Is the ladybug poisonous or not? Can you get poisoned if you eat a ladybug?
What happens if a person or pet accidentally eats or swallows a ladybug? Is it dangerous? Fortunately, the answer is clear - no, it is absolutely not dangerous. The poison cantharidin, which the ladybug secretes for self-defense, is contained in its body in a very small amount and cannot harm health.
A child ate a ladybug - what to do?
Most people associate the ladybug with something cute and harmless, but it is not for nothing that nature created it bright and colorful.
For insectivorous birds, this is a kind of signal that warns that this species should not be eaten. When in danger, the ladybug secretes a very poisonous hemolymph of bright orange color.
However, small children, on the other hand, are attracted to everything bright, and it is difficult to resist sucking the beetle they like into their mouths.
If a small child has eaten a ladybug, the first priority is to calm him down and convince him that nothing bad happened. Some parents become nervous and only intimidate the baby.
Some even suggest inducing vomiting, but this is absolutely unnecessary stress - it is better to just let the child drink a glass of water. Drinking will speed up the movement of the beetle into the stomach and provide an additional calming effect. If a child is bothered by a bitter feeling in the mouth, the mouth should be rinsed thoroughly.
Some children complain of slight nausea - in most cases this is the effect of psychosomatic factors. In order for intoxication to begin, you need to eat a large number of insects. You should calm the child down by any means accepted in the family, give him activated charcoal and convince him that everything will pass soon.
If the child feels well and is not worried about what happened, you can simply laugh and forget about what happened.
Some parents are worried that some kind of infection could get into the mouth along with the insect - this option cannot be ruled out. Insects can crawl anywhere, including through dirt, but in this case you will have to deal with ordinary food poisoning, which has nothing to do with the toxicity of the ladybug.
A cat or dog ate a ladybug - what will happen?
Playful pets often show interest in insects: they chase butterflies, flies, and cockroaches. A small ladybug is also suitable for a fun game. If during such a game a dog or cat ate a ladybug, it is worth watching them. The poison secreted by insects can cause quite severe irritation to the animal’s oral cavity.
In this case, the pet will show signs of anxiety: turning its head, sneezing, sticking out its tongue. There may be excessive salivation. Don’t be alarmed by these symptoms—the animal just needs to rinse its mouth with plain water. This can be done using a syringe or a syringe without a needle.
After a few hours, the feeling of bitterness in the mouth will pass.
If the cat or dog swallows the ladybug quickly enough, there may be no poison in the mouth. In this case, the animal will not show anxiety, which means there is no need to rinse the mouth. It is enough to give your pet regular water. If the animal refuses to drink, a small amount of water can be forcibly injected using a syringe.
There is a small risk of parasite infection when pets eat insects. Ladybugs often have blood-sucking mites, which can begin to parasitize the body of a cat or dog. If suspicious symptoms appear, you should contact your veterinarian and be sure to inform him about the case of eating any insects.
What ladybugs bite and are they dangerous to humans? Description of the most poisonous insect species
Such small, seemingly defenseless insects - ladybugs - are very useful in the garden. They successfully eat aphids and caterpillars on leaves, and kill harmful insects. But it is interesting to know whether they pose a serious threat to humans, can they bite? Let's look into it in detail.
Will you get poisoned by eating a ladybug?
Have you noticed that most insects hide in the ground, under leaves or stones, while a ladybug can quietly bask in the sun? The answer lies in its bright coloring, thanks to which nature often marks insects that are not worth messing with. However, man is a strange animal, how many times have you taken a ladybug and launched it into the sky? You are attracted by its beauty, even despite the fact that many people know about its toxicity.
Why is a ladybug dangerous?
Have you ever noticed why most insects hide in the ground, under leaves, grass and stones, while a ladybug can quietly bask in the sun? The answer lies in its bright and variegated coloring, thanks to which nature itself explained to all surrounding predators that it is better not to mess with it. However, man is a rather strange animal, how many times have you launched a ladybug into the sky? We are attracted by the beauty of this beetle, even though many people know that it is poisonous.
Why is a ladybug dangerous?
The first thing you need to know is that in case of danger, ladybugs have an effective method of protection. This is a poisonous, sharp-smelling yellow liquid that ladybugs secrete from the joints of their legs. With the help of this liquid, ladybugs scare away their enemies - frogs, spiders and many insects. Birds and other animals completely avoid ladybugs.
What is this yellow stuff?
The very feeling of danger causes ladybugs to secrete droplets of yellow hemolymph from their joints, which have a nasty taste to humans. The bitterness of the hemolymph of ladybugs is imparted by adalene alkaloids.
