Fire bug

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Pyrrhocoris apterus

Firebugs can appear in large numbers in gardens and parks during the summer months. This insect family owes its name to its striking coloration. Predominantly fiery red with a black head and shield, the pronotum with a black central spot. The body is flattened and elongated oval. Length: 9-13 mm Development: Mating takes place from April to May. The females lay 50-60 eggs under old leaves. Like the bug, the larva is red-black in color. One generation per year, the adult bugs overwinter. Feeding: Sucks on fallen seeds, especially from lime trees, but also on other insects. Distribution: Central and southern Europe, Asia.

Woodlouse

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Porcellio Scaber

Woodlice are slate-grey to yellow-grey colored, flat crustaceans. Adult about 15 mm long. They can be found in laundry rooms, cellars, behind shelves, boxes, between piles of potatoes and other material stored in damp places and live on plant provisions. In homes and cellars, the damage is generally not extensive – only small feeding spots on potatoes, vegetables and fruit.

Cricket

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Acheta Domesticus

Also called house cricket, grows to about 20 mm long, straw yellow in color with leathery brown markings. Crickets are related to field crickets and grasshoppers, but are only capable of small jumps. They reproduce in hiding places in houses, especially where it is warm, damp and dark (cellars, kitchens, etc.). They hide there during the day and forage at night as omnivores. During the warm summer months, they often live outdoors and particularly like to breed in garbage dumps. From there they migrate into warm houses when it gets cooler. The damage caused by feeding is low, but infested food is soiled with excrement and empty larval skins. The chirping of the males is perceived as a nuisance.

Lawn ant

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Tetramorium Caespitum

The workers are 2-3.5 mm long and brown to dark brown in color. The nests are found in sandy, sunny places in gardens, on roadsides, under stones and slabs, often with soil. Ants live on sugary substances and meat, among other things. In homes and storerooms, they are attracted by sugar, fruit, honey, food and fresh meat products. The ant trails lead to the nests. In older buildings they can destroy wood.

Matte black trail ant

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Lasius Niger

Similar to the grass ant, the workers are 2.5-4 mm long. They are predominantly brown in color. Their nests are also found in gardens, as well as under stones, tree bark, in lawns, in cracks in walls and similar places. The black path ant is the most common species in homes and gardens. Damage as with lawn ants.

German wasp

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Paravespula Germanica

The German wasp measures 13-20 mm and is black and yellow in color. There are 1-3 black dots on the head shield and the rear edge of the eye is completely yellow. Wasps live in nests in the form of a social association of workers and sex animals. Their roundish nests consist of a paper-like mass. Commonly found in shutter boxes, roof trusses or garden arbors. Only the queens overwinter. This is why wasps are only occasionally found in spring. The eggs of the queens develop into workers, which cause wasp infestations in late summer and fall. If the animals are extremely stressed, they become aggressive and may cause painful stings. They also feed on fruit, juices, cakes, jams and other animal proteins.

Dew fly or vinegar fly

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Drosophila melanogaster

Small, approx. 2-3 mm long fly with yellow-brown coloration, red eyes and black abdominal rings. It lays its eggs on plant substrates. Larvae are white, stocky and 3 mm long. Infestation is possible all year round in warm weather, but mainly from late summer when there is plenty of spoiling fruit and rotting plant debris. Damaged, cut fruit, fruit pies, fruit juice, cider, beer, milk, rotting plant remains and waste are infested and covered with eggs. In particular, yeast fungi and vinegar bacteria are transmitted. They often occur in small swarms.

Common wasp

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Vespula vulgaris

The common wasp forms annual colonies that die in the fall. The nests are built in spring, mainly in the ground (rodent burrows) or in heaps of stones. However, the queen also regularly founds her colony in buildings, e.g. in attics or garden sheds. The cardboard-like nests can reach a circumference of up to 2 m and contain 10 superimposed honeycomb tiers. The honeycomb layers are surrounded by a protective shell containing numerous shell-shaped air pockets. Colonies can become quite large and consist of up to 5,000 wasps. All the wasps in a colony die in the fall – with the exception of the young queens that hatched in late summer. These found a new colony the following spring. This is a native wasp species that is very common throughout Germany. The animals regularly build their nests in sheds, garages or attics and are considered typical cultural successors. The harmful effect of the common wasp is the same as that of the German wasp.