How to get rid of earth flies in the garden. Ground midge - what is the danger of its bite

Small flies that breed in the soil are marsh insects, and appear if the plant is not watered correctly. Excessively moist soil begins to turn sour, and earth flies love this environment. Insects can also be found in poor-quality purchased soil or migrate from an infected plant.


To prevent the appearance of midges in the house or to get rid of them, caring for flowers should be especially careful. It is necessary to water the plants not too often and abundantly to prevent waterlogging of the soil. If midges do appear, then it is better to reduce watering: the clutch of eggs laid by the sciarids on the surface of the dry soil will die.

Advice: It is easy to diagnose soil contamination with sciarids: when dry, it looks like sand, and even when moist, the soil is crumbly.

In order to prevent soil contamination by midges, coal, bark, pine needles, coconut fiber, and peat are added to it. Thanks to such components, the larvae do not reproduce. Pre-treatment of the soil at low temperatures works well, for which it is enough to leave it in the cold or in the refrigerator for several hours. You can also heat the soil in the oven - these measures will help get rid of midge larvae.

In order not to provoke the appearance of flies, you should not use organic additives to feed house plants (drunk tea, coffee grounds, fallen leaves), they begin to rot, and larvae quickly develop in such an environment.

You need to check the roots from time to time to make sure they haven't started to rot. If you notice an unpleasant smell of dampness, you should cut off the rotten areas, treat the roots with a solution of potassium permanganate, dry and carefully replant the flower in fresh soil. It is better to temporarily limit watering.

Folk remedies for fighting earth flies

Having noticed that there are midges in flower pots, you need to find out where they came from. If we are talking about fruit flies, you need to take measures to get rid of them, because most often these insects appear and breed in the kitchen or bathroom.

You can kill earth flies using home remedies or commercial insect repellents.

Advice: The simplest remedy is to water the plants several times with a solution of potassium permanganate or soapy water. This method is safe, but it cannot be used too often; the flower may die.

If all home remedies have been exhausted, you will have to resort to more effective remedies. The Mosquito Killer device, which will help get rid of various insects in the house, has proven itself. Attracting them with infrared light, as well as emitted carbon dioxide (to imitate the secretions of human skin), the device draws the midges inside, where they die on a energized grid.

You can use regular fly sticks by attaching them near house plants. If this does not help, special chemicals are usually used, which can be purchased at a flower shop. Such drugs as “Grom-2”, “Zemlin”, “Mukhoed”, “Bazudin” are popular. They are low-toxic and completely safe for use in the home. However, such products must be used carefully, diluted in accordance with the instructions, do not allow the solution to come into contact with the mucous membrane, and ensure that the drugs are inaccessible to children and pets.

Advice: It is convenient to use Thunder-2 powder - just sprinkle it on the soil, limiting watering for 3-4 days.

“Aktara” works quite effectively: the drug will help eliminate insects without damaging the flower. It is diluted in a proportion of 0.1 g of powder per liter of water, and the plant is watered with the solution at intervals of several days. As a rule, two or three treatments are enough to kill the midges and larvae.

The appearance of earth flies is not a death sentence for a house plant; it is quite possible to defeat them, you just need to take more careful care of the flowers and use available means to get rid of insects.

Flower flies- a general name for several pests that plague indoor plants. Insects lay larvae in the soil mixture, which cause irreparable damage to home green spaces. The question of how to get rid of flower midges worries all amateur gardeners.

What kind of midges hover in flowerpots?

Among the inhabitants of flower pots, the following types of insects stand out:

Quite often, fruit flies are classified as flower pests. This species of small fruit flies is capable of building their nests in flowerpots.

Flower flies appear for a number of reasons:

  • they enter from the street through an open window or window; when they find damp soil, fungus gnats happily settle in a pot with a houseplant;
  • flower flies love moisture and waterlogging the soil creates a favorable environment for them;
  • the soil and soil were not pre-treated before planting.

Experienced gardeners have noticed that flies in a flower pot do not attack all plants and are picky when choosing a flower. Springtails and springtails take root better near plants with soft leaves. Sciarides prefer to settle near plants with hard leaves. It is recommended to keep flowerpots in which pests are found away from other plants so as not to infect them.


Traditional methods of controlling plant pests in an apartment

Before poisoning pests with industrial preparations, it is worth using folk remedies. Their advantage lies in the safety of use and the fact that the necessary component to combat it is always available at home.

The most effective folk remedies for flies in a flower pot:

  1. You can get rid of annoying midges using a soap solution. Grate 30 g of laundry soap and dissolve in a liter of warm water. Pour the resulting solution into a spray bottle and irrigate the plants once every 5-6 days. Using this is safe for flowers, but harmful to pests such as,.
  2. Flies in a pot appear due to high humidity. To prevent the development of larvae, it is necessary to dry the soil. To do this, you should water the soil less frequently and apply a small layer of calcined sand or ash to the soil.
  3. Whiteflies can be controlled using a weak solution of potassium permanganate or mustard. Dilute one tablespoon of dry mustard powder with 1 glass of water at room temperature. Carefully pour the resulting solution onto the soil, avoiding contact with the leaves. This simple method will help.
  4. To do this, you need to carefully remove the top layer of soil infected with larvae and fill it with a new one.
  5. Flies in a pot are afraid of strong odors. Garlic and citrus have the strongest repellent effect. Place cloves of garlic or orange inside the pot or stick into the soil. You can prepare an infusion of garlic at the rate of 3 glasses of water per medium-sized head and spray the plant with it.
  6. Use homemade traps to catch midges. To make them, take pieces of cardboard, coat them with honey and attach them to the inner surfaces of the pot. This will attract a lot of pests.
  7. Draw a design around the edges of the pot using insecticidal chalk.

If the fight against flower flies is not successful, you should resort to industrial preparations. Aktara and Bazudin have proven themselves well.

The fly is a two-winged nuisance insect from a species of arthropod.

It received this name back from ancient Slavic times from the word “mus”, which translates as “gray”.

What does a fly look like?

Everyone probably knows what this insect looks like, but it’s still worth looking at the presented photos of various flies.

The length of its body ranges from a millimeter level to two cm. The hairy body of the fly has two wings with membranes, a fairly voluminous head and a belly with three pairs of legs.

