Description, development, reproduction
The body color of the nodule can range from light brown to black. Their body is cylindrical or very close to this shape, like a worm, and can consist of 30 or more segments. The organs of vision are represented by two separate eyes, sometimes absent. Each segment contains two pairs of legs, with the exception of the three front ones.
Females and males have some differences in appearance. Males have homopods - modified legs that serve for external-internal fertilization. They are located in the inner part of the head segment.
When moths sense danger, they secrete a substance with a strong, unpleasant iodine odor. Many animals use this. For example, lemurs scare centipedes and then rub themselves on them to ward off predators. It has been noticed that the brighter the pest, the stronger its smell. Kivsyak can leave dark spots on the body that do not wash off for several days.
Habitats
Animals living in temperate latitudes usually live in litter - wood, grass, leaves, which also becomes their food.
Most of them are in deciduous, mixed forests, and forest-steppe zones. They rarely go to a depth of more than 30 cm. The arthropod does not tolerate direct sunlight. When cold weather sets in, the pest burrows deeper into the soil, where it remains until spring.
Stages of development
Kivsyak lays eggs in the soil. The larvae that hatch are no different from adults, only they have fewer body segments. It increases in length with each subsequent molt.
The female's fertility decreases under unsuitable conditions - low air humidity, lack of nutrition. If the conditions are favorable, then the nodule can live ten years or more.
Kivsyaki have 5 superfamilies and several families. Some species are poisonous.
The most famous types of nodule and their characteristic features
In general, in the world fauna there are over 30 different varieties of these peculiar “creepers”, but who knows, perhaps hitherto unknown and unexplored species of these wonderful creatures are hiding somewhere on our big planet.
African red-footed noose
Ephibolus pulchripes is perhaps the most popular species among the entire genus fraternity, both because it is the most studied and because it is kept as a pet more often than its other relatives.
This centipede lives mainly in the countries of the eastern part of hot Africa, such as Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Kenya, Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, and it is also possible to meet this eccentric on the lands of Somalia, beloved by pirates.
As a permanent place of residence, kiwis prefer to choose tropical wooded areas, where they feel not only cozy and quite comfortable, but also quite safe. After all, these craftsmen, although they are not famous for their ability to conquer the impressive peaks of trees and bushes, and spend their entire lives on the earthen surface, still manage to remain unnoticed by other inhabitants of the forest. And no, they do not have the ability to change their color depending on the conditions of their external environment, like chameleons, for example. The solution to this mystery of camouflage is very elementary, the whole point is that they spend almost their entire life period in a thick layer of fallen leaves; in the forest floor they construct special underground passages and labyrinths through which they move. So the only thing they should be afraid of is that someone big and heavy will step on them and simply crush them, because they don’t run much risk of being caught and exposed.
They, like all forest dwellers, and simply all living creatures, need a cozy nest to live in or at least relax. Here, nooks are no exception; as their shelter, they most often use holes previously built by other animals, but they could not find such ones or they are already occupied by someone, then they are quite content with small depressions under a layer of stones or crevices of old, fallen trees.
As for the external appearance of this African invertebrate, it is quite a rather large representative of the world fauna; the length of their body ranges from approximately 12 to 17 cm. Mother Nature decorated these eccentrics quite elegantly. As the main background, I chose beautiful dark brown tones, even closer to a chocolate shade, or black with a slight brownish tint. The small limbs of this centipede are presented in a beautiful bright red color.
Sexual dimorphism in this species of arthropod is noticeable almost at first glance; in males, the delightful shine of the skin immediately catches the eye, as if it were covered with some kind of artificial substance with a metallic sheen. The female sex cannot boast of such beauty and grace; their color, compared to the color of the male, looks much simpler and even duller. The skin does not have that gloss; it is usually more matte.
Red Madagascar nodule
Based on the name of this arthropod, it is not difficult to guess where to get a ticket in order to meet in the territory it occupies.
The body length of this native of Madagascar reaches approximately 12–14 cm, usually both female and male individuals are the same in size. Although it was called “red,” the color of its body is completely heterogeneous, usually the basic background is red or sometimes even brown, the entire surface of the body consists of rings, the edges of which have a beautiful bright border of a yellowish color. There are small black dots on the sides of the body, but these are not decorations of the Madagascar centipede at all, but quite a good weapon in the form of holes in the protective glands.
