The world of wildlife on planet Earth is so diverse that it is even hard for us to imagine. In his pride, man declared himself the king of the earth, but as a biological species he occupies an insignificantly small place for the biosphere of the planet. Let's take a closer look at the endless options for the world of the kingdom of fungi or the world of bacteria. We are only beginning to understand the laws of their existence.
A huge variety of insects that inhabit the planet. What do we know about this?
Moth family
Let's take a closer look at one of the most common butterflies Tineidae or a real moth. Everyone is starting to remember ruined fur coats, grandmother's recipes - how to protect things from this unpleasant neighbor.
Looks like a nondescript flying insect, with a wingspan of 7 to 30 mm. Looks like she might offend. Why did our ancestors declare a merciless struggle to her. All claims to moth larvae. The jaws of her children seem to be able to instantly gnaw through everything. All woolen products, fur coats, carpets were under threat. Wherever these caterpillars have appeared, holes appear in things.
But, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The real moth family includesover 2300 species. And everyone needs to be fed. Caterpillars are at war with the kingdom of fungi, they eat fluff, feathers, everything that contains keratin, detritus. Become a threat to granaries. Settled near birds and animals. Even insects do not go unnoticed.
Big wax moth
There is a lover of eating honeycombs - a large wax moth. It is larger than its distant relatives, its dimensions can be called gigantic, from 18 to 38 mm. The color is classic - grayish-brown on the upper wings. Distributed throughout the world. For living choose the dwelling of bees. Favorite menu is wax, which is reflected in the name.
Note: The word "feed" only refers to caterpillars. The butterfly itself does not eat at all. She doesn't even have the tools to do it. Only vestigial organs from his past life. The main task of the butterfly is to lay small whitish eggs. A week later, larvae are already crawling out of them, only about 1 mm long. Eating everything in their path, they grow up to 18 mm. After a month of destroying the contents of the hive, such a caterpillar pupates and prepares to become a harmless butterfly. The circle closes.
Harmful
Young wax moth larvae begin to feed on honey and perga. At older ages, they switch to wax combs, and do not disdain the remains of their own cocoons. With a large accumulation of caterpillars, this causes serious damage to the bee hive. Honeycombs are destroyed, brood is destroyed, honey reserves are reduced, bee bread is eaten. Even the frames and heaters of the hives get it. insect jaws,seems to be able to grind everything. As a result of their vital activity, all moves are tightened with silk.
A weak bee colony without outside help is likely to die or be forced to look for a new home.
Opinion. Not everyone agrees that, in relation to bees, moths are an absolute evil. It is believed that a strong bee colony successfully fights for its existence. Only the diseased colony dies.
It is very difficult to control pests once they have settled in the hive. It is easier to prevent their occurrence. It doesn't take much to do this:
- Watch the condition of the apiary. Everything must be kept clean and tidy.
- Don't start the hives. All necessary repairs are done immediately.
As a preventive measure, it is useful to use plantings of herbs such as mint and lemon balm. Pelargonium moths, wormwood and marigolds repel butterflies well.
Butterfly lures are set out at night. Frames are checked regularly for pests.
How to turn harm into good
The ability of wax moth larvae to devour everything in its path, a cunning man managed to turn to his advantage. It turns out that these insects are able to devour polyethylene. If 100 caterpillars are placed on a plastic heap, then after 40 minutes holes will begin to appear in the bags. Calculated: within 12 hours, polyethylene will be 92 milligrams less. At the same time, the caterpillars not only devour the plastic, but also manage to break it down. As a result, instead of an indecomposable polymer formula, ethylene glycol remains - alcohol,which is used for technical purposes, including medicine.
The unique property was discovered by accident and it has not yet been clarified whether the insect itself has this ability or it is traces of vital activity of bacteria that parasitize on the insect. But the result is obvious.
Use for scientific experiments
The use of wax moth larvae to recycle plastic has attracted the attention of labs around the world. Butterfly has become the object of scientific research. Moreover, many scientific schools have already accumulated experience in working with Lepidoptera insects. In Russia, the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics of the USSR Academy of Sciences paid much attention to this insect even before 1991.
In addition to the problems of polymer utilization, caterpillars and the result of their vital activity have traditionally been studied in order to obtain biologically active substances. Since ancient times, the healing properties of tinctures on these insects have been known.
No less interesting to study were the constant companions of moths - microorganisms that parasitize them.
Living Factory
If you look at the photo of the moth larvae, we will see a nondescript caterpillar that attracts little attention. But how many mysteries are hidden in it! A rival of beekeepers, a clear enemy for the hives, turned out to be a very useful neighbor.