The mouth is designed like a proboscis that sucks in liquid food. The fly's legs have fairly developed sharp segments and sticky pads that allow it to stay upside down on any surface.

The insect's eyes are designed in a particularly unique way; they contain thousands of hexagonal crystals, which allows the fly to simultaneously see what is happening from absolutely any direction (even the background), that is, it has a circular field of vision. Whiskers are capable of detecting and recognizing many different scents.

Habitats and food of flies

The fly insect is a very heat-loving arthropod and does not tolerate drops in temperature at all. Its habitat is almost the entire globe, excluding cold Antarctica.

They give preference to residential areas, closer to people and animals. The fly can be observed in homes during the warm season, where it invades from early spring to late autumn.

The life of an insect is quite short - a maximum of 2.5 months.

Flies eat almost any organic food that is pre-soaked with their saliva. Sweets occupy the first place in its diet, but there are also exceptional individuals who choose raw vegetables.

Common subspecies of flies

At first glance, it seems that the flies are all the same - the same as we are used to chasing them around the house. But their population has exceeded 3,600 species!

Here are the most common types of flies:

Housefly or housefly

It is the most common insect living near people. This specimen is not blood-sucking and practically does not bite, which still does not make it safe.

The body is painted dark gray; on the belly there are limbs with tentacles that actively carry bacteria and dirt that are dangerous to humans, which provokes infection with various infections.

The size of a housefly, as a rule, does not exceed 8 mm. Oddly enough, males are usually much smaller than females. A distinctive feature of the domestic specimen is a broken vein on the wings just before the edge.

Green or carrion fly

This unpleasant, but quite colorful creature can be found in garden plots, near peat or manure. They prefer habitats near sewage with a specific odor.

Ilyinitsa-beekeeper

A rather large specimen (1.5 cm), dark in color, covered with numerous fluffy hairs.

It is dangerous because if the larvae accidentally enter the human body, serious intestinal diseases arise.

Fly ktyr

A huge predator that eats midges, mosquitoes, etc. Unlike its fellows, the insect brings great benefits to humans, exterminating unnecessary pests and dangerous insects.

Their habitat is any rotting food, where there are other small insects and larvae on which it feeds.

Tsetse fly

Lives in the vastness of Africa and feeds on the blood of cattle and wild animals.

Representatives of this class suffer from an incurable disease that gradually destroys all human organs and ends in death.


Hoverfly or syrphid

Very similar to a wasp. In the summer, you can see such a fly hovering over flowering plants, or near a cluster of garden aphids.

This specimen is safe for humans. It feeds on the nectar of inflorescences and spider mites. The buzzing of a fly resembles the sound of rushing water, which is why it got its beautiful name.

Fly breeding stages

Most types of flies lay eggs 3 days after mating on food or waste surfaces.

The female’s capabilities are great - during her existence she can lay up to three thousand eggs! Laying occurs a maximum of 15 times during the life of a female.

The very next day, larvae appear from the eggs - maggots, which grow instantly, increasing in volume 800 times in seven days, depending on the air temperature.

The heat-loving larva can die already at + 8 degrees.

Then a pupa appears, which grows and develops for another week. After just a couple of weeks, it turns into a full-fledged fly, which does not change its shape during its short life (3 weeks).

The fly brings dirt and unsanitary conditions into our lives, laying dangerous larvae almost everywhere. They are also carriers of many diseases and infections, are able to survive on any living organism and adapt to any habitat.

Photo of a fly

It’s just that many people have probably encountered this before, but as a resident of a metropolis I somehow managed without this experience))))

Three days ago, as if nothing had happened, we went to dig up the dacha)) The day was sunny and warm, despite the wind, which, frankly speaking, was blowing quite a bit. I was digging in an open field and digging... when suddenly I felt an unpleasant sensation in my leg! I look, and there’s a little midge sitting there (like a fly, only a little smaller and thinner) and drinking my blood))

Well, with a slight movement of my hand, I crushed this ghoul. and so around 7-8 within a few hours I suppressed them.

Just before leaving, I noticed that there were already 12 bites that I hadn’t noticed at all while I was digging)) And everything would have been fine if the blood had coagulated in the places of the bites)) But in these very places there was blood hanging in droplets. This confused me a little, but like a normal guy I didn’t attach much importance and, after changing clothes, I went home.

The next day I noticed that swelling began to form around the bites and itching began to appear.

Well, okay - I thought and smeared them with iodine. Yesterday I began to understand that the itching was greatly intensifying, and the swelling redness not only did not decrease, but became larger in area. One of the bites (the strongest) is right under my calf on my leg and last night I felt that it was becoming difficult to put weight on my leg. Painful sensations appeared in the muscle. Wow!))) I started looking for information on our all-powerful Internet about this. I read various nightmare passions on the way to the information I needed, life became scary))) But I found the answers to my questions)) Then a small repost:

Since when a midge bites it injects saliva - “freezing”, it does not immediately become noticeable. At that moment, histamines, enzymes and anticoagulants enter the blood to thin it. Soon after the bite, a burning sensation, severe itching and red swelling begin to be felt, which can be very large.

Since midges have poisonous saliva, their bite can be very fraught with health consequences. Even if the swelling disappears a few days later, the painful itching can continue for up to several weeks. Adults usually just tolerate it, but kids can scratch the bite area until it bleeds. If there are many bites, then the body temperature rises and general signs of poisoning appear. In such a situation, you need to quickly wipe the skin with ammonia and apply ice.

What to do if you are bitten by a midge:

in the first minutes, wipe the bite site with ammonia;

take an allergy drug, for example suprastin, tavegil, diphenhydramine;

To reduce itching, use one of the following remedies:

wipe with a cotton swab moistened with vodka, cologne, table vinegar or a solution of baking soda (1 teaspoon of soda per 1 glass of water), lemon juice.

The pharmacy recommended Psilo-Balm gel and Cetirizine Hexal tablets.

Folk remedies have not been canceled either:

The sooner you apply Gold Star to a midge bite, the fewer consequences. This is the best remedy - there will be no tumor or abscess! For a tumor, again, the “Golden Star”, but the treatment will take much longer. Well, the old bite is smeared with antibiotic ointments and a vodka compress (depending on the degree of neglect). We didn’t have these midges before, but they appeared over the years, probably due to climate warming. At our work then, many “dacha residents” ended up in hospitals with huge abscesses - they thought how mosquito bites would itch and go away... Our mother then saved us with Zvezdochka.