Their main activity occurs during the daytime, when these inhabitants of the tropical forest floor are busy searching for food. This species of noose usually chooses old, almost rotten trees as its personal home, because they feel very good in places with fairly high air humidity.
When the mating season begins, both males and females begin to actively look for each other in the thickness of fallen leaves, stamping their many limbs along the hidden passages they have made. Before embarking on the actual mating process, representatives of the stronger sex remove the seed from the genital opening, which is located in the projection of the second ring of the body, and carefully place it in the seed pod. When mating begins, the male holds the female tightly with all his legs and begins to introduce the previously deposited seed. This process can even continue throughout the day.
When it is necessary to lay eggs, expectant mothers carefully bury themselves in earthen soil and remain underground for several days. When the time comes, the larvae emerge from the eggs and new inhabitants are born, the length of their bodies does not exceed a few millimeters. With each new molt, the larvae transform and at the end of the final one they are no longer larvae, but a fully formed individual of the molt.
The period of “wardrobe renewal” in adult specimens occurs in a rather unique way. In order for this phase of the life cycle to pass faster and painlessly, these arthropods dig special holes to sit out the molt there. There they do nothing, just sit motionless, waiting for the end of the cycle when the new skin becomes hard enough. The harbingers of the beginning of this process are a certain numbness of the animals, a noticeable decrease in appetite, and most importantly, the skin of the nodule loses its luster and characteristic color, gradually becoming gray and rough.
Giant nodule
This is probably the largest representative of its genus, the length of its not quite miniature body reaches approximately 27–30 cm, and the diameter is almost 3–3.5 cm. The color of the body is usually presented in darker shades of red, depending on gender characteristics the skin is either matte or glossy with a noticeable metallic sheen. Between each segment of the body there passes, although conditionally, a clearly visible border of orange, closer to brick, color. This invertebrate giant is widespread in East Africa, in particular in tropical and subtropical locations.
Desert nod
This is a medium-sized creature, growing no more than 13–14 cm in length; in terms of body parameters, females do not differ from males. It considers the southwestern part of the United States and northern Mexico to be its homeland. By nature, this indigenous inhabitant of North America is also a lover of extreme sports, because he usually inhabits those territories that other animals try to avoid. So it feels quite comfortable and even thrives in desert soils where several types of shrubs grow. They use the bark and sometimes leaves of these desert shrub plants as daily food. He can live without water for a very long time, no one knows whether his body has adapted to such unfavorable living conditions, or whether he is naturally so hardy and undemanding.
The body color is usually brown or brown; in some individuals, individual segments of the body are painted pale brown or yellowish, it all depends on the geographical origin of the nodule.
These small inhabitants of desert regions are most active during the period of heavy rains; they usually go fishing either early in the morning or late in the evening, probably this is how their biological clock is set. Similar to the hibernation of other animals, the desert squirrel can sometimes fall into what is called “summer sleep.” The thing is that no matter how hardy he is, even he cannot survive temperatures closer to 40 degrees, so he looks for deep holes or rocky rubble and sleeps there until the next drop in ambient temperature or at least a little rain.
In addition to the fact that they feed on elements of shrubs, these invertebrates can afford to eat a previously dead arthropod; perhaps they wouldn’t mind trying it alive, but it’s unlikely that the noose will be able to catch anyone. When things are really tight with food in the desert, this sly guy can dine on fine sand or pebbles.
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Olive nod
One of the largest representatives of the small world of arthropods, the length of its ringed body ranges from 22 to 25 cm, and its diameter is about 7–9 mm. The coloring of the skin is not uniform, on a mostly rich olive background; brownish-red lines are clearly visible, which serve as a demarcation between the rings of the body. The total number of segments on the body of an adult olive centipede varies from 65 to 75. Populations of such living creatures inhabit the tropical forests of the southern part of the African continent, preferring more humid areas.
