Fire bugs don't have a good reputation. This negative image stems from related species of bugs that bother gardeners. But the way of life of the fire bugs proves to be exciting in many ways. Fighting is unnecessary in most cases.

Fire bugs often occur in large numbers, but are not harmful per se

Table of Contents

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  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Are fire bugs poisonous?
  3. fight fire bugs
  4. home remedies
  5. Proven Measures
  6. Prevent
  7. Characteristics
  8. way of life
  9. related species
  10. habitat and distribution
  11. food
  12. Fire bugs in the garden
  13. Others
  14. frequently asked Questions

    15. the essentials in brief

    • Fire bugs do not bite, nor are they poisonous
    • Fire bugs are active between March and May and can occur in large numbers
    • Fire bugs can be controlled with soapy water, fly tape, or essential oils; In most cases, however, control is not necessary and should be avoided

    Are fire bugs poisonous?

    Fire bugs pose no danger to humans. You don't have to fear a bite if you pick up the insects. The animals are not poisonous. If dogs or cats accidentally grab the animals, they are quickly put off by the unpleasant taste. Even brave pets can learn from such experiences.

    fight fire bugs

    Usually it is not necessary to fight the animals. The spook is often over after a few weeks, as the animals are only active between March and May. If the winters are particularly severe, most animals cannot survive. In many cases, the occurrence is temporary.

    eliminate accumulations

    In early spring, look for obvious hiding places like flagstones and piles of dead leaves on trees. If the sun has not yet warmed up such retreats, fire bugs will only come out of their hiding place later. So you can move the clumps of bugs into a bucket and release them again at a safe distance at the edge of the forest. Wear gloves to avoid getting the animal's defense secretions on your skin.

    in the house

    Anyone who finds a fire bug in the house should carefully carry it outside

    It occasionally happens that fire bugs crawl into the apartment through open windows or under door slots. But you don't have to worry about the animals taking over your bed. Fire bugs are not comfortable in unnatural environments. They stray there when distracted by smells or looking for a retreat. You can direct individual animals to a piece of paper and take them outside.

    Gentle variant for removal:

    • Put the screw cap jar over the bug
    • Slip a piece of paper underneath
    • Carry the bug into the glass
    • expose far away from the house

    If you crush a fire bug in your home, you risk unsightly stains and an unpleasant smell.

    chemical antidotes

    You should refrain from using industrially manufactured products with aggressive ingredients. Such insecticides not only fight the fire bugs, since they do not work selectively. The funds destroy the entire insect world in the garden, so that other useful animals are also killed. If the substances get into nearby bodies of water or the ground, they affect other living beings. Chemical clubs bring an imbalance in the ecosystem and should not be used if possible.

    Natural control and home remedies

    If the presence of the fire bugs is still undesirable, you can fight or scare the animals off naturally. The methods protect the environment and are not hazardous to health. However, these methods should also be used with caution and solutions used sparingly.

    soapy water

    An effective control agent that is environmentally friendly and targeted is a solution of biodegradable soap and water. Fill a spray bottle with water and squirt a few drops of dish soap into the water. Some curd soap achieves the same effect. Shake the bottle well until the soap has dissolved.

    You can then spray the solution on the bed bug clusters. A fine mist is enough for the animals to die within a few minutes. The soapy water dissolves the protective layer of the shell. Without this protective layer, the bugs become dehydrated.

    Sprayed with soapy water, the beautiful little animals die an agonizing death

    tips

    You can also use diatomaceous earth. The fossil rock consists of aluminium, silicon and iron and has a similar but stronger effect than soapy water.

    Sticky fly tape

    Stick the window frames and door sills with double-sided adhesive tape. Special fly tape has a higher adhesive effect. If a bug tries to crawl into the apartment, it sticks to the tape. There is no escape from the insurmountable obstacle.