And now a little laughter)) Itching (desire to scratch) at the site of the bite is not a simple word in this whole description. And it’s not for nothing that the emphasis is placed on children who can comb. I once broke my leg and know firsthand the strong desire to scratch a hard-to-reach place (under a cast, for example). Yesterday, from the intensity of the itching, I realized that sometimes even my cheekbones strain, although I don’t need to be patient. I climbed into the bathtub at night and realized that the shower is one of the greatest inventions of mankind.)))) I have never experienced such bliss from the touch of a stream of water on the affected part of the body, even when I climbed in with a ruler to scratch under the cast)))) It’s simple something!! I feel like my head is about to spin!!)))

Varieties of earth flies

The types of earth flies are usually distinguished depending on what plants the insect feeds on:

Please note that you need to fight a specific type of fly identified in advance, since the methods of fighting different species are different.

How to get rid of earthen onion fly

The onion fly is a dangerous pest that can be seen in the garden as early as May. This type of fly lays larvae in the scales of bulbs, on leaves and nearby on the soil. When the larvae grow, they bite into the fibers of the leaves and eat the plant from the inside, during which they gradually enlarge and turn into adult insects.

Identifying the onion fly

Signs of onion fly damage:

  • The onion is coming up slowly.
  • The leaves are yellowish or gray in color and dry or wither quickly.
  • The bulbs are soft inside, with signs of rotting and an unpleasant odor.

Ways to combat onion fly

If you want to get rid of insects using special modern chemicals, we recommend the “Bazulin” product to combat onion flies. It is customary to use “Bazulin” in the last ten days of May.

  • Take 30 grams of the product and mix it with 0.5 liters of sawdust.
  • Mix in a small amount of sand.
  • After this, you can distribute the mixture over your area over an area of ​​about 20 square meters.

However, if you want to get rid of pests using folk remedies, then the following methods will help you:

How to identify an insect

  • The fly reaches 5-7 millimeters and has colorless wings.
  • The leaves of carrots affected by the fly are usually bronze or red in color.
  • Despite careful care, carrots wither and die.

Special chemicals for carrot fly control

If you trust more specially developed products, then the following chemicals will help you get rid of this type of insect:

For greater efficiency, it is recommended to spray the beds at a temperature of approximately 20 degrees Celsius. Detailed instructions for using each of the above chemicals must be specified on the packaging or in other sources specified by the manufacturer.

If you prefer folk remedies, then the following control methods will help you get rid of carrot flies:

  • Mustard or tobacco powder, which must be scattered on the beds.
  • To repel insects, plant wormwood or place tomato tops nearby.

Spray green carrot leaves with the following solutions:

  1. Tincture of garlic or onion. Take 200 grams of vegetables and about 2 liters of room water. Pour water over the onion or garlic and let it brew for a day, after which the tincture must be strained and poured into 8 liters of water.
  2. In order to get rid of flies, you can spray carrot leaves with pine tincture. The recipe for preparing the solution is quite simple - you need to purchase 200 grams of any pine extract and mix it with ten liters of clean water.
  3. Boil tomato tops in the proportion of 4 kilograms of tomato leaves and 10 liters of water. They need to be boiled for about 30 minutes after the tops boil. You need to infuse the decoction for 3 hours. The resulting tincture must be mixed with water in a ratio of 1 to 3 before use.

Methods for preventing the spread of carrot fly

If you do not want to encourage flies, then you should use simple rules when growing a plant:

Ways to fight

  • Plant all vegetables early.
  • Hill up the beds high enough.
  • You can sprinkle the beds on which cabbage is planted with a mixture of wood ash and tobacco powder in a 1:1 ratio (100 grams per 100 grams) with the addition of 1 teaspoon of ground black or red pepper.
  • Sprinkle the plants with the tobacco solution, the recipe for which is described above.

Phosbecid is considered to be an effective chemical that helps in the fight against cabbage fly. Dissolve 5 milliliters of the product in 10 liters of water and spray the seedlings with 100 ml of chemical per 1 square meter of beds.

By following simple rules for preventing the appearance of earth flies, you will prevent its appearance in the garden and protect your harvest. If you do notice a fly in your garden beds, don’t despair, just use one of the above methods to combat insects and enjoy the fruits you grew with your own hands.

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Topic: Ground flies are tormented!

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The earth flies are tormented!

You can spray yourself locally with mosquito repellents.

As we noted above, midge saliva is toxic because it contains hemolytic poison. During a bite, a substance enters the wound, which gives a temporary analgesic effect. In addition, midge saliva contains enzymes that prevent blood clotting. After some time, itching, soreness, and a burning sensation appear at the site of the bite. The skin around the bite turns red, and the temperature of the bitten area of ​​the body rises. Gradually, the area swells, and the swelling may persist for several days, and the area may itch for several more weeks. It is very difficult to resist the temptation to scratch the bite site, but you still should not do this in order to prevent the formation of ulcers that can become infected.

As for medications, it is recommended to treat the bite site with ammonia. The effect of it will not be immediate, and you usually don’t keep it on hand when fishing. The gels “Fenistil” and “Psilo-balm” work well, not only against midge bites, but also against horsefly or wasp bites.

If an allergic reaction occurs, you must take antihistamines. It is better not to take Suprastin, Tavegil while fishing - they cannot be mixed with alcohol, and they dull the reaction... In this case, it would be better to use Kestin or Zyrtec, which do not have the above-mentioned disadvantages.

Let's bang, we'll definitely bang, and more than once. The whole world is in ruins.

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What flies bite and why?

Probably, many of us have noticed that with the onset of autumn, some insects, especially flies, begin to show somewhat more aggression towards humans than usual.

Why do flies bite in the first place? Are there really blood-sucking flies? These questions are answered in this article. As well as an explanation for what makes blood-sucking flies show such an unhealthy interest in humans precisely in the autumn period, which only intensifies with the onset of the first cold weather.

Who bites?

Let's not hide the fact that among such seemingly harmless insects as flies in terms of physical impact on surrounding insects, there are many predators. We will not dwell on exotic species like the tsetse fly or the Siberian midge, but will talk about our original, domestic, one might say, species of biting flies, which is the autumn flies.