Rainbow nod
If we talk about this native of the south-eastern area of Asia, then if for some he is not the most beautiful and graceful of all his relatives, then the fact that he is the brightest and most memorable is already a fact. And indeed, we can say that when nature was selecting colors to color this living creature, then at that moment a muse came to visit her, and perhaps more than one, as soon as this handsome man gets under a ray of sunlight, his body begins to simply shimmer fabulously in different colors . In the shade, you can more carefully study the color scheme of this biped. The main tone of the skin is bluish-gray, between the segments there are neat, even stripes of dark brown, less often black, located in contrast. And on the dorsal part of the body of the rainbow eccentric, a relatively wide line is drawn, painted in a bright red tone. The limbs, antennae and “face”, like the decoration on the back, are painted in red shades. In the projection of the tail end, you can see a small red extension, resembling a spike in shape - this, in addition to its bright color, is also a kind of calling card of this species. The length of their iridescent body averages 9–13 cm.
Harm and benefit
Arthropods should not be considered solely as pests. After all, in one season, grasshoppers can process up to 50% of plant waste, providing the soil with minerals and promoting the formation of soft humus. This soil is useful, for example, for rose bushes. But as soon as the moisture balance is disturbed, the arthropod turns into a malicious pest.
Kivsyak is an extremely voracious pest. During the day he eats a portion of food that is one and a half times his weight.
An animal living in the soil damages the root system of seedlings - tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, wild strawberries. Therefore, terrestrial organs do not receive enough nutrients. As a result, the development of plants stops, they gradually wither and die. Moreover, he will covet
In addition to roots, it feeds on strawberries and cucumbers lying on the ground or near its surface. When there is a shortage of food, centipedes can feed on green shoots and seeds. They even harm young trees - apple trees, pears, melons, tomatoes, raspberries.
Expert opinion
Mityuk Stefania Bogdanovna
Not everyone is trying to get rid of their kinks. There are people who breed them at home. Exotic lovers are attracted to invertebrates by their unusual appearance. The African species of these arthropods are especially beautiful.
Native territories and origins of the nodule
Until the not-so-distant year 1833, no one knew about the existence of such a representative of a large diverse kingdom of fauna as the noose. Maybe someone had to meet him somewhere in his native habitats, but simply did not know him by sight, or after all, this is a completely new, just emerging species of original living beings. For many years, people involved in science have carefully studied this miracle of nature and have finally reached a general consensus. Scientists have classified the nodule into the phylum arthropods, the class Diparodidae and the order of the same name.
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If we talk about the native areas of this extraordinary living creature, then it is quite widespread throughout most of the territories of the African continent. Depending on the type of invertebrate, its exact geographical coordinates of residence vary.
Pest control methods
Because of the chitinous “body armor”, it is quite difficult to fight the pest that has chosen the site.
Chemicals
In this case, they do not always bring the same effectiveness as in the fight against other pests. The reason for this is the same chitinous shell that covers the body of the invertebrate. However, chemicals can be effective against larvae that do not have a chitinous coating.
Spraying the stems and treating the seed rarely produces results. The fact is that the animal only gnaws the roots of plants.
Aktofit
The active ingredient is aversectin C. The product is used for open and closed ground, and allows you to obtain an environmentally friendly harvest. Avermectin is a neurotoxic poison produced by the soil fungus Streptornyces avermitilis. It enters the pest's body through intestinal or contact routes.
Decis
The active ingredient is deltamethrin. The drug affects the nervous system of the pest through intestinal and contact exposure. Decis acts extremely quickly - from a few seconds to several minutes.
Karate
The active ingredient is lambda-cyhalothrin. A broad-spectrum drug is used for treating plants, disinfecting areas and storage facilities. Has a pronounced knockdown effect. Can be used in tank mixtures, fungicides, insecticides, but it is worth considering the timing of use, and also make sure the compatibility of the drugs.
The application rate depends on the crop being treated. The period of protective action is from 3 to 7 days.
Zemlin
The active ingredient is diazinon. The drug is developed against soil-dwelling pests. It is mixed with sand or sawdust and placed in the ground. When planting potatoes, add 1 teaspoon of the product to each hole. Another method of application is to disperse the preparation over the soil and immediately loosen it.