    However, this variant is less animal-friendly because the bugs slowly die from lack of food and exhaustion. They secrete their scent secretion, so that the conspecifics are warned of the danger. The accumulations in the vicinity dissolve, at least for a short time. But as soon as the smell subsides, the animals come back.

    tips

    So that the bugs do not get lost in the apartment, you should use lures at the other end of the garden. A tub of hollyhocks or hibiscus magically attracts firebugs and distracts them from the house.

    balsam fir

    American researchers discovered by chance that the wood of the balsam fir (Abies balsamea) can be used to combat fire bugs. The wood contains a substance that resembles a hormone found in bedbug larvae. If the larvae came into contact with the fabric, they were unable to molt to become an adult insect. The bugs died before they became sexually mature.

    Scatter chopped balsam fir branches under deciduous trees and mallows. The wild species is difficult to find in garden centers, but the dwarf form 'Nana' is available from many nurseries.

    Proven measures against stink bugs

    There are some means that declare war on the related stink bugs. Since these are natural control methods, they can also be used against fire bugs. However, many methods have both advantages and disadvantages.

    Essential Oils

    At least stink bugs are said to be sensitive to some intensely smelling oils, so they flee. You can make a solution for spraying using various plant powders or oils. These are sprayed in places where the bugs frequent. They have a deterrent effect and do not kill the insects. If you don't mind the strong smell, you can also spray the solution on window frames and door sills.

    These plants are suitable:

    • garlic: Oil for spray solution, spread garlic cloves in bug hides
    • mint: Spray solution from leaves
    • catnip: plant in the garden as a permanent defense
    effect disadvantage
    pyrethrum mortifying fatal to all insects
    coffee grounds mourning: bugs flee no permanent deterrent
    neem oil irritating: mating is disturbed interferes with the development of beneficial insects

    Prevent

    Fire bugs settle where the living conditions are optimal. If you have many of your favorite food plants in your garden, there is a good chance of spread. The animals often come back even after successful control. The only way out of this cycle is to redesign the garden. Avoid planting mallows or cut off spent shoots before they can develop seeds.

    tips

    • do not leave any piles of leaves on the house wall
    • Make the garden as diverse as possible
    • keep surfaces moist

    The fire bug at a glance

    In the kingdom of bugs, there is a complete family of about 340 different species called fire bugs. The typical species associated with the name is the common firebug (Pyrrhocoris apterus). Their striking coloring is characteristic and has a threatening effect, especially when the animals form large groups.

    In the vernacular, the species is erroneously referred to as the fire beetle or shoemaker beetle. The term cobbler is a common term for copulation in eastern Austria and indicates the high level of sexual activity in the animals in spring. The popular names are an indication that the bedbugs used to be mistaken for beetles. However, there is a distant relationship between the fire bug and the fire beetle, for fire beetles belong to the order Beetles while fire bugs belong to the order Beak bugs.

    general characteristics

    Fire bugs are between six and twelve millimeters long. Its oval-shaped body is flattened on top while the bottom is curved. The head appears triangular in plan. It has four-membered antennae that are comparatively short and thick. The trapezoidal pronotum is delimited from the body by sharp sides. There is no difference in color between males and females. Distinctive features that indicate sex are clearly visible when viewed under a microscope. They show up in the genital apparatus.

    coloring

    The common fire bug cannot be confused with any other species due to its color pattern. The head, underside, legs and antennae are black. The pronotum glows red at the edge, while there is an almost rectangular black spot in the middle. This is delimited by a larger front spot and two smaller back spots. The shield and abdomen are colored black. The forewings appear fiery red with conspicuous circular dots colored black and smaller black colored triangles. Long-winged fire bugs are sometimes confused with the knight bug.

    Characteristics of the knight bug:

    • similar dorsal colouration, but reddish underside of abdomen
    • black spot on forewing smaller than in fire bugs
    • occurs only in southern Europe

    way of life

    Typical of the fire bug are large groups of animals that are in different stages of development. They shed pheromones to hold the aggregation together. If danger threatens, the bugs secrete a secretion to ward off and warn and the accumulation dissolves. You can see this behavior more often in the spring.

    flight

    In about 95 percent of all fire bugs, the wings are so short that they cannot fly. The scientific species name "apterus", which is translated as "wingless", indicates this phenomenon. Only five percent of the animals develop fully formed fore and hind wings that reach the tip of the abdomen. However, the fire bugs are unable to fly.

    digression

    A look into evolution

    Almost all fire bugs from the genus Pyrrhocoris have severely atrophied wings. The animals were able to complete this evolutionary step because they mostly live on the ground. Occasionally, fire bugs evolve with functional wings, and only a few anecdotes report flying animals.