The autumn fly is an insect from the family of true flies. Outwardly, the autumn fly is practically no different from any other housefly. It is also small in size, usually reaching a length of no more than 5-8 mm. It has a uniform gray color with a slightly darker chest and a slightly lighter belly, on which you can see dotted black inclusions.

The main distinguishing feature of these insects is their predatory nature. These are the same bloodsuckers as mosquitoes or vampire bats. Their mouthparts have a trunk-like structure, which allows these bloodsuckers to pierce the skin of warm-blooded animals and suck out blood, which serves as food for these predators.

How does a bite occur?

The fly, as we have already said, has the necessary means of access to our blood. Its proboscis has a pointed shape, and along the edges of its tip there are small teeth resembling a file. In this case, the tip of the proboscis looks flat, resembling a serrated knife.

With the help of these teeth, the insect wipes the top layer of skin, after which it injects its poisonous saliva, the composition of which does not allow the blood to quickly clot, onto the bite site. Thus, having drilled a hole in the skin, this bloodsucker licks off the protruding blood droplets.

Why is it dangerous?

Well, let’s even start with the fact that the bite of a burner is very painful. It is not without reason that this type of fly received such a name. At the moment of the bite, the person feels a fairly strong burning pain.

This is not at all a harmless mosquito bite that appears only some time later, no. The zhigalka acts, let's say, much rougher. A mosquito next to a fly is simply a jeweler in his field.

In addition to, in fact, a painful puncture with the proboscis, the burner fly also introduces saliva that irritates the affected area, which has an inflammatory effect at the site of the bite.

In addition to pain and inflammation at the puncture site, these dipterous pests, like all flies, are malicious carriers of all sorts of dangerous diseases.

One can only imagine how many times this pest used its piercing weapon during the season, and how dangerous the bite of such a carrier of all sorts of nasty things could be for humans.

Among the diseases that a bite from such a bloodsucker can give us, we highlight the following, namely:

And this is not the entire list of “free services” that this pest can provide to us voluntarily and completely free of charge.

How to treat a bite?

Now it’s quite reasonable to talk about what to do if you’re bitten by a fly. First aid measures are somewhat similar to those provided for a wasp sting, but, of course, in a much milder version.

So, if you are bitten by a fly, you need to do the following:

  • wash the wound, preferably with hydrogen peroxide or just a soap solution;
  • take an antihistamine, for example, suprastin;
  • To relieve pain, you can apply cold packs with ice to the bitten area;
  • treat the bite site with iodine;
  • Monitor your condition and the appearance of the wound for any suspicion of infection.

Thus, if everything goes well and the bite site begins to heal (usually the next day), you don’t have to worry, the inflammation will soon go away on its own. If there is a persistence of the inflammatory process at the site of the bite, or, moreover, a deterioration in health, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Why do they bite?

So we move on to the main question of this review. Indeed, why do flies tend to bite, especially somewhere from the end of August, right up to the November frosts.

We have already partially answered the question earlier, pointing out the predatory lifestyle of these insects and their need for blood for nutrition. But this is only one side of the coin, because mosquitoes also need blood to be able to produce offspring, just like mosquitoes.

This biting fly becomes active in the fall for the simple reason that the insect senses the approach of cold weather. The fly quickly reacts to the tendency of the daily weather to steadily strive to worsen the conditions for the life and reproduction of the insect, hence the nervousness and haste in the behavior of these biting bloodsuckers.

Among the reasons why flies still bite in the fall, we also note the maximum increase in the population of insects of all types in the period from August to October. That is, competition for power sources is increasing.

We should also not forget about cold weather, the approach of which forces insects to increasingly intersect with humans and stimulates them to look for suitable places for wintering or laying eggs in human habitats.

Prevention

It is very short and without innovations. At home, do not forget to use mosquito nets on the windows. And on the street, and especially during country house maneuvers, you should use special bloodsucker-repellent sprays and not yawn.

Conclusion

So, we found out the main reasons why flies bit last fall. Now we know that not all flies are harmless, and among them there are many that can deliver memorable sensations with a painful bite.

We also became acquainted with such a variety of flies as the zhigalka, and now we know that this bloodsucker is a carrier of many dangerous diseases, which this insect can reward any unwary lover of outdoor recreation.

Flies in August are a disaster. I noticed (we live in a private house) that the fly loves any organic matter, but will never fall or sit on ashes (burnt wood in the grill). I started wiping the kitchen table with ash water (we wash it in the machine) and the result is that flies don’t land on it. Like this! Simple old-fashioned methods.

is provided for informational purposes only.

What does a ground fly look like and what harm does it cause?

Midges, midges, midges - whatever they call these small nasty insects. They sting animals and people painfully, and it is very difficult to kill them due to their small size.

The ground fly is a prominent representative of blood-sucking insects that cause concern to warm-blooded animals.

They belong to the order Diptera, family Simuliidae. They carry infectious agents, some of which are very dangerous - anthrax, tularemia, etc. How to deal with the earthen midge?

Features of an adult

More than 300 species of midges of the family Simuliidae are known on the territory of Russia. Insects love bodies of water with flowing or stagnant water - swamps, river valleys, reclamation canals. The highest number of flies is observed in the taiga zone, in Siberia. In smaller quantities - in the European part of the Russian Federation.

Insects cannot tolerate cold weather and are active in warm weather. Sometimes clouds of midges rise at sunset, preventing villagers from doing their usual things.

Appearance

Externally, midges resemble ordinary flies in miniature. The size of an adult is 2-5 mm. The insect's body consists of a head, thorax and abdomen. It is complemented by transparent wings and strong legs. The head contains segmented antennae and mouthparts. The fly's chest is convex, its wide abdomen ends in genitals.

Life cycle and reproduction

Ground flies develop with complete transformation. Females lay eggs on river banks, gluing them to leaves and stones immersed in water. In a pond, the eggs hatch into larvae. They live only in humid environments, often in running water, at a depth of 1-2 m.

Ground fly larvae look like worms. The posterior end is swollen. Ready to be sharply separated from the chest. On the frontal zone there are pigment spots, the shape and location of which depends on the type of insect. There are eyes on the sides of the head. Antennas are four- to six-membered.

Oxygen penetrates the larva's body directly through the skin. The higher the fluidity of the water, the more oxygen is dissolved in it, and the better the conditions for the development of the insect. The larva goes through 3-6 stages of development, finally turning into a pupa.