Ladybird hemolymph is poisonous
In short, hemolymph is the “blood” of many beetles, and in the ladybug it is highly poisonous. The toxic basis of the hemolymph is the poison cantharidin, which, when it comes into contact with human skin, affects the mouth of the follicle with the formation of large blisters. And the entry of cantharidin into the digestion leads to rapidly developing intoxication, which will lead to severe poisoning.
Well, now you can’t eat ladybugs?
It should be noted that the body of a ladybug usually contains quite a bit of cantharidin. At most, it will make you slightly nauseous. Accidentally eating a ladybug by a child is also safe. Only aphids should be afraid of ladybugs, because this is their favorite treat.
Sources:
https://taraklop.ru/zhuki/sel-bozhju-korou/ https://protarakanov.ru/kusayutsya-li-bozhi-koroi-i-opasno-li-eto.html https://zen.yandex.ru /media/id/5c8f6cf06243ec00b4c3594c/5c8fdc47145fc000b37c0494
Source: https://xn—-8sbekgmi3b3a.xn--p1ai/bolezni/bozhya-korovka-yadovita-ili-net-mozhno-li-otravitsya-esli-sest-bozhyu-korovku.html
Why are they dangerous?
Their unpleasant appearance and tendency to gather in colonies have given these arthropods a bad reputation (here you can find a description of woodlice and their classification). What harm, besides a feeling of disgust and the possibility of provoking a nervous breakdown, do woodlice cause?
For man
Are crustaceans dangerous for people? Woodlice are not able to bite, spoil food, contaminate water, buzz or penetrate the body, which makes them practically harmless to humans.
However, due to the fact that these arthropods eat not only living parts of plants, but also rotten and dead microorganisms, there is a risk that woodlice can carry various infections and pathogenic plants on their paws. The possibility of woodlice spreading infections is a controversial issue, since there is no scientific evidence for this.
You can read about the nutrition of woodlice, its types, including the white pest, on our website.
For pets
For domestic animals, as for humans, woodlice do not pose a threat. Moreover, owners who keep spiders or reptiles can specifically breed woodlice, since these crustaceans are the best source of protein for them.
For plants
Woodlice pose the greatest danger to indoor plants. Arthropods eat living leaves, damage and disrupt the integrity of the root system.
In addition, the presence of woodlice in a flowerpot with a plant leads to the fact that the soil is deprived of oxygen and becomes too dense.
Important! The appearance of small holes on the leaves and flowers is a sign that the plant has been attacked by woodlice.
If you do not get rid of the pests, after 14-15 days the houseplant will completely wither and die.
In the case when crustaceans appear in the cellar, they spoil potatoes and stocks of other vegetables, and in the greenhouse they only spoil sprouts of vegetable crops, which will affect the harvest.
For housing
As a rule, wood lice live under the bathroom, behind the toilet, near the boiler, in cellars and pantries where supplies of vegetables are stored. The choice of these places is associated with high humidity and the availability of necessary nutrition (you can learn more about the nutrition of woodlice living in the bathroom, apartment and other premises here).
Despite the fact that woodlice do not parasitize people or pets and cause the greatest harm only to indoor plants, the mere proximity to these pests and the sight of their large accumulation in the corners and on the walls of the bathroom are very unpleasant and require immediate disposal.
The most dangerous wood lice for an apartment are those that enter the room through the ventilation system from the basement, roof or street. Such arthropods reproduce quickly and are difficult to control.
The whole truth about ladybugs
Henry Nichols BBC Earth
Image copyright Thinkstock
Everyone loves ladybugs because of the spots that adorn their backs. However, these cute bugs often eat each other - and are also infected with blood-sucking mites, warns a BBC Earth correspondent.
Reputation: Children adore ladybugs, cute little bugs, for their black and red markings and for their friendly behavior, which they demonstrate by crawling funnyly on your hand. Gardeners love them because they eat those nasty aphids.
Reality: Yes, yes, all this is true. However, ladybugs also have other traits. They are very promiscuous and sexually transmitted diseases are widespread among them. Many species are prone to cannibalism.
Whatever they are called - and in many European languages their names mean “Virgin Mary’s bug” or “Virgin Mary’s bird” - representatives of the family Coccinellidae (coccinellids, according to scientists’ terminology) are not quite as harmless as they seem.
Let's start with the fact that many of the more than five thousand species of these beetles do not at all correspond to the bright, elegant stereotype that we had in childhood.