Expert opinion
Mityuk Stefania Bogdanovna
As owners of summer cottages write on the Internet, the same remedies are effective against mole crickets and wireworms. Some users note that a Fas-double designed for ants will help get rid of unwanted guests.
Folk remedies
Gardeners suggest using vegetable baits. Pieces of vegetables - potatoes, carrots - are treated with insecticides and scattered around the area. The bait is changed regularly. It is better to leave pieces of vegetables under boards or plywood. This method has a drawback - it is only effective for a small population of nooses.
It has been observed that centipedes love damp places. Therefore, in order to collect them in one place, “sheds” are made of boards, under which the ground is always wet. The invertebrate emerges from the ground onto the boards in the evening, and all that remains is to collect the animals and destroy them.
How do you fight the noobs?
ChemicalPopular
Kivsyakov are lured into “compost pits”. Small trenches are dug in the garden and organic waste is left in it, which attracts centipedes.
Before collecting the pest, it is better to wear protective clothing and disposable gloves. If a foul-smelling liquid gets on clothes, it is very difficult to get rid of it, especially if we are talking about albinos.
If there are a lot of pests on the site, it is recommended to water the soil around the potato beds with a solution of calcium chloride or salt before hilling.
Special methods for protecting individual plants and technologies
Methods of local influence on soils or plants differ for different crops and agricultural technologies:
- strawberry bushes are protected from millipedes by mulching with straw;
- in greenhouses and greenhouses, during the growing season of plants, the surface layer of soil is removed for the purpose of disinfection;
- flower pots are filled with water for a couple of hours.
The effectiveness of each of the listed methods of combating moths is less reliable than a unified system for preventing them from entering the site. Its essence: to do all the same things in combination, only for the purpose of prevention.
And cultivate the nooses separately as a valuable source of humus - the key to the productivity, taste and usefulness of the fruits you grow.
Prevention
It is easier to prevent kiwis from entering the garden than to get rid of them later. Therefore, you need to follow these site processing rules:
Liming the soil to a depth of 20 cm will help clean the soil from the pest.- After harvesting the autumn harvest, plant residues, especially weeds, are removed from the soil before planting crops.
- Late autumn plowing and earlier spring cultivation raises heat-loving pests - they die from the cold.
- From time to time it is useful to sow green manures - green fertilizers - on the site. In this capacity, you can use white mustard, yellow lupine, peas, and sunflower.
- Mulching and agrofilm will protect ground crops from pests.
- Organic fertilizer (manure, humus) must be carefully inspected before applying to the soil, since the pest can enter the site in this way.
Lime consumption rates for liming (kg/sq. m):
| Acidity, pH | Clay, loam | Sands, sandy loam |
| Less than 4.0 | From 0.5 | 0,35 |
| 4,1…4,5 | 0,4–0,5 | 0,25–0,3 |
| 4,6…5,0 | 0,3–0,4 | 0,2–0,4 |
| 5,1…5,5 | 0,3…0,25 | They don't contribute |
| 5.5 and above | They don't contribute | They don't contribute |
Before liming the soil, it is necessary to clarify the conditions for growing the crop. If you need acidic soil, then it is better to avoid liming, since the pH increases after such treatment. Such crops include, in particular, rhododendron, blueberries, azaleas, and potatoes. Also, you cannot add lime at the same time as digging up green manure.
All construction waste must be removed from the garden - boards, slate, bricks. Invertebrates usually live in these mini-dumps.
The fruits of strawberries and cucumbers will not be damaged if you tie up the vines and install supports. Water the soil moderately and do not over-moisten it. The harvest is harvested in a timely manner, without allowing the fruits to fall off.
As already mentioned, grasshoppers start in manure heaps and compost pits. To prevent the pest from entering the garden, the fertilizer must be prepared correctly. So, the manure pile needs to be watered and mixed. Then a temperature of 60°C or higher is created inside, causing the centipede to die.
When preparing composts, the components - food waste, peat, sawdust, etc. - are stacked in layers, each sprinkled with superphosphate, potassium chloride or watered with a solution of table salt (take 1 liter of salt per bucket of water).