An air bubble accumulates under the cocoon, inside which the adult rises to the surface of the water. In a favorable environment, at the end of May and until the end of summer, whole clouds of midges appear. During one summer season, from 1 to 3 generations of ground flies are born. The insect survives winter in the larval or sometimes egg stage.

Although some species of midges bite during the day, the main phase of groundfly activity occurs in the morning and evening. The insect can migrate long distances. In Siberia, midges have been observed moving at distances of up to 150 km from the hatching site.

In the Soviet years, methods of how to get rid of midges took into account the life cycle of the insect. The banks of swamps and reservoirs were dug up to destroy the larvae. Later this method of struggle was found to be ineffective.

Nutrition

The earth fly larva is characterized by a passive feeding method. Extending from the front of the head below the antennae are large fan-shaped jaws consisting of a short rod with curved bristles. Fan-shaped appendages are found only in midge larvae.

Water passes freely through the spaced fan jaws, and various particles settle and are swallowed.

Adult earth flies are considered the most malicious bloodsuckers that attack humans. But only females bite warm-blooded animals. The food of males is plant juices and flower nectar.

What harm does the ground fly cause?

Among the large number of species of midges, there are flies whose larvae harm plants.

Depending on the type of crop, varieties are distinguished:

  • cabbage;
  • onion;
  • carrot.

The method of getting rid of earth flies depends on the type of insect. The chemical for cabbage fly is a solution of Phosbecid. Intavir and Fitoverm help with carrots. Bazulin is recommended against onion flies.

Small pests can be seen even on flowers at home. At the same time, the flies themselves are not dangerous, but the larvae can damage the entire root system. Flower growers have come up with many ways to get rid of ground flies in flowers. Sprinkle the ground with ash and spray the plant with potassium permanganate. In case of severe infection, the flower is transplanted into disinfected soil.

For humans and animals, the most harmful species are those that feed on blood. The saliva of the earth fly is poisonous. Toxic substances can cause fever and general malaise in humans. Massive attacks on animals lead to the death of young animals.

By biting many animals, earth flies can become a source of infections. In addition, the annoyingness of insects brings an unpleasant impression. They crawl over the body, causing itching and clogging of the nose, ears, and clothes.

Earthfly bite

Unlike mosquitoes, the midge does not pierce the skin, but cuts it. The fly's saliva numbs the operation, so the bite itself often goes unnoticed. Substances entering the wound prevent blood clotting. As the analgesic effect decreases, the bite site swells and becomes painful. The photo below shows a midge bite.

When there is a massive attack of midges, a person experiences symptoms similar to poisoning:

  • the temperature rises;
  • lymph nodes enlarge;
  • tachycardia is observed;
  • pressure decreases.

The affected area swells and itches. Wounds appear in places where scratching occurs. Rashes and allergic reactions may occur. The most dangerous bites from earth flies are to the eye. Treatment should be carried out under the guidance of a physician in a medical facility. The consequences of bites depend on the individual characteristics of the person.

Treatment of bites

The affected area is very itchy. But you can’t scratch the wound. The short-lived relief of itching intensifies and covers an even larger surface. In order to reduce the desire to itch, the wound should be treated. The use of Golden Star balm, Elokom and Allergodil creams is effective. Allergic reactions are relieved by antihistamines - Fenistil gel, Suprastin, Claritin, Tavegil.

You can relieve swelling around the wound by applying ice or alcohol lotions. The hormonal drugs Triderm, Sinaflan, and Hydrocortisone have an anti-edematous effect. By scratching the affected area, you can introduce pathogenic microorganisms into the wound, which will interfere with healing. Therefore, the affected area must be treated with antibacterial drugs.

If you have an elevated temperature or fever, you should consult a doctor. In especially severe cases, treatment should be carried out in a hospital.

Folk remedies for midges

  1. Soak a cotton swab with vinegar and apply to the affected area for a minute;
  2. Apply a leaf of plantain, dandelion, bird cherry, and secure with a bandage or plaster. After three hours, change the bandage;
  3. Onions are considered a recognized remedy for midge bites. You can tape half an onion to the site of the bite or spread onion paste on the wound;
  4. Another popular way is to make a compress from raw potatoes.

The affected eye can be washed with green tea or parsley juice. Applying ice or a napkin soaked in cold water is effective.

Conclusion

Midge bites often become a problem not only because of the complex symptoms, but also the length of time it takes to eliminate them.

The victims become uneasy for 2-3 weeks. An integrated approach to treatment allows you to eliminate unpleasant consequences.

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Ground midge - what is the danger of its bite

What does a midge look like?

Black midge

Externally, midges look like miniature flies, reaching sizes of 6 mm. The most attractive places for the accumulation of midges are swamps, silted banks of reservoirs and rivers, and reclamation canals.

Black midge

They cannot tolerate cold weather, so they are active during the warm season. Among all the diversity, there are species of earth flies, the larvae of which harm plants. The species that cause the greatest harm to humans are those that feed on blood. Often thick, swirling clouds of midges rise at sunset, preventing summer residents from doing their usual activities. Females attack warm-blooded animals, while males feed on flower nectar.

A type of midge, the bite of which can cause severe allergic reactions, is sometimes also called the earthen flea.

These representatives of the family of dipteran insects require flowing water for reproduction, since females, when laying eggs, glue them to objects immersed in water - leaves, stones. With wintering, the development cycle can last about 10 months.

Insect bites - School of Dr. Komarovsky

Bite and consequences

What causes trouble for a person is the bite of a small black midge, which demonstrates swiftness and bloodthirstiness. It bites, unlike a mosquito, not by piercing the skin, but by cutting it. This moment usually goes unnoticed, since a substance that has an analgesic effect enters the blood. At the same time, this enzyme delays the blood clotting process.

Allergic reaction to a black midge bite

The consequences of bites may also include some other symptoms, depending on the individual characteristics of the body:

Papule resulting from a midge bite

  • development of hyperemia (circulatory disorders);
  • the appearance of papules on the surface of the skin;
  • the occurrence of tachycardia.

When attacked by many bloodsuckers, the adequacy of reactions and coordination of movements may be disrupted, which has a negative impact on productivity, which drops sharply.

Midge bite in the eye

Consequences of a midge bite in the eye

The greatest suffering is caused by a bite to the eye. At first, a person feels that there is something like a speck under the eyelid, causing discomfort. Then lacrimation, slight itching, and redness appear.

