A harmful insect, the melon fly, has begun to spread on the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic, said Vladimir Martynov, head of the laboratory for problems of bioinvasion and plant protection of the Donetsk Botanical Garden, Candidate of Biological Sciences, Vladimir Martynov, on March 25, reports the Donetsk News Agency (DAN).
Martynov said that the appearance of another serious pest – the melon fly – has recently been recorded on the territory of the DPR. “This is an exotic species, native to Iran, specialized in the destruction of pumpkin crops” – explained Martynov, specifying that the favorite dish of this fly is a melon, inside which, eating a melon, an insect develops.
The main damage it causes is secondary infection, since it infects the melon with rotten fungi, causing the fruit to rot.
According to the biologist, the fly is already able to winter in the territory of the Republic and “poses a particular threat to melon fields in the south of the region”.
He explained that to combat it, additional treatments would have to be carried out, which, of course, would have an impact on the cost of agricultural products.
“The same situation can be traced in neighboring regions – in the Rostov region and the Krasnodar Territory” Martynov said, adding that farmers in Central Asia lose up to 60-70% of their crops due to these insects.
Remember that the melon fly (lat. Myiopardalis pardalina) belongs to the two-winged insects of the variegated family, outwardly it looks like an ordinary fly, differing only in color – it is yellow with round dark spots. It is not dangerous for humans, it does not transmit diseases, it does not bite.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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