Wavy flea. Cruciferous flea beetles: description of the pest and control measures

The most common types:

• Wavy flea beetle (Phyllotreta undulata Kutsh) - graphite color, with a yellowish stripe on the elytra;
• Light-legged flea beetle (Phyllotreta nemorum L) - black color;
• Notched flea beetle (Phyllotreta vittata F) - dark color with blue tint;
• Blue flea beetle (Phyllotreta cruciferae Goeze) is blue-green in color. They are often called garden or earthen flea.

It should be immediately noted that they have nothing to do with fleas, but the hind legs of these beetles are jumping. These beetles received the name cruciferous because the basis of their diet is plants of the cruciferous family.

The food for flea beetles of this species is usually weed leaves. But once in the garden, the flea flea actively eats cabbage, radishes, and horseradish.

The body size of beetles is from 1.8 to 3.5 mm. All species of these beetles lay eggs on the ground, except for the light-legged (on leaves) and notched (in gnawed holes on the roots).

After hatching, the larvae feed in the ground for 2-4 weeks, eating root crops at the root collar. Pupation also takes place in the ground. Flea beetles produce 2-3 generations per season.

The beetles overwinter in the soil under plant debris.

Why is it dangerous?

Flea beetles settle on plants and eat small through holes in the leaves. The leaves are strewn with eaten holes, after which the plant dries out and dies. Larvae that eat plant roots also cause damage. The cruciferous flea is best known among gardeners and gardeners as a pest of cabbage.

Appearance time

Appear early spring, end of March - beginning of April.

How it spreads

They migrate from plant to plant in search of food.

What contributes

Dry weather has a beneficial effect on their reproduction and activity.

Prevention

As preventive measures very helpful agrotechnical measures.

• Since wintering takes place in plant debris, they should be removed in the fall.
• Digging up the soil also gives good results. Pupae on the surface die when low temperatures.
• Cleaning weeds, especially cruciferous ones.
• Abundant watering.

Fighting methods

• The seedlings should be dusted with wood or tobacco ash, you can also make powder with ground hot pepper.
• Spraying with a vinegar solution (1 glass per 10 liters of water).
• Actellik (20 ml per 10 liters of water).
• Lightning or Decis are effective, but use chemicals It is not recommended to use before harvest.

Cruciferous flea beetles:

wavy Phyllotreta undulata Kutsch, light-footed Ph. nemorum F, notched Ph. vittata F (Ph. striolata), black Ph. atra F, blue Ph. nigripes F, broadband Ph. armoraciae Koch

Order Beetles/ Coleoptera, family Leaf Beetles/ Chrysomelidae

Early pests of cruciferous crops. Small 1.8 to 3.5 mm jumping beetles of various colors.

U black and blue flea beetles elytra without yellow pattern. Black(body length 1.8-2.5 mm) without metallic tint, forehead and crown completely punctured.

U blue(1.8-2.8 mm) elytra with a metallic green or blue tint.

Broadband 3-3.5 mm with a wide yellow stripe on the elytra covering the humeral tubercle.

Overwinter beetles under plant debris in forest belts, in soil and turf at a depth of up to 10 cm. In spring, overwintered beetles appear from the end of April at an air temperature of 14-16°C. First, the beetles feed on cruciferous weeds, and then, when the crop sprouts, they switch to it. The female lays up to about 40 eggs. The duration of embryonic development is 3-14 days.

The light-footed flea beetle lays eggs on leaves, and its larvae mine the leaf blade. Other species lay eggs in the soil next to the host plant and the larva feeds on small roots. The duration of larval development is 14-21 days. Pupation in all species occurs in the soil; the development of the pupa takes 8-14 days. A new generation of young beetles also feeds on cruciferous vegetables, and with the onset of cold weather they leave for the winter. In one year, all types of fleas develop one generation.

Main harm caused by beetles. Fleas cause ulceration of leaves, gnawing out numerous small holes and holes in them, as a result, with significant damage, the leaves dry out. Through holes (1.5-2 mm in diameter) are gnawed through tender leaves; if the growing point is damaged, the seedlings may die. They are especially voracious in dry, hot weather and can destroy completely young cruciferous seedlings in a matter of days.