After a few hours, the eye becomes swollen, unbearable itching begins, and pain appears. If you are prone to allergies, a midge bite in the eye leads to dizziness, shortness of breath, a feeling of heaviness and pain in the chest. Such manifestations must be properly treated, so you should not postpone visiting a doctor.

During the entire time until the swelling subsides, you should try not to rub your eyes so as not to cause additional foci of inflammation. Anti-inflammatory ointments are usually prescribed, as well as antihistamines to prevent the development of allergies.

Treatment of bites

Antiallergic agent (Diazolin)

Despite the fact that the bite of a black midge causes severe itching, you should not scratch the affected area.

After a moment of relief when scratching, the burning and itching intensifies even more, and the redness spreads further across the skin.

The most dangerous condition occurs if, after a bite anywhere, especially in the eye, the temperature rises and chills begin.

This may indicate an allergic reaction that requires immediate consultation with a doctor, since such a manifestation must be treated with effective means. It is advisable to immediately take an antiallergic drug.

A more severe manifestation of the bite is simulidotoxicosis - a toxic-allergic painful condition, which, along with an increase in temperature, is characterized by the following symptoms:

Gold Star (universal anti-edema remedy)

  • chills;
  • weakness;
  • joint and muscle aches;
  • excruciating headache.

In such a situation, a doctor must treat the victim. To lubricate the skin from swelling around the affected eyes and other parts of the body, “Golden Star” is used in the form of an ointment. The drugs Elokom and Allergodil will help relieve itching. Suprastin and Tavegil reduce allergic manifestations caused by the bite of a bloodthirsty midge.

Prevention - remedies

For preventive purposes, you can stock up on a bottle of tea tree oil, which you should take with you when traveling to the country, ponds, or the forest. To protect yourself, just apply the product to all areas of the skin that remain open. The sharp smells emitted by the essential oils of clove, mint, and lavender can repel midges.

Tea tree oil

Taking vitamin B1 strengthens the body's resistance to dangerous midge attacks. If you decide to organize a vacation in nature or at your dacha, you should adhere to the following rules:

Fumigator (poisons mosquitoes with fumes)

  • avoid places near water bodies, as well as areas where tall grass grows;
  • clothing should consist of trousers with elastic at the bottom and a T-shirt with a high collar and long sleeves with tight-fitting cuffs;
  • if you have to go fishing, mosquito nets will help prevent a dangerous bite from a blood-sucking midge;
  • the tent is selected with mosquito nets;
  • At home, you can get rid of midges using fumigators connected to the electrical network.

On the open veranda, spirals are used, which, when smoldering, emit smoke that repels midges. For application to clothing and unprotected skin, there are quite effective pharmaceutical aerosols, ointments, emulsions, balms, gels - Raptor, OFF, Gardex Extreme, Mosquitall.

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Why do flies bite closer to autumn?

As summer begins to wind down, in August and early fall, “the flies become aggressive and angry.” Is this statement true, and are all these insects really starting to behave so bloodthirsty for some reason?

In fact, it is difficult to imagine an insect capable of experiencing emotions characteristic of humans, including anger. But what then makes flies attack people in order to feed on blood at the end of summer - beginning of autumn, and how true is the myth about their increasing aggression during this cool time?

Do all flies bite?

Ordinary house flies, so annoying with their constant buzzing and omnipresence since spring and throughout the summer, it turns out, are not at all to blame for the fact that, unknowingly for most people, they have been “caught” in increased aggression. Their absolute “alibi” is their physical inability to bite anyone. The proboscis of ordinary flies is too soft to pierce the skin of a person or animal, and is created by nature only to suck out juice, feed on liquid and soft food such as fibers of fruits or vegetables, rotting organic matter, etc.

The true “aggressors” are autumn fly flies, which really bite in August and early autumn. It is because of them, outwardly so similar to their indoor counterparts, that the incorrect generalization began, claiming that by autumn all flies begin to “get angry” and attack.

How to distinguish a light fly from an ordinary fly (description)

As already mentioned, these insects are extremely similar to their harmless “relatives” - house flies that are unable to bite. But if you look closely, they still have differences. Of course, it is unlikely that you will be able to see this difference on the fly (these insects fly by too quickly), but in a sitting fly it is quite noticeable:

  1. Widely spaced wings (whereas a regular fly's wings are more close to the sides).
  2. The body color is gray, there are longitudinal black stripes on the back, and dark spots on the abdomen (in non-biting counterparts the body is dark, almost black).
  3. The proboscis is relatively thin, more like a sting (in ordinary flies it is thickened, not sharp).

The proboscis of livestock has a special structure that allows the insect to pierce even the rough skin of cattle, and even more so human skin. Sharp, slightly rough chitinous plates at the tip of the proboscis quickly cut through the epidermis, after which the “sting” easily penetrates directly to the blood vessels.

Unlike many other species of insects, both female and male burners feed on blood.

Causes of attacks by zhigalkas

The observation that these flies bite more often in August (closer to autumn) has its own explanations. It has been noticed that during the summer, while it is warm, burners attack people much less often than with the approach of the cool season. The reasons for this are:

  • over the summer, the population of flies increases significantly (each female lays up to 4 hundred eggs during her life, and the overall development of an insect from egg to sexual maturity is 1-1.5 months, depending on external conditions);
  • zhigalki cannot stand the cold, so closer to autumn they rush to warmth (into a person’s home, premises for livestock, etc.);
  • Before the cold weather, insects begin to actively bite, because their need to feed themselves with protein sharply increases in order to breed healthy offspring by next spring.

From the above it is clear why fly bites have nothing to do with the fictitious anger of these insects, supposedly experienced by them before imminent death due to cold weather.

Bite danger

The attack of a burner is an unforgettable moment for those who were never lucky enough to become its victim at least once. Victims describe their sensations from the bite as a very painful prick followed by a strong burning sensation. The fact is that after cutting through the skin layer, the insect injects a special substance into the wound that prevents blood clotting. This substance is poisonous, and it is what causes that very feeling of sharply increasing burning sensation.

