strong proboscis. If water bugs are squeezed or get in contact with a human body during bathing, they may bite. Back swimmers’ bites are painful. Common backswimmer […]
The common flower bug
The common flower bug, Anthocoris nemorum, is common outdoors on shrubs and trees. It is 3-4 mm long, dark, has wings and a long thin proboscis. It sucks out plant lice, mites and other insects. It is easy to get into contact with these little predatory insects when picking fruit, or you can bring them […]
The debris bug
The Lyctocoris campestris, similar in size and color to the slightly elongated bed bugs. It is known in that it has wings. The German called Straight, rather than the winged bugs. Its natural habitat is the birds’ nests, where the lives of the many small animals, etc. moth larvae that thrive in the waste that […]
The masked hunter
The masked hunter, Reduvius personatus, is primarily found on attics, in outbuildings and similar places. The nymphs secrete a sticky substance which causes dust and dirt to stick to them. The adult masked hunter, on the other hand, is shiny, brownish animals. They are 1.5 cm long. Masked hunters are predatory insects and feed on […]
Bed bugs in animals
Some of the birds and bats, with which we more or less voluntarily share our house may be infected by bed bugs. They are similar in appearance to common bed bugs and behave the same way. They live in the near vicinities of the host animal nests or beds and seek them out to suck […]
Who will take care of the problem.
If you live in a rented apartment in residential complex in Denmark you must report the occurrence of bed bugs to the building management. In a cooperative or property with condominiums the co-owners’ association is the one to be notified. If you neglect to inform that you have bed bugs, you may incur a liability […]
Physical methods
Heat treatment. All stages of insects are relatively vulnerable to high temperatures. If it rises just a few degrees above the optimum temperature, development stops and harmful effects occur. Coming up around 50 degrees Celsius the heat kills in a short time. Heat treatment is therefore an obvious control method. Less suspicious effects can be […]
Pesticides and methods
Cleaning. It has been mentioned that bed bugs can thrive in very clean rooms. Thorough cleaning and vacuuming can remove some of the animals, but not eradicate them completely, and if there are only a few remaining, the population will quickly grow again. However, it is obvious that it is easier to implement effective control […]
Prevention
It is probably impossible to completely guard yourself against getting bed bugs, but with some consideration, the risk can be significantly reduced. If you have slept in a place where you have been bitten or you simply suspect bed bugs have been there, it is a good idea not to bring your luggage directly into […]
Bed bugs stick together
It is rare to find a lonely bed bug, when it is not just a case of an individual who has ventured forward to search for blood. They have a pronounced desire to clump together. If you have found one of their strongholds, and it has been in use for a long time, you will […]
Temperature dependence
The bed bug’s life and development is highly dependent on the ambient temperature. Some insects, certain moths and bumblebees among others, can to a certain extent “warm up” and raise their body temperature by activating the wing muscles. The vast majority has to make do with the available temperature. At a temperature of about 27 […]
Development of adult bed bugs
Insects cannot grow gradually; their exoskeleton simply prevents it. Therefore, they must grow in stages, changing skin sometimes in the course of development and growing a size each time. The insects’ development can proceed in two radically different ways. Some insects undergo a complete metamorphosis. A good example is butterflies, where out of the egg […]
Egg-laying
Once the female has mated, development of the eggs in the ovaries is completed, and she can now begin to lay eggs. They are laid in the hideouts, glued to the ground. A bed bug egg is approx. 1 mm long, it is whitish and almost pear-shaped. Under optimum conditions, 25-27 degrees Celsius and easy […]
Mating
Bed bug mating behavior is something else. The male does not inseminate the female’s genital opening directly, as with other insects. His genital organ is transformed into a kind of hypodermic needle that can pierce the female’s exoskeleton and ejaculates the sperm directly into her abdomen. It is quite a violent process that looks more […]
Can you recognize a bed bug bite?
There are big differences in people’s sensitivity to bed bug bites. Some, about 10% of the Danish population have no reaction at all. This means that they can donate blood to a large population of bed bugs without noticing it, and maybe only discover the animals later by accident. In most people, the bed bug […]
Disease transmission
Many types of bacteria and viruses can be found on a bed bug, but it has never been shown to transmit diseases to humans. However, bed bugs have close relatives in South America, reduviids of the genus Rhodnius, which like bed bugs have adapted to living in houses and sucking the blood of humans. They […]
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