Image copyright Nick Upton NPL Image caption Orange ladybug: not a very typical color
For example, there are 47 species of ladybirds in Britain, but only 26 of them have the classic spotted appearance, says Helen Roy of the Center for Ecology and Hydrology in Wallingford, who leads the long-running UK Ladybird Survey. ).
To avoid confusion
So, what makes a ladybug a ladybug? The spots have absolutely nothing to do with it. Their antennae (also known as antennae or antennae) consist of 11 segments; the tarsi make up four component segments, however, the third segment is very small and is almost completely hidden, together with half of the fourth, in the groove of the second.
Image copyright Visuals Unlimited NPL Image caption Where exactly to lay eggs is a task that must be approached with caution
However, many types of ladybugs have wonderful colors and also have spots. The patterns decorate their hardened front wings, which serve as protection for the hind wings and are called elytra.
By the way, the number of spots has nothing to do with the age of ladybugs, as many children, and adults too, think. In temperate zones, the lifespan of most ladybugs is about a year, but some centenarians, under favorable conditions, live up to two years.
Keep an eye on aphids
The diets of coccinellids are also quite varied. Ladybugs with 24 spots eat plant matter. Some species, such as the mold-eating orange ladybugs, have a preference for fungi. Others hunt for shield-shaped insects - scale insects and scale insects. But gardeners' favorites are those that destroy aphids.
Image copyright Premaphotos NPL Image caption Ladybug larvae eat aphids. But they can also each other
These ladybugs lay eggs on leaves near the aphid colony - but they must be, so to speak, smart and careful when doing so.
Aphids reproduce through parthenogenesis, that is, bypassing fertilization, which allows the production of clones without sexual intercourse. A colony of aphids can grow extremely quickly, resulting in overpopulation.
After this, several newborn winged aphids will fly off in all directions to start new colonies.
To provide her larvae with a rich diet of aphids, the female ladybug must lay eggs early in the colony's life. Several signs tell her that she has chosen the right time to lay: the density of aphids in the colony, the honeydew they secrete (a sweet liquid), and the presence of mobile chemical compounds secreted by the aphid-infested plant.
Spotted Spinebirds
“They are also able to find each other by the chemicals they secrete,” says Roy.
The larvae leave traces consisting of at least 40 different components, mainly alkane pheromones - hydrocarbon compounds that insects use to communicate with each other. Once the female ladybug picks up these substances, she heads off in the right direction to lay her eggs.
This is a completely reasonable precaution, since ladybird larvae are cannibals.
Image copyright Visuals Unlimited NPL Image caption Coccinellids have a very varied diet
Roy and her colleagues demonstrated that larvae of two-spotted ladybirds that were able to devour one of their conspecifics ready to hatch developed faster and were more likely to mature than those larvae that were prevented from becoming cannibals. Therefore, if any aphid colony already has ladybug larvae, the female will do the right thing by avoiding it.
Assuming that a female ladybug is able to locate a suitable aphid colony, her offspring are likely to thrive. “When they hatch from the eggs, they are very tiny,” Roy said. “If they manage to grab prey, they look like they are sitting on the backs of aphids.”
However, the results of several studies prove that ladybugs that feed on aphids do not have a significant effect on the population of these pests, no matter how much gardeners would like.
Insect hygiene
If you still have a blind love for coccinellids, here are some more truths about ladybugs.
Firstly, they are extremely promiscuous. For example, data from genetic studies of two-spot ladybirds have shown that one clutch may contain eggs fertilized by three (or even more) different males.
Image copyright Premaphotos NPL Image caption Ladybugs aren't very picky about their relationships
Secondly, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are common among them. Some species, such as two-spotted ladybugs, are infested by ectoparasitic mites known as Coccipolipus hippodamiae.
These parasites live under the elytra and feed on the hemolymph, the “blood” of ladybugs and give birth there.
When ladybugs copulate, the mites have the opportunity to move to a new place of residence. For example, one highly infectious mating left an unsuspecting male ladybug with 81 mite larvae.
These sexually transmitted aphids can be costly to ladybugs, especially females. Compared to uninfected control comparisons, mite-infested ladybugs tend to lay fewer eggs. And these eggs themselves are more vulnerable.
Now you know everything. The next time your daughter or son bends down to pick up a ladybug, you can teach your child about these insects' cannibalistic tendencies. Or you don’t have to tell me.
You can read the original version of this article in English on the BBC Earth website.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/russian/science/2015/05/150522_vert_ear_truth_about_ladybirds
Does a ladybug bite or not? Is the bite dangerous for humans?