But pain is not the only trouble that a burner bite brings with it. A fly is a fly, it lands on various dirty surfaces, bites animals that may not always be healthy, and in times of famine, even a fly does not disdain carrion due to the lack of fresh blood. All this carries with it a certain risk of contracting the following diseases:

An allergic reaction develops precisely to the poisonous secretion introduced by the burner fly after piercing the skin. In this case, the bite site may become very red, swollen and unbearably itchy (and this is only the mildest form of an allergic reaction to an insect bite).

If the allergy develops rapidly, in addition to the above symptoms, the victim may experience:

  • severe swelling of the affected area;
  • weakness, nausea with or without vomiting;
  • dizziness;
  • difficulty breathing;
  • darkening of the eyes;
  • Quincke's edema or anaphylactic shock - in the most severe cases.

If, with a mild allergic reaction, the victim can be helped independently (give an antihistamine, cold to the bite site, ointment for bites, etc.), then at the first suspicion of a more severe form, an urgent visit to the doctor is necessary.

How to get rid of burners

Despite the identified differences between flies and flies that do not attack people and animals, you can get rid of both species using the same methods. With a moderate number of insects, mechanical methods are quite suitable:

If there are too many flies, you can use more aggressive means - any insecticides against flying insects.

The autumn zhigalka fly is not a harmless dipteran, both in terms of transmitting infections on its legs and the relatively dangerous consequences of its bite. Therefore, active control of it is necessary to avoid infection with serious diseases.

We are surrounded by a diverse world of insects: from small spider bugs that are not even visible to large bright butterflies that delight the eye. And among this wide variety of creatures there are flies - small winged insects, completely ugly to look at. They are not favored because of their annoyingness and intrusiveness, but worst of all, they are carriers of various microorganisms and bacteria that can cause various diseases: from simple poisoning to tuberculosis and typhoid. We are surrounded by a large number of species of flies, which we need to be able to recognize so as not to be confused with other insects that are harmless to humans.

Classification of flies

There are 40 thousand species of flies in the world, which can be divided into three large groups:

  • settlement: live in close proximity to humans, are not able to survive in the wild; house flies;
  • semi-settlement (facultative-settlement): can live both near humans and in the wild; blow flies;
  • grazing: live in livestock droppings on pastures, fly into populated areas; dung flies;

Gray blowflies are corpse lovers

Flies are also divided into those that feed:

  • fruits and berries: melon and garden;
  • vegetables: lily, cabbage, garlic, cucumber, sprouts;
  • flowers: peony;
  • blood of animals and people: black (April), ;
  • rot and carrion: green, domestic, dung, gray meat;
  • other insect pests: hoverflies, blackbirds;

Garden flies harm the harvest of fruits and berries

What types of flies are most common?

The world of flies is diverse, which, in addition to the structure of the body and life cycle, have one common property - intrusiveness. Whatever the insect is: dangerous or relatively harmless to humans, it will be very difficult to get rid of it. What attracts flies to us? These creatures have a well-developed sense of smell, they are attracted to various sweet and not so sweet aromas (but the most pleasant smell for most of them is the aroma of rot), to which they fly. We prepare a lot of dishes with all sorts of tastes and smells - it is these that attract these insects so much that they force them to travel quite large distances compared to their size and fly into our homes.

The alluring aroma overrides everything for flies, sometimes even the instinct of self-preservation, so many people, when asked “How many species of flies do you think there are?” They answer: “one is annoying.”

The housefly (or housefly) lives exclusively in close proximity to a person’s home, where there is a lot of food and quickly rotting household waste. It is impossible for this type of insect to exist away from people, so in the warm season they are nearby all the time: they live in our kitchens, where food and waste are stored, they fly in through open windows to stay for several hours, and it is quite difficult to drive them out.

House flies are considered the most annoying

House flies do not have piercing-sucking mouthparts, so they cannot bite humans, but this does not make them completely harmless. These insects have three pairs of limbs, each with small suction tentacles, to which various bacteria and microorganisms stick, and then they are transferred by flies to food. Creatures of this species are completely unremarkable: they have a gray-brown body with nondescript wings, but very bright red eyes. They occupy almost the entire head, the lower part of which is yellowish and the upper part is sand-colored. The head has antennae and an oral cavity.

House flies have huge red eyes

Flies have two pairs of wings: the first is used for flight, the second (called halteres) is used to maintain balance. It is the halteres that make the sound that we call buzzing.

House flies are diurnal insects that fall asleep after dark and wake up when the sun has already risen. They are active only in the warm season; in the fall, with the onset of the first cold weather, they hibernate.

On average, houseflies live 3–4 months. First, the adult female lays eggs (about a hundred in one clutch), from which a larva emerges after 8–50 hours (depending on the climate). This is a small worm up to 13 mm long that lives in animal feces and household waste. The larva moults approximately once a week; after the third, the outer shell of the worm hardens, falls off, and the creature turns into a pupa. After 3 days, an adult is born, which becomes sexually mature after 36 hours. Over its relatively long life, one fly can lay up to 10 thousand eggs.

The fly larva looks like a small chopped off worm

These insects eat the same food as humans, but prefer liquid or semi-liquid food because they are unable to bite. To eat solid foods, flies secrete saliva, which is capable of dissolving substances of varying hardness.

The housefly can be found throughout Russia, but the closer to the south, the milder and warmer the climate and the more abundant this insect is. It is very difficult to fight him, but it is possible. The most effective are ordinary insect nets, which can be placed in window and door openings, and sticky tapes, which have a certain kind of smell that attracts flies - they sit on the tape, stick and cannot fly away. It is not recommended to use fumigators and various chemical baits, especially if there are pregnant women, children or pets in the house, since these products release harmful substances into the air.

The adhesive tape needs to be changed every 2-3 months or as it becomes full of flies.

Hoverfly

Hoverflies (or syrphids) are very similar in appearance to wasps. Even the behavior of these insects is identical: syrphids can freeze in place during flight, continuing to flap their wings, but they are completely harmless to humans - they do not bite like wasps.

Hover flies got their name from the sound that is produced when their wings work - it is very similar to the murmur of water.

Hoverflies are found mainly in fields, orchards and vegetable gardens, where there are many umbelliferous and compound-flowering plants. Like all insects, they are most active during the daytime during warm seasons, and hibernate in the winter.

Hoverflies are harmless creatures

Hover flies have a small body covered with alternating black and yellow stripes. They have only one pair of transparent wings and huge brown eyes. Hoverflies have a long proboscis, which they use to obtain nectar; They do not bite either people or animals.