Owners of summer cottages noticed that centipedes crawl out of the ground in the rain, like worms. After a rainstorm, they can be collected by hand and destroyed.
Purchasing and price of kivsyak
Buying such a friend on the territory of our Motherland is not at all difficult; probably the most difficult thing is deciding on the type of centipede. The average cost of one individual kivsyak ranges from 200 to 5,000 rubles.
What an olive nod looks like, see the video below:
Chickweeds are terrestrial invertebrates that live in many places around the world. There are also separate subspecies that have differences in the volume and shades of the body. Their length often reaches thirty centimeters, but in nature there are also smaller individuals.
Most often they (for example, Crimean kisyaki ) are observed in the forest, in a place where there are a lot of mushrooms, berries, branches, flowers, fallen leaves and the like. They can be seen everywhere except in places with extreme cold, such as Antarctica. Gray diplopods are typical for forests and south-latitude oak forests. The nods in the photo look very menacing, but some people even own these creatures and call them their favorites.
Giant nodule is one of the most interesting subspecies. The number of their legs reaches seven hundred. They look like a huge worm. Typical habitat Africa is a place where many varieties of this subspecies exist.
The diplopod's head contains small antennae, segments, and olfactory and tactile organs. The centipede itself is a single organism, protected by strong “armor”, which is quite hard to the touch (this in turn helps the insect to avoid damage). Shades – yellowish, brownish.
In nature, there are still individuals with very dark “armor” and even with an interesting “pattern” on it. African nodule has reddish, yellowish and bluish shades. This species is the largest, native to East Africa. Females are slightly smaller than males. Over the course of a year, their length increases by 0.5 decimeters. Calm, non-aggressive.
Centipedes also have other colors of “armor”, for example, olive nodule . His body shimmers with dark (a combination of green and gray) shades. The segments are clearly demarcated. Lives in southern Africa. The eggs are laid in a dung heap. In the wild they live up to 7 years, in captivity this number can increase several times. The individual is less timid than the others, and therefore emits odorous liquid less often.
Rainbow nod has an interesting name for a reason. It is characterized by grayish and black shades of the shell; there is a red line on the body. The length of the insect is up to twelve centimeters. This species often lives in Thailand and Vietnam. It feeds on fallen leaves and lives in them. When hungry it bites.
Lifestyle
surrounding the centipede includes a considerable number of diverse living organisms. It spends its entire life on the forest floor; it digs out passages in the ground. The fact that the noon has many legs is not always able to help it avoid the threat of a dangerous predator, because it is very slow.
By her character you can understand that she is a phlegmatic person. And this is a consequence of the fact that she has no dangerous opponents in nature. The only creatures that bother them are parasitic mites. To protect and scare away predators, they emit a foul odor and wrap themselves in a tight ball. His favorite pastime is to bury himself in the ground and slowly become numb.
The smell emitted by centipedes helps not only themselves, but also some other animals. As evidence, we can say about the lemur, which, when danger comes, intimidates the nook and rubs its body with its odorous secretions. This is how he manages to escape from his opponents.
Many are of the opinion that how nasty the odor of the kiwi is directly depends on its color. For example, white diplopods smell really very unpleasant. However, this does not stop people who are passionate about exotics, and they are often interested in breeding such squids at home.
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However, hobbyists often keep African snakes, which are similar to ordinary snakes, except that they have numerous legs. The box or something similar where they will live should be made of plastic or glass. They are easy to care for. Keeping kissyaks has a number of disadvantages.
The main one is excessive timidity, as a result of which centipedes curl up in a tight ring and emit a nasty smell. It is recommended to use gloves before handling centipedes. After all, discharge easily stains clothes. They are very peaceful, calm, but unsociable. The price for one kivsyak reaches about six hundred rubles.
Reproduction and lifespan
In the natural environment, living in the thickness of humus, adult individuals lay eggs, from which larvae subsequently develop. Babies differ from their parents only in their small size and fewer legs. They bravely endure all natural disasters along with their parents, burying themselves deep in the ground. It's both warm and humid there. The same goes for wintering if it is found in a country with unfavorable weather conditions.
Reproduction in captivity does not present problems. Just place it in one residential area