Control measures:

1. control of cruciferous weeds in adjacent fields, along the roadsides;
2. a set of measures aimed at accelerating the development of seedlings,
3. seed treatment systemic insecticides,
4. the use of insecticides during the growing season during a mass emergence of beetles.

Tender leaves of early shoots vegetable crops(lettuce, radish, spinach, radish) and seedlings cruciferous plants(cabbage, beets, rutabaga), characterized by a short growing season, from the very first hours after planting in open ground are attacked by small bugs, to which many novice gardeners do not even pay serious attention.

After only a day or two, it turns out that the leaves of young plants are so badly damaged by these insects - cruciferous flea beetles that there is even a question about replacing seedlings. These pests are widespread throughout our country (except for the Far North); they cause significant damage in the north of the European part, in non-black earth and central regions, therefore they are considered one of the most dangerous pests cruciferous crops.

These small (2-3 mm in size) dark beetles jump quite high, like fleas, which is why they began to be called "cruciferous flea beetles", although according to taxonomy they belong to the genus Phyllotreta (family Leaf beetles). In the non-chernozem zone, cruciferous crops are affected mainly by six types of flea beetles, although, according to some experts, about 80% of the total number of these flea beetles in the middle, northern and western regions of the country is wavy flea beetle (Ph.undulata Kutsch). The wavy flea beetle (2-2.8 mm in size) is black, with a yellow stripe on the outside of each elytra with a deep notch.

As soon as the snow melts, after leaving the winter hut, which the beetles spend in secluded places in the garden plot, most often under plant debris and fallen leaves, in the surface layer of soil in the garden, in the crevices of greenhouses and greenhouses, on forest edges, they feed on cruciferous weeds ( rapeseed, shepherd's purse, field rapeseed, wild radish, jaundice, field grass). IN middle lane In the country, this period usually occurs at the end of April - beginning of May. With the appearance of cultivated plants, beetles fly to their foliage, from which they scrape off top layer and gnaw out depressions along the edges of the leaves, as a result of which, if the damage is significant, the leaves dry out. On the more tender leaves of turnips and radishes, they gnaw through holes (1.5-2 mm in diameter). If the growing point is damaged, the seedlings can easily die. These beetles are most active during the sunny hours of the day (periods from 10 to 13 in the morning and from 16 to 18 in the evening), when drops of dew have dried on the leaves. Insects are especially voracious in dry, hot weather and are capable of destroying completely young seedlings of cruciferous crops in a matter of days (sometimes even before the cotyledons appear above the soil surface). This is explained by the increased biological activity of fleas when high temperature(20°C and above) and inhibited development of plants during drought, which is why they do not have time to “escape” damage. During mass reproduction, cruciferous flea beetles quickly destroy cabbage seedlings, especially in the first 10 days, while they have not yet taken root after planting in open ground. Damage from beetles is also dangerous for young seedlings of radish and radish in the cotyledon and first true leaf phases. In some cases, cruciferous flea beetles also attack hardened cruciferous seed plants, eating away small (1.5-2 mm in diameter) pits on buds, pods and leaves and significantly reducing their yield. In cool and humid weather their activity decreases.

In summer, flea beetles sometimes severely damage summer radish crops, as well as cauliflower seedlings. From flower plants Those most affected by this pest are most often called gillyflower and alyssum.

Females lay small yellowish eggs in the soil. For example, in the conditions of the Moscow region, the wavy flea flea lays eggs from the second half of June until the end of July. Eggs (0.3-0.4 mm) are light yellow, translucent, oblong-oval. Those hatching 4-10 days after laying eggs (depending on weather conditions) worm-like larvae the body is thin, long, light yellow with three pairs of pectoral legs. The hatched larvae in the soil feed on small roots for 2-4 weeks or eat root crops at the root collar. After 8-12 days, new beetles emerge. Larvae pupate in the soil. A new generation of young beetles also feeds on cruciferous crops, and with the onset of cold weather they leave for the winter. Over the course of a year, all types of cruciferous flea beetles develop in one generation.