Technologies for growing this insect on artificial media have long been developed. Often, black wax dust is used as the basis of nutrition, a product of the vital activity of bees, the problem of utilization of which for industrial beekeeping has not yet been resolved.
The small living factory mainly attracts the attention of scientists because of its ability to produce a biologically active substance with antimicrobial properties. They are successfully able to compete with antibiotics in the fight against infectious and fungal diseases.
Use in traditional medicine
Facing with wildlife, you often remember the words: "Everything is new, well-forgotten old".
The wax moth larvae extract has long been used by folk healers. Tinctures are credited with a therapeutic effect in a variety of diseases:
- The eternal problem of unsanitary living conditions is tuberculosis.
- Inflammatory processes in bronchitis.
- Migraine headaches.
- Dangerous manifestations of coronary heart disease.
- Diseases of big cities - a disorder of the nervous system.
- As a consequence of the previous disease - impotence and premature ejaculation.
- Even thrombophlebitis and varicose veins are powerless before this medicine.
- Most surprisingly, some allergies are treated.
Of course, without serious scientific justification, official science does not recognize all this yet. However, benefits have already been proven in certain diseases:
- Atherosclerosis of vessels.
- Restores the vital activity of the cardiovascular system.
- Significantly lowers blood pressure.
Caterpillars for treatment
Tincture of wax moth larvae is not very difficult to make at home. But wait for the infection of the hiveand destroying bees is, of course, a crime. Fortunately, the larvae develop well in the artificial environment. There are a number of proprietary recipes. Beekeepers often use a simple and effective method. At the beginning of summer, when the moth rises to lay eggs, old bee hives are put up, and I place frames with black sushi in them.
Important. Sushi should be stored for no more than 4 years. Frames with fresh bee bread are also not used.
The house is insulated and all entrances for bees are blocked. We check in thirty days. Usually at this time the room is inhabited by caterpillars. Individuals are carefully collected from 1 to 1.5 centimeters long. Before frost, the harvest can be approached regularly. Thus, collected specimens are an excellent material for obtaining a 20% alcohol tincture.
DIY tincture
Fresh moth larva is poured with 70% edible ethyl alcohol. We put in a dark cool place and wait a week. This completes the cooking procedure.
If there is no time to cook from fresh caterpillars or there are not enough of them, then another recipe is offered:
- The caterpillars are dried in the shade under a canopy.
- 20 grams are measured on a pharmacy scale.
- Ground well in a porcelain mortar.
- Powder is filled with alcohol.
- The mixture is put in a dark place for 10 days.
- During this time, shake the jar at least 2-3 times every day.
- As time passes, the tincture of moth larvae is filtered and poured into dark glass bottles.
- Carefully stopper and move to a cool place.
Rules of application
If there is no consensus about the therapeutic properties of the tincture, then there is no doubt about its preventive properties. The main thing is to make sure that allergies do not appear. In this case, its use should be stopped immediately.
For the prevention of diseases, it is recommended to take a tincture of moth larvae at the rate of 3 drops per 10 kilograms of body weight once a day. There are no restrictions on what to drink. It is important that the liquid product is less than 70 ml. If the tincture is given to children under the age of 14, then the dosage is calculated from the ratio - one drop for each completed year. After three weeks, a 3-week break is made. Repeat four times.
Pharmacological production
Moth larvae extract is rich in various microelements and vitamins. Its useful properties are beyond doubt. The modern pharmacological industry has established production well. The drug is commercially available and is often used as a dietary supplement.
Healing tincture contains:
- One of the essential amino acids for humans is valine.
- Such amino acids as glycine, leucine, serine.
- Source of glucose alanine.
- The basic amino acid necessary for tissue growth and repair, without which antibodies simply cannot be produced, is lysine.
- Important elements aspartic and gamma-aminobutyric acids.
- Also glutamic acid.
In a word - a complete set. This composition makes the drug useful in the treatment of many diseases.
Reviews about the drug
About the preparation based on the larvae of the wax moth, the reviews are always only positive when it is used. Regular use allows you to strengthen a weak child's body, develop the immune system, and in combination with hardening, a he althy child grows.
It is no less useful for people at an age when the natural forces of the body begin to weaken. The antibacterial and antiviral properties of the extract help to overcome the peaks of the epidemic without disease.
People of active age, the drug helps fight fatigue, overcome great physical exertion. Strengthens blood vessels, helps to normalize heart rhythms. Naturally, this is not a panacea for all ills. For serious illnesses, a doctor's consultation is required. Only a specialist can correctly draw up a treatment card. But, without any doubt, in almost any chronic disease, the tincture has a general strengthening effect.
The moth larva of the moth moth, or wax moth, is a dangerous agricultural pest. However, if used correctly, it becomes useful in many cases. The human right to turn poison into medicine. This is how the world works.