First of all, you need to know that there are varieties of ladybugs. Almost all ladybugs do not bite, but they can pinch, but literally a couple of types of ladybugs can bite quite painfully. Let's look at what these species are and under what conditions even an ordinary red ladybug can bite a person.
Do ladybugs bite?
Most ladybugs do not bite, but can use their jaws to pinch for protection. Ladybugs eat caterpillars, aphids, slugs, snails, spider mites and the larvae of various insect pests, so they can be called predators.
When cold weather sets in, they prepare for hibernation, stocking up on nutrients and removing water from the body.
It is during this period - at the end of autumn, that they are capable of aggression, like any living creature on the planet, sensing the danger of destruction when it is angry (especially during the period of preparation for hibernation) - a cow can pinch a person, but the bite is not dangerous.
Some ladybirds, such as the 28-spotted ladybird and the Harlequin ladybird, are capable of more powerful attacks on humans.
If ordinary ladybugs do not harm humans, but rather even benefit them by eating pests and clearing plants of unnecessary accumulations of insects that can destroy them, then these two species, on the contrary, eat plants in gardens and forests and cause harm. The 28-spotted ladybug is found in the Northern part, and the Harlequin in the Asian part.
For example, Harlequin loves shady areas and where there is a lot of greenery, forests, parks, and cottages. And the ladybug with 28 spots prefers bright areas: vegetable gardens, summer cottages, farms, private houses. Where vegetables, herbs, fruits, and berries are grown.
They eat leaves of potatoes, cabbage, radishes, carrots, beets, etc., which sometimes causes severe damage to the crop. Northerners know that such a ladybug can bite quite hard, like a midge or even a mosquito. But, unlike these flying insects, ladybugs do not feed on blood!
How dangerous is a ladybug bite for humans?
So, we figured out which ladybugs can bite painfully - 28 spots and Harlequin. No cases of bites have been recorded among other ladybugs.
Only an imperceptible and even almost imperceptible pinch of the skin is possible, which a person will not even notice.
What to do to avoid a ladybug bite: do not pick up unfamiliar insects in your hands, but it is better not to touch the insects at all.
What is the difference between the 28-spotted ladybug and the usual harmless one - the spots, they are small and there are a lot of them. The harlequin is a large ladybug, the head is searing black with bright white spots, and a bright orange or pale yellow color is visible on its wings. The main difference is white spots on the head and large, uneven black spots on the wings.
Harlequin ladybug - why is its bite dangerous?
Such individuals are “predators”; they, of course, do not feed on blood, but are able to reproduce quickly and a lot, settle in convenient places closer to humans and cause a lot of unpleasant trouble. When bitten, you may experience:
- redness on the skin;
- itching;
- swelling;
- edema;
- allergic reaction.
Therefore, you should not pick up a ladybug of this species. You can fight them with special sprayers, adhesive tape against flies and insects, dichlorvos or regular “Mashenka”.
Be sure to treat the floors, walls and corners of the rooms in which these pest bugs are found, since closer to winter they will seek shelter and can settle en masse in your barn or private house, and then it will be quite difficult to get them out. Do you need such pests on your site?
Under no circumstances should these beetles be confused with ordinary harmless ladybugs, which, on the contrary, protect the garden from aphids and other insects.
How to treat the bite site?
The bite site should be treated with an antiseptic, a special cream against insect bites, or wiped with a decoction of herbs, such as chamomile or plantain. If an allergic reaction occurs, be sure to take an antihistamine to avoid complications such as swelling of the mucous membrane.
How a man almost died from a ladybug bite
Reza Rezamand, 31, said he developed sepsis after a ladybug bit him on the leg. The leg became very swollen and the toes turned black. Doctors said there was a 70% chance he would not survive. But he was able to be cured with antibiotics after numerous tests.
"I was very lucky. “I will never touch ladybugs again,” he said. “I have never been afraid of anything in my life. I can bench press 180 kg, but I was almost killed by such a small thing as a ladybug.
Such cases practically never occur, and it is also unknown whether the bite of a small insect had this effect, or whether the reason was completely different.
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Source: https://TaraKlop.ru/zhuki/kusautsya-bozhi-korovki/
Myths and truth about the ladybug – Give me your paw – MirTesen media platform
“A scarlet bug with black dots” is the name of a ladybug in Vladimir Dahl’s “Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language.” But is it? And what other secrets does this insect have?
A small bug, flat at the bottom and convex at the top, like a ball cut in half, with red wing covers on which 7 dots stand out as black drops. This is exactly how we know the classic ladybug - the seven-spotted one.