Measures to combat cruciferous flea beetles should consist of a complex of agricultural practices and methods of biological and chemical protection. Late autumn You should carry out a deep digging of the soil in the beds where you grew cruciferous crops in order to turn the beetles that are preparing to winter to the surface of the soil - then with the first cold weather they will die. To prevent the mass appearance of flea beetles, it is recommended to promptly destroy in early spring weeds (especially from the cruciferous family) growing both on the site and on the periphery of the sites, on the roadsides: fleas feed and reproduce on it. Early boarding seedlings of cruciferous crops should be selected for cloudy weather, when beetles are not particularly active (sowing seeds at maximum early dates through greenhouses and greenhouses). On the other hand, sowing turnips and turnips in the middle and northern zone can be carried out in late dates- in June, when the number of flea beetles begins to decline.

In hot weather, nurseries and seedlings planted in open ground are shaded, for example, large leaves burdocks It is very important to ensure the implementation of agrotechnical practices that accelerate the growth and development of young plants: fertilizing with slurry, saltpeter or other nitrogen fertilizers, regular watering and loosening. There is evidence that spraying foliage with slurry and bird droppings solution has a negative effect on flea beetles. More developed and stronger plants are characterized by greater resistance to pest damage. The leaf surface of newly emerged seedlings and small cruciferous seedlings is sprinkled with ash or its mixture with tobacco dust(1:1). This procedure only temporarily repels flea beetles from plants, so it is repeated several times (usually immediately after watering the plants). On personal plots You can fight cruciferous flea beetles by catching them on plywood shields smeared on top with sticky substances - special long-lasting glue, resin or tar. The underside of the shield in contact with the plants is not lubricated.

When the pest population is high, unfavorable conditions For young plants or large-leaved seedlings, it is still more advisable to spray with one of the insecticides. As effective insecticides in home garden practice trading network offers (per 10 liters of water): fufanon, kemifos, Iskra M, actellik. Consumption of working solution is 1 l / 10 m². Plantings are treated in the evening, when flea beetles are sitting quietly on the plants, but no later than 20 days before harvesting. Since some garden crops - lettuce, radishes, celery, parsley begin to be eaten already at the beginning of summer, you still should not treat these plantings with pesticides; it is better to spray the plants with an infusion of ash or a decoction of tomato plants. In the evening, a glass of ash is poured into 9 liters of water, stirred, allowed to settle until the morning, after which all the liquid above the sediment is drained and, if necessary, filtered. Or this composition: 2 kg of the remains of fresh tomato plants or 0.5 kg of its dry mass are poured into 5 liters of water, infused (3-4 hours), then boiled over low heat ( green mass- 30 minutes, dry - 2-3 hours); filter, dilute with water (1:2) and add soap (20 g per 5 liters of solution). And the plants are treated against cruciferous flea beetles.

Alexander Lazarev,
Candidate of Biological Sciences,
senior researcher at VNII plant protection,
Pushkin

Black jumping bugs with a shiny curved back attacking your garden are nothing more than the cruciferous flea beetle, a harmful, voracious insect of the leaf beetle family. In a short time they are able to destroy tender seedlings of cabbage, radishes, lettuce and other crops.

Flea is a dangerous pest

Still, the most favorite delicacy is cabbage. Measures should be taken immediately if cruciferous flea beetle appears on cabbage. How to deal with it? The bug stands out among other insects due to its jumping ability and shiny body. The small flea is just over 3 mm in size. For the winter, beetles hide under fallen leaves, shallow in the soil, and hide in the cracks of greenhouses and greenhouses.

Fleas wake up as soon as the soil thaws. First they feed on weeds of the cruciferous family - shepherd's purse and rapeseed. As they rise cultivated plants and seedlings are planted, fleas move onto cabbage, radishes and other vegetables. Large areas are destroyed garden crops with the onset of spring, sunny and hot weather. At this time, flea beetles are able to eat all cabbage seedlings and seedlings of other plants.

Insect species

There are several types of beetles. More famous is the light-legged flea beetle, which is wavy, blue and notched. The larvae are small white-yellow. They have three pairs of legs. The larvae live in the ground and eat the roots of cabbage and radishes. But the most big damage The cruciferous flea beetle itself inflicts on plants. Beetles lay eggs in the soil. And only the light-footed one leaves its offspring on cabbage leaves. The larvae grow for about a month. Then in the soil they turn into adults, which are capable of destroying plantings in a couple of days.

After their invasion, the plantings have a characteristic appearance. The leaves become lacy. Sometimes only veins remain from plants. Insects can eat not only leaves, but also buds, flowers and pods. As soon as the first signs of insect infestation appear, it is worth starting to fight them immediately. In addition to cabbage, beetles are happy to try turnips, watercress, radishes, and radishes.