    The flight of the fire bugs has not been scientifically proven and yet these generations are used for the spread of the species over longer distances. Studies have shown that these individuals are more active, enterprising, and experimental than the vestigial-winged bugs. They cover longer distances on foot and form new populations in more distant areas.

    pairing

    Mating occurs between April and May. Females mate with multiple males, with individual copulations lasting several hours to days. There are observations of matings spanning seven days. These long copulation times have an evolutionary reason. In this way, the males want to prevent females from mating with competitors.

    However, this behavior only works in favor of the males. Females are so overwhelmed by sexual activity and subsequent egg production that their life expectancy is significantly lower than that of their mates.

    egg laying

    Shortly after mating, the females usually lay between 40 and 80, rarely up to 100 eggs. They continue to monitor the clutch for some time. The hatched larva is already very similar to the adult insect. As a result, they do not have to go through the pupal stage, as is the case with butterflies or beetles.

    stages of development

    The insects go through five stages to adult bugs, in which they shed their skin. It takes between two and three months for the egg to develop into a sexually mature insect. The development from the fifth larval stage to the adult animal takes the most time.

    This is where females lay their eggs:

    • in self-dug holes in the ground
    • under stones
    • between piled foliage

    In the winter

    Fire bugs burrow into the substrate before the onset of winter to protect themselves from the cold. The bugs also live sociable during the winter. More than a hundred bugs can often be seen under stones and bushes or in piles of leaves, forming clumps. Temperatures of -5 °C do not cause any problems for the animals in these aggregations. The insects overwinter in the sexually mature stage. Very rarely, larval stages can be observed in the clusters. When the sun warms the soil, the bugs become active again. They look for sunny places to warm themselves.

    related species

    The fire bug is the most common species of the family that exists in Central Europe. There are two other species here that are much rarer. Most species develop warning colors of red and orange or yellow to white. But there are also inconspicuously colored species.

    Pyrrhocoris niger Pyrrhocoris marginatus
    German designation missing occasional monk bug
    coloring black with yellow wing edges brownish to black with yellow wing margins
    distribution Crete more southern regions
    habitat on the Cretan Tragacanth steppe heaths
    particularities occurs exclusively on Crete lives as a solitary animal

    Where do fire bugs live?

    Fire bugs live mostly on the ground. They look for sunny places and can often be seen at the foot of the trunk of linden trees. More than a hundred animals gather here in the spring. Horse chestnuts, acacias and other deciduous trees also represent a preferred habitat for fire bugs to colonize. Occasionally the insects crawl up the stalks of low vegetation or tree trunks.

    Where fire bugs thrive

    As temperatures rise on average, fire bugs have increasingly been able to spread to more northerly regions. So far they haven't made it to the UK or Scandinavia. Bugs conquered Schleswig-Holstein during the 1940s. In the Alps, fire bugs can be observed at altitudes of up to 1,000 meters.

    Natural range:

    • Central Europe
    • Mediterranean areas
    • North Africa
    • central Asia to western Siberia, northern China and Pakistan

    Natural enemies

    Birds are the primary predators of fire bugs. But because of their warning colors, a hungry bird rarely shows interest in the insects. When they eat their prey, they quickly detect an unpleasant taste. Fire bugs secrete a defensive secretion that repels birds and can paralyze insects. The strategies are showing great success, allowing the bugs to spread unhindered.

    What do fire bugs eat?

    Fire bugs belong to the group of sperm suckers. They look for seeds that have fallen on the ground. Mallow plants are the main food source. Occasionally, the bugs will suck out live and dead insects. In some cases, dead conspecifics are also sucked dry.

    Insects show social behavior when foraging for food. They work together to open the seeds. Several animals then suck the juice out of the grains at the same time, using mouthparts that have been converted into proboscises. They secrete a secretion that dissolves the nutrients in the seed.