Surprisingly, many of our other beliefs about these insects fall into the category of myths rather than truth. We will try to debunk them.
Myth 1. All cows are the same
In fact, there are so many species of ladybug and they are so little similar to each other that it is often difficult to guess that the insect you meet is a scarlet bug.
These beetles can be yellow, orange, brown, black and even blue, and the dots are not necessarily black, but... red, yellow or white. And there may be no points at all. Instead, there will be stripes, spots and even commas on the elytra.
Not only that, but cows of the same species, but originating from different areas, may have different colors. And its brightness also depends on age.
Myth 2. The number of dots on the back determines the age of the cow.
The number of spots on ladybugs varies from 2 to 28, depends only on the species and has nothing to do with age. In temperate climates, the life expectancy of most of them is less than a year, and only a few, under favorable conditions, live up to two years.
Myth 3: Ladybugs only eat aphids.
Adult beetles and beetle larvae feed on larvae and adult aphids, copperheads, whiteflies, scale insects, false scale insects, scale insects, spider mites, as well as eggs of many plant-damaging insects and mites, small caterpillars and pupae. Their daily diet can include from 150 to 800 different pests!
Ladybug larvae are excellent hunters. These motley-colored (with yellow, red or crimson dots on a dark background) creatures are very active and can crawl over considerable distances.
But most often they can be seen walking among aphid colonies, where they choose their lunch with dignity.
Ladybugs develop 1–2 generations over the summer, so where several species live, the active period of pest extermination stretches from spring to late autumn.
Myth 4. These bugs are poisonous
Despite their predatory nature, ladybugs are not at all dangerous to you and me. True, there are still several cases of them biting people.
This usually happened during the years of their mass reproduction, during flights in search of free territory and most often near water bodies. Perhaps the beetles mistook people for attacking predators and defended themselves.
There is also a hypothesis that cows are attracted to human sweat - they are “drawn to salty things.”
In addition, when contacted, ladybugs can secrete a protective fluid that irritates the skin and can create a stinging sensation.
Myth 5. All cows benefit the garden
In fact, not all cows are predators. Some species are not only vegetarians, but also dangerous pests. For example, in Central Asia, melons, cucumbers and pumpkins are damaged by the melon bug.
It eats away the ovaries, gnaws out the pulp in the fruits and makes holes in the leaves. Its larvae do the same.
Close to it is the 28-spotted potato ladybug - a pest of potatoes (in the Far East - no better than the Colorado potato beetle!), tomatoes, cucumbers and other vegetables.
In the southern regions of Russia, the alfalfa moth damages alfalfa and sugar beets. And in Smolensk, Saratov and some other regions of central and southern Russia, the pointless ladybird is harmful: it feeds on clover, alfalfa and sweet clover.
However, there are few herbivorous ladybugs and their harm is nothing compared to the benefits from the activities of their predatory relatives, natural plant protectors.
Life cycle features
Adult members of the family live and winter in the open ground, hiding in dry rolled leaves or under dried blades of grass. With the onset of warmth, it is time to hatch and the beetles lay a clutch of 10-20 eggs.
The clutch is built either on the bark of vertical branches of fruit trees, or on the inside of the leaf blade, not far from the aphid settlement. From eggs to adulthood, insects gradually go through four stages.
The larvae of these insects have a brown-gray color; as the time of pupation approaches, the color of the cover changes to pale yellow. When a young beetle emerges from the pupa, it needs a little time for the elytra to finally acquire a scarlet color.
Find out what to do if aphids appear on apple trees, plums, cabbage, cucumbers, currants, and dill.
Larvae, like adults, mainly feed on aphids; this species belongs to predatory insects. Throughout its life cycle, a female beetle lays approximately a thousand eggs, from which, over time, a thousand young beetles will hatch, grow and give birth to a new generation.
From the laying of eggs to the emergence of an adult beetle in the summer, 40-60 days pass. The biological significance of the ladybug is difficult to overestimate: only one female beetle destroys up to four thousand aphids throughout her life, thereby saving plants that occupy half a hectare of land from destruction.
A funny bug with red wings with small dots, familiar to everyone since childhood, can destroy a little more than 150-170 leaf-sucking aphids in one day.
Important! The larva of this beetle does not have a very attractive appearance - it is a strange creature without wings and with bright dots on its back. If you see such a monster on your favorite tomatoes or peppers, do not rush to destroy it, soon this larva will turn into a cute colorful bug.