Fighting methods

To avoid insect infestations, prevention should be carried out. In the fall, the soil is dug up so that the wintering beetles end up on the surface and die when frost occurs. In spring, you need to minimize the appearance of cabbage weeds. From them, the cruciferous flea beetle will move on to the emerging cultivated plants. To repel insects, you can plant dill, coriander, tomatoes and potatoes around the beds. And also flowers: calendula, marigolds, nasturtium. These plants release substances into the air that beetles do not like.

Mass reproduction occurs in hot weather. At this time, young plantings are covered special material. It freely allows light, air and water to pass through, but interferes with the life of the flea. If insects do appear, you will have to use other methods. How to treat cabbage against cruciferous flea beetle? For this purpose chemicals are used, traditional methods, infusions and decoctions of plants. Chemical method pest control is the most effective, but not harmless.

Chemicals

If it is absolutely necessary to treat plantings with insecticides, you should choose the most harmless ones. Because early vegetables, for example, lettuce and radishes are used as food already at the beginning of summer. A chemicals control is used no later than 20 days before harvesting vegetables. The most commonly used drugs for cruciferous flea beetles are Bankol, Actellik, Inta-vira and others. The drug "Bankol" is a biologically active agent. Its basis is a substance prepared from marine annelids.

All chemical solutions Prepare immediately before use, strictly following the instructions. Spraying is carried out in the evening in calm weather, in compliance with safety measures. Chemicals should only be used as a last resort. 20 days before harvesting, cruciferous flea beetle on cabbage can be treated (with chemicals). How to deal with bugs that eat radishes early cabbage or salad? After all, these are early ripening vegetables.

Traditional methods of fighting insects

A fairly common folk remedy for cruciferous flea beetles. - This is the treatment of crops with a vinegar solution. Add a glass of vinegar of 9% concentration to 10 liters of water.

It is recommended to pollinate seedlings or seedlings using tobacco dust, wood ash, slaked lime or ground pepper. But these products only repel insects. Therefore, the procedure is repeated as often as possible, especially after watering. As a pollinator, you can take naphthalene and scatter it along the plantings (50 g per 10 m2). You can spray with infusion of ash.

Another method is to install sticky traps. Small shields made from scrap materials are smeared with glue and laid out between the rows. Insects stick and remain trapped.

The cruciferous flea beetle really does not like watering. It is worth watering the cabbage beds more often. Fine-drip irrigation or simply spraying is especially good in this regard. cold water. You can add decoctions and infusions of plants that bugs especially don’t like to the water.

Helping plants

How to treat cabbage against cruciferous flea beetle using herbal preparations? Bugs are repelled by spraying with solutions containing infusions of ground garlic, dandelion leaves, and green wormwood herbs.

You can spray the plantings with the following warm mixture: add one glass of ground garlic to 10 liters of water and tomato tops. Before using, let the solution steep for a while, strain and add soap to make it stick. Instead of tomato tops, you can use wormwood.

Flea beetles have a negative attitude towards plants of the nightshade family. Therefore, decoctions from tomato or potato tops are used. Grind 2 kg of fresh tomato plants, add half a bucket of water and leave for 3 hours. Then the infusion is boiled for half an hour. Add 2 parts of water and 20 g of soap to the strained broth for every 5 liters of the resulting product.

As raw materials for the decoction, you can try leaves and green shells (100 g) walnut. Boil the raw material in 2 liters of water for 5-7 minutes. To 10 liters of water you need to add 300 g of the resulting decoction.

As soon as the first shoots appear in the spring or seedlings are planted, they are immediately occupied by insects, hungry over the winter. Most active The cruciferous flea beetle is showing up in the garden. The little dirty trickster has nothing to do with true fleas. He received this name due to his jumping abilities. And cruciferous is called for its love for the crops of the same name. A large population of cruciferous flea beetles can destroy fragile young plants in a matter of days. Therefore, knowledge of what the pest looks like and what available methods can effectively combat it will not be superfluous.

Biological features of cruciferous flea beetle

Insects belong to the family of leaf beetles. Widely distributed in Europe, the Caucasus, Asia, and Western Siberia. All representatives are characterized by an elongated body, the dimensions of which do not exceed 3 mm. Color is determined by species. In the photo of the cruciferous flea beetle, attention is drawn to the long antennae, consisting of 11 segments.