    What fire bugs prefer:

    • Seeds of linden, horse chestnut and black locust
    • Musk Mallow (Malva moschata)
    • Shrub Marshmallow or Hibiscus (Hibiscus syriacus)
    • Marshmallow (Althaea officinalis)
    • Common hollyhock (Alcea rosea)

    Fire bugs in the garden

    The insects are perceived by many hobby gardeners as "nuisances" because they occur in large numbers and are frightening. Since their stocks are hardly contained by natural predators, many feel helplessly exposed to the supposed plague.

    If the range of plants in the garden is right, new generations of fire bugs will settle there every year.However, they are not harmful to plants as they only target fallen seeds. The putative plant pests may even be of use as they also suck in aphids and prevent their uncontrolled spread.

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    In the graveyard

    There are frequent reports of mass accumulations of fire bugs in cemeteries. For most visitors, these observations cause disgust and those who do not know the way of life of the animals get scared quickly.

    But the bugs find ideal living conditions in cemeteries in particular. There are often deciduous trees along the way, which produce masses of seeds and thus food for the insects. On the sun-exposed tombstones you will find ideal spots to sunbathe. You don't have to worry about the grave planting.

    Others

    Fire bugs are interesting creatures that have been the focus of human interest for centuries. Fire bugs are among the most popular crawling animals among children, and they are explored with great enthusiasm.

    Fire bug - eternal youth

    The early larval stages of the fire bug develop a special hormone that significantly influences the development of the larvae. It prevents precociousness and ensures that all larval stages are lived through. During the research of a Czech scientist, this phenomenon was observed in the last stage of development.

    Only after some time did the researcher discover the reason. The pots in which the larvae were grown were equipped with special paper. The paper came from different tree species whose wood contains a substance that inhibits development. In the last larval stage, this ensures that they cannot develop into an adult insect. The larvae continued to grow in the experiment until they finally died of old age.

    These tree species contain the substance:

    • balsam fir
    • American Larch
    • hemlock
    • yew

    Fire bugs in kindergarten

    It is not uncommon for the little ones to collect fire bugs in droves from the floor in order to keep them in the children's room. Parents are not always enthusiastic about this, but playing with the strikingly colored insects does not harm the children.

    They deal with the way of life of insects and get to know nature. Fire bugs are therefore also on the curriculum in kindergarten. With the help of discovery tours, attempts are made to bring children closer to biology in a playful way.

    frequently asked Questions

    Do fire bugs stink?

    Fire bugs differ from other bugs in their regressed scent glands. However, the bugs emit a distinctive odor when threatened. This scent is said to deter robbers. At the same time, conspecifics are warned of the danger. A fire bug stinks when picked up and squeezed.

    At what temperatures do fire bugs die?

    Fire bugs are able to survive below freezing temperatures. If the thermometer drops to -7 °C, the bugs survive about 120 days. They can also survive temperatures down to double digits below zero, at which point the mortality rate is quite high. Studies showed that some fire bugs survived around 35 days at -10°C.

    Why are fire bugs strikingly red and black in color?

    Experiments have shown that the coloring has a warning function and acts as a natural protection against herbivores. This is how fire bugs fool their natural enemies. Although they are not tasty, they also have only a very low toxic effect. Songbirds spurn the bugs anyway. Scientists assume that the birds see the similar-looking knight bugs as a threat and transfer this association to the fire bugs.

    How long do fire bugs live?

    The lifespan of insects is highly dependent on environmental conditions. A mature fire bug can live anywhere from two to 12 months. Occasionally the bugs reach an age of two years.

    How often do fire bugs breed each year?

    That depends on the weather conditions. Usually only one generation develops per year in Central Europe, as the females only lay their eggs in late spring and it takes up to three months to develop into a sexually mature insect. In particularly warm years, this generation can reproduce in the same year.

    Why do fire bugs appear in large clusters?

    Fire bugs are warmth-loving and display social lifestyles. They live socially in groups and share food with each other. Living together has a simple background, because in large groups the probability of survival of the individual is higher. Societies have been shown to have higher temperatures than the surrounding environment. The insects warm themselves in this way.

Category:

Animals in the garden