The wasp's body is more segmented

Syrphids feed mainly on plant nectar, but they can also feast on aphids, eggs of various insects and spider mites. They are not attracted to human food at all.

Wasp flies lay 150–200 eggs at a time; The laying is done mainly in the habitats of aphids, which are very convenient for the larvae to hunt. They appear 2–4 days after the eggs are laid and look like small worms chopped off at the back. The larvae feed on their own, becoming more and more voracious every day; Thus, in 2–3 weeks of their life they are able to eat more than 2 thousand aphids. Then the larvae turn into pupae, from which an adult emerges after 7–10 days.

Hoverfly larvae are very lazy, but their hunt for aphids looks quite interesting: as soon as the victim is noticed, the worm rises, begins to sway from side to side and after a few moments very quickly pounces on the prey, instantly devouring it. To get more food, you need to move. To do this, the larva “rolls” the mass of its body from one end to the other, thus moving in space.

Hoverflies do not live long: on average, 1–1.5 months, but even in such a short life they bring many benefits to the garden, eating a variety of insects. Many summer residents create favorable conditions for the life of hoverflies so that they settle on their territory and save them from pests. There is no need to get rid of syrphids.

The green (or carrion) fly is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful insects: it has a neat glossy body of emerald color, large brown eyes that go well with a pair of smoky wings. All its legs have tentacles to which bacteria and microorganisms stick, which this fly carries over long distances.

The green fly has an incredibly beautiful color

It is a pity that such a beautiful creature feeds on carrion and rot, so it must be driven away and even destroyed, and not admired as one would like. The carrion fly lives on animal carcasses, in household waste and in feces, but is sometimes found on flowers with a very strong sweet smell.

Green flies are also found on flowers with a pronounced sweet aroma

Green flies lay up to 180 eggs in the same place where they feed - in rotten food and bodies. Females try to hide their eggs as deep as possible so that when the larva is born (and this happens after 6–48 hours), it has a lot of food. Flies remain at the larval stage for 3 to 9 days, after which they crawl into the soil, where they turn into pupae. After another 10–17 days, an adult fly appears and climbs to the surface.

You should not allow carrion flies to appear in your home, as they will carry on their paws a huge amount of bacteria from corpses and feces, which will at a minimum cause poisoning and intestinal diseases. The most effective means against these flies are insect nets and ordinary adhesive tapes, which have a pleasant smell for flies. If you don't have pets at home, you can buy a flytrap plant.

The flycatcher is a very beautiful plant that feeds on the blood of insects

Beetle fly

Honeybee moths belong to the hoverfly family, but they look like bees rather than wasps. They have a rather large body - on average 1.5 cm in length, the abdomen is quite “plump”, which is why these flies resemble bees. The body is brown in color with large reddish-yellow spots on the sides. Unlike other flies, the flies are covered with very small hairs - even the eyes and limbs have hair.

Another name for the bee-shaped silt is the tenacious silt.

Beekeepers live near plants with strong-smelling flowers, the nectar of which they feed on. Adults are absolutely harmless to both people and insects, so there is no point in specially breeding them, and there is also no reason to destroy them.

Illices lay their eggs in various sewage, so the entry of eggs or larvae into the human body (for example, from unwashed hands or food) can lead to infection with intestinal diseases (for example, enteritis).

The larva is born 18–48 hours after laying eggs, the length of its body reaches two centimeters, but the special breathing tube with which the worm breathes can stretch as much as 10 cm. This is due to the fact that the larvae live in sewage, and You should breathe only clean air.

The flies are most active from July to October; in cold weather, these flies hibernate.

The bee has a hairier and more segmented body

Since only eggs and larvae of bee flies can cause harm to humans, wash your hands thoroughly after coming from the street, rinse food and make sure that rotting household waste does not accumulate at home, where the bee fly could lay its eggs.

Ktyri are large predatory flies that destroy other insects: mosquitoes, midges, beetles and even bees. They feed exclusively on flying organisms and do not harm either humans or their crops, so they should not be scared away or even destroyed - although they are ugly in appearance, they are good helpers in the fight against pests and blood-sucking insects.

Ktyr can fight even a hornet

These flies really don’t look very attractive: a small dark brown body completely covered with hairs, huge brown eyes, a sting with poison that they inject into their prey. The limbs, incredibly long compared to the body, are also covered with hairs. It is with them that the ktyrs catch their prey in the air. Long, powerful dark brown wings with small light stripes help keep themselves and their prey in flight.

Chtyrs lay their eggs in various rotting matter: wood, soil, and so on. As soon as the larvae emerge from the eggs, they immediately begin to destroy small insects that are nearby. Often one larva becomes a victim of another (and the adult can eat its own kind).

Ktyri, like all flies, live 2–2.5 months and are active in the warm season. They are found in cities, in gardens, and far from people.

The tsetse fly is the most dangerous fly on the entire planet Earth, which, fortunately, lives in Africa. She is a carrier of the so-called sleeping sickness, from which you can die if timely medical care is not provided. This fly feeds exclusively on the blood of animals and people.

Bernhard Grzimek (zoologist and conservationist) in his book “No Place for Wild Animals” said that it was thanks to the tsetse fly that the habitats of large wild animals, practically untouched by humans, were preserved in equatorial Africa.

The female gives birth to larvae, which immediately become pupae, in a dark place, closer to the soil. This is where the pupae will develop over several days until they develop into adults.

The tsetse fly is very beautiful, although the color of its back is unremarkable - gray

Tsetse flies are unusually beautiful: the insect's chest is reddish-gray, covered with longitudinal dark brown stripes, a yellow-gray abdomen, a gray back with a black-milky pattern, a long branched proboscis, transparent powerful wings, which the insect folds one on top of the other and on which is clearly visible coffee-colored drawing. But you shouldn’t be fascinated by this creature - they are dangerous for humans.

The wings of the tsetse fly have an unusual hatchet pattern.

If you travel to Africa, be sure to get vaccinated against sleeping sickness.

We are surrounded by countless different insects: some of them harm humans, some, on the contrary, help with various pests and save the harvest. You need to be able to distinguish friends among all insects and not kill them, but create favorable conditions for their life. Chemicals, of course, are better at destroying various insects, including aphids, but they are not as safe for humans as, for example, hoverflies. Use the helpers that nature itself gives you.



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