Cruciferous flea beetles can be distinguished from other small pests by their characteristic jumps. “Jumpers” are able to migrate and cover long distances, thanks to which they rapidly spread to new territories.

Species diversity

There are several species in the world fauna cruciferous pests. The most common ones include the following:

• Southern cruciferous, also known as black, is the most dangerous representative of its family in flea beetle habitats. Adults gnaw leaves, larvae damage young root system. The main difference between fleas is the black color of the body with a metallic sheen. The head and elytra are covered with rough spots. The length of the body is from 2 to 3 mm.
• Light-footed is an inhabitant of the forest belt in the southern regions. Adults gnaw leaves, young individuals harm by mining leaf blades. Distinctive feature light-legged cruciferous flea beetle - a resin stripe on the elytra, which smoothly tapers in the front fragment and a black color with a bottle tint of the back and head. Body length is from 2.5 to 3.5 mm. The paws are yellow.
• Notched is characterized by a black wide suture stripe in the middle part of the elytra or a yellow border with deep indentations. Dimensions do not exceed 2.5 mm. Notched cruciferous flea beetles are pests of crops in Yakutia, Primorye, and the Amur region. The adults skeletonize the leaves, and the larvae live in the ground and damage the roots.
• The wavy species lives in the northern part of Europe, the Urals, Siberia, Far East. Adult beetles, like their relatives, gnaw off foliage. The larvae prefer lateral roots. Characteristic feature– a wide black near-stitch stripe with bordering yellow and light brown stripes. Pronotum and head black.

Note! Insects damage not only agricultural crops, but also ornamental and wild ones. Cruciferous flea beetles colonize mustard, shepherd's purse, rapeseed, rutabaga, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, radishes, young horseradish leaves, turnips, rapeseed, alyssum, matthiola.

Lifestyle

Regardless of species, winter period Cruciferous flea beetles grow as adults in the surface layers of the earth, under plant debris. With the onset of warmth, they leave their shelters and migrate to weeds, which perform the function of intermediate power supply. When the first shoots of horseradish and radish appear, cruciferous flea beetles move onto them. Insects are not particularly picky eaters, but pests still show special love for cabbage seedlings and their young leaves during the period of rosette formation. Farmers also note the appearance of cruciferous flea beetle on rapeseed in the first and second ten days of May.

Adults scrape the skin off the leaves and absorb the succulent nutritional tissue, leaving behind specific holes. At temperatures above +15°C, fleas begin to actively reproduce. Females lay tiny elongated yellowish eggs in the soil, where larvae subsequently develop, feeding on plant roots. The eggs are only about 3-0.4 mm in length. The larvae have a thin caramel-colored body on 3 pairs of legs.

The exception is light-legged cruciferous flea beetles, which lay eggs on the leaves of radishes and radishes. The development of the larvae takes place inside the leaf mass, where they make mines. Egg laying begins at the end of June and continues until the end of July. There may be deviations in timing depending on geographic location.

The larvae hatch in 4-14 days. The final stage of development - pupation occurs in the soil in early August. The young beetles that emerge to the surface continue to cause damage in vegetable gardens, and in the fall they go into the ground for the winter.

Note! The increased activity of cruciferous flea beetles occurs in hot weather. Significant population growth is recorded during periods of drought. Rainy weather keeps pest numbers down.

The harmfulness of small insects

On cabbage, cruciferous flea beetles gnaw out depressions similar to sores. It is interesting that they only eat juicy young leaves and do not touch the old ones. Great danger beetles are used for seedlings and young shoots. The leaves of immature seedlings on which insects have settled turn yellow and begin to wither. If there are 50 or more individuals on a plant, tiny aggressors can completely destroy the plant in 2-3 days.

How to get rid of a pest

How to deal with cruciferous flea beetle is determined by the size of the population and the phase of plant development. It is worth noting that manual collection- an ineffective measure, given the miniature dimensions of the bug and its jumping ability.

