The average citizen who does not have a summer cottage, relatives in the village, and not at all interested in how exactly tomatoes grow - on a tree, or they are dug from the ground - will be terribly surprised, even frightened, if you show him this strange creature - a bear.
It is possible that he would not even believe in his earthly origin, having decided that the first contact had taken place, and the Martians came to us with an unfriendly visit. And having learned that this insect is an ordinary resident of our gardens, most likely, this information will not be believed. And yet this is indeed so. This monster is almost affectionately called the "bear", and biologists attribute it to the orthoptera. Yes, the bear is not a beast at all, as you might think, looking at the body covered with wool. The bear is an insect. It bites and can eat alive anyone who comes close to it. And its size can reach even 10 centimeters. Why not a monster from a horror movie?
Medvedka is an underground resident; she, by her own will, will never come to the surface. So not only the inveterate citizens, but even some gardeners may never see this “mole” live, encountering only destructive traces of his activity.
But almost everyone has the same first impression of the type of bear - fear and aversion. She looks extremely unattractive, if not ugly, and it is not clear why she got such a name - a bear. It must be biting, it must hurt, otherwise you can’t think looking at the powerful jaws. She needs them in order to gnaw tunnels, as well as to deal with the prey found underground. And prey for the bear is almost everything, from plants to fellow insects. From Latin its name is translated as “cricket-mole”, and it can really roll solo concerts at night, notifying the relatives of its location.
To the question of whether the bear bites, amateur entomologists do not give a direct answer, referring to the fact that there have not yet been any cases of bites. But when one looks at a hard-coated insect, no one doubts that if it hadn’t bitten anyone yet, it was only because no one, in their right mind, had given her such a chance.
This is a long-lived insect that can live for about five years, which, in fact, is not typical for insects. Not only that, she is also an excellent swimmer, she can fly and runs quite fast. Gardeners cannot choose which of the insects does more harm: Colorado potato beetle, locust or bear. Whether she bites or not is the tenth matter, but she is able to harvest very qualitatively, which cannot positively affect the relationship between the bear and the land owners. They fight it with the help of poisons, put traps on it, pour boiling water over its holes and even try to scare it away with ultrasound. But not everyone seeks to destroy this underground cricket, called the "bear". Whether it bites or not - for many it is not so important.
To a farmer who is desperate to bring a bear out of the garden, the farmer will wildly find out that there are enthusiasts who are trying not to destroy, but on the contrary, to create all conditions for the life and reproduction of this insect. From the bear they make a drug that helps with tuberculosis and seems to even cure cancer. The basis for the medicine is an adult bear insect. Does the price bite him? In principle, not very, since the “raw materials” can be prepared independently, simply by catching insects. They are dried, crushed into powder, mixed with honey and insisted day in the dark. That's the trick. Only taking the medicine is still better after consulting a doctor.