Agrotechnical measures to combat cruciferous flea beetle:

• Insects spend the winter period in the soil or in plant litter. That's why timely cleaning removing all plant residues from the garden will significantly reduce the number of fleas and other pests.
• For the same purpose in autumn period deep plowing of the land is carried out. Once on the surface, the wintering beetles will die from frost.
• Constant cleaning weeds, especially cruciferous vegetables. It is also important to ensure that no weed seeds fall off during disposal. Having lost the food source that individuals use after wintering, pests will have no choice but to migrate to other areas in search of food supply.
• Feeding plants with fertilizers will help reduce the harmfulness of cruciferous beetles.

The fight against cruciferous flea beetle on cabbage begins at the stage of planting seedlings. It is recommended to plant as early as possible or plant seeds in early spring under film, in greenhouses. So, by the time the beetle population appears, the plant will have time to get stronger, the leaves will become coarser and insects will not be attracted to the seedlings.

Plants such as turnips and turnips are often planted, on the contrary, very late. As a result, seedlings appear when the peak of cruciferous flea beetles has already passed.

Holes with planted seedlings are mulched with tomato shoots or tansy. On hot days, the beds are shaded or covered with agrofibre. The edges should be secured and wood ash or hot pepper should be sprinkled around the perimeter. To repel cruciferous flea beetle, agricultural or ornamental crops pour water with the addition of vinegar, chopped garlic cloves, wormwood or dandelion leaves, dill, cumin.

Catching beetles

Traps - effective, safe remedy from cruciferous flea beetle. Making devices will not take much time and does not require significant financial costs. How to make your own trap:

• Build something like flags from available materials. These can be pegs with canvas attached or plywood or cardboard blanks. Lubricate one side of the panel with any adhesive (glue, honey, garden pitch, grease). Take the received attribute in your hands and walk with it along the beds, running the lower part over the plants. Fleas are very shy and will begin to actively jump and stick to the sticky fragment. When a fair amount of insects stick, remove them and repeat the process. Exercise with a flag is most effective during hot hours and dry weather.
• Make a cone out of cardboard so that it can completely cover the plant. WITH inside also grease with glue and cover the seedlings one by one. Specific part fleas will stick to the cap.
• A less labor-intensive option is to lay plywood with glue applied along the beds. When moving along the ground, between plants, insects will stick to simple structures. You can also use a rag dampened with used automobile oil.
• A similar effect is achieved by low flat containers with water, to which you need to add a little kerosene or vegetable oil so that the prisoners cannot escape from the trap.

Important! Traps with glue, kerosene, and diesel fuel should be removed during rainy periods so that harmful components are not absorbed into the soil.

Proven folk recipes

Folk remedies against cruciferous flea beetle have been accumulated for decades. The most effective and well-proven among gardeners are the following:

• Dusting plants wood ash or tobacco dust, lime, shag, ground pepper. It has been noticed that the beetles are unusually “clean” and do not attack dirty leaves. The most inventive gardeners sprinkle young shoots with stove soot. After precipitation, the procedure is repeated.
• Planting plants along the beds that will repel cruciferous flea beetles with their aroma. These include garlic, dill, calendula, coriander, and marigolds.
• Fresh or dried wormwood grass is laid out near the holes.

Plants can be treated against cruciferous flea beetle with the following decoctions and tinctures:

• a bucket of water, 2 cups of ash and 50 g of crushed tar or green soap;
• to spray the leaves, mix a liter of water and a glass of vinegar;
• Chop 250 g of freshly cut dandelions along with rhizomes and pour into 5 liters warm water, let it brew, add a bar of soap to improve adhesion;
• prepare a mixture of tomato tops (1 cup) and a cup of garlic in the same way;
• an infusion of chicken manure (1:20) is infused for several days, after which the foliage is sprayed with it.

Note! It is advisable to spray plants in the morning or evening hours.

Chemicals

If using folk remedies If you couldn’t stop the aggressor, then insecticides for cruciferous flea beetles will help. More than 5 beetles on one plant is a serious reason to think about using chemicals. It is recommended to initially test the product on one object. If after 24 hours its condition has not worsened, then the remaining plants can be processed.

Note! If it suddenly rains after treatment, the procedure is repeated again.

Preparations for cruciferous flea beetles for cabbage are available in specialized stores in a large assortment. Here are just a few of them: Decis, Intavir, Karate, Aktaru, Aktellik, Bassoon, Tsapellin, Tabazol, Fitoverm, Actofit. Before using the products, you should carefully read the instructions and avoid overdosing when diluting the working mixture.