Augmentation of beneficial arthropods by strip-management

The effect of strip-management on surface activity, movements and activity density of abundant carabid beetles during two vegetation periods in a cereal field was investigated using mark-recapture techniques. Significantly higher recapture rates, indicating higher activity, were found in the strip-managed area than in the control area, especially in Poecilus cupreus and also in Carabus granulatus and Pterostichus melanarius. Several observations led to the conclusion that this higher activity is generally due to a prolongation of the reproductive period in the strip-managed area. Significantly higher activity densities were found for P. cupreus, Pterostichus anthracinus, C. granulatus and Pt. melanarius in the strip-managed area than in a bordering control area. P. cupreus is greatly attracted to the strips during its migrations, as can be deduced from the high percentage of movements that contact the strips. Also, significantly more marked individuals moved from the control to the strip-managed area than vice versa. Pt. melanarius and Pt. anthracinus show less preference for the strips in their movements than P. cupreus. However, significantly more individuals of Pt. melanarius also moved from the control to the strip-managed area. C. granulatus, on the other hand, kept mainly to the cereal areas. After harvest only Pterostichus niger and Harpalus rufipes distinctly preferred the strips. The generally marked degree of attraction exercised by strip-management on carabid beetles is discussed.

[1]  A. Brunsting.  Distribution Patterns, Life Cycle and Phenology of Pterostichus Oblongopunctatus F. (Col., Carabidae) and Philonthus Decorus Grav. (Col., Staphylinidae) , 1980 .

[2]  M. Nyffeler,et al.  Spiders in natural pest control: A review 1 , 1987 .

[3]  P. J. Boer.  On the survival of populations in a heterogeneous and variable environment , 1981, Oecologia.

[4]  T. Lewis,et al.  THE DIVERSITY OF THE INSECT FAUNA IN A HEDGE- ROW AND NEIGHBOURING FIELDS , 1969 .

[5]  A. Dixon,et al.  Variations of microbial biomass and hydrolase activities in purple soil under different cropping modes as affected by ginger planting , 1986 .

[6]  S. Juliano,et al.  SURVIVAL, DEVELOPMENT, AND SIZE OF LARVAL TIGER BEETLES: EFFECTS OF FOOD AND WATER' , 1988 .

[7]  A. Decae.  Dispersal: Ballooning and Other Mechanisms , 1987 .

[8]  T. Lewis,et al.  Thysanopteran populations overwintering in hedge bottoms, grass litter and bark , 1962 .

[9]  Andrew Paul Gutierrez,et al.  An introduction to biological control , 1982 .

[10]  E. Odum.  Fundamentals of ecology , 1972 .

[11]  W. Nentwig.  The Prey of Spiders , 1987 .

[12]  W. Nentwig.  Prey analysis of four species of tropical orb-weaving spiders (Araneae: Araneidae) and a comparison with araneids of the temperate zone , 1985, Oecologia.

[13]  A. Breymeyer.  Correlations between dry weight of spiders and their length and fresh weight. , 1967, Bulletin de l'Academie polonaise des sciences. Serie des sciences biologiques.

[14]  R. Macarthur,et al.  The Theory of Island Biogeography , 1969 .

[15]  T. E. Reagan,et al.  Vegetation Manipulation Impact on Predator and Prey Populations in Louisiana Sugarcane Ecosystems , 1985 .

[16]  J. M. Cherrett,et al.  Biological Control by Natural Enemies. , 1976 .

[17]  R. Ridgway,et al.  Biological Control by Augmentation of Natural Enemies , 1977 .

[18]  P. Chiverton.  Predator density manipulation and its effects on populations of Rhopalosiphumpadi (Horn.: Aphididae) in spring barley , 1986 .

[19]  N. Sotherton,et al.  The distribution and abundance of predatory Coleoptera overwintering in field boundaries. , 1985 .

[20]  K. Leius.  INFLUENCE OF WILD FLOWERS ON PARASITISM OF TENT CATERPILLAR AND CODLING MOTH , 1967, The Canadian Entomologist.

[21]  G. Purvis,et al.  The influence of weeds and farmyard manure on the activity of Carabidae and other ground-dwelling arthropods in a sugar beet crop , 1984 .

[22]  W. Nentwig.  Augmentation of beneficial arthropods by strip-management , 1988, Oecologia.

[23]  G. Benest.  The sampling of a carabid community. I: The behaviour of a carabid when facing the trap , 1989 .

[24]  K. Sunderland,et al.  Aphid feeding by some polyphagous predators in relation to aphid density in cereal fields. , 1980 .

[25]  J. Bosch.  Der Einfluss einiger dominanter Ackerunkräuter auf Nutz- und Schadarthropoden in einem Zuckerrübenfeld , 1987 .

[26]  K. D. Sunderland,et al.  The diet of some predatory arthropods in cereal crops. , 1975 .

[27]  G. Josens.  Variations thermiques dans les nids deTrinervitermes geminatus Wasmann, en relation avec le milieu extérieur dans la savane de Lamto (Côte d'Ivoire) , 1971, Insectes Sociaux.

[28]  T. Hance,et al.  Agriculture and ground-beetles populations. The consequence of crop types and surrounding habitats on activity and species composition. , 1990 .

[29]  T. Sota.  Activity patterns, diets and interspecific interactions of coexisting spring and autumn breeding carabids: Carabusyaconinus and Leptocarabus kumagaii (Coleoptera, Carabidae) , 1985 .

[30]  R. Perrin.  The role of the perennial stinging nettle, Urtica dioica, as a reservoir of beneficial natural enemies , 1975 .

[31]  H. Wallin.  The influence of different age classes on the seasonal activity and reproduction of four medium‐sized carabid species inhabiting cereal fields , 1989 .

[32]  M. Nyffeler.  Field studies on the ecological role of the spiders as insect predators in agroecosystems (abandoned grassland, meadows, and cereal fields) , 1984 .

[33]  W. Nentwig,et al.  Surface activity of carabid beetles inhabiting cereal fields : seasonal phenology and the influence of farming operations on five abundant species , 1991 .

[34]  Judith G. Smith.  Some effects of crop background on populations of aphids and their natural enemies on brussels sprouts , 1969 .

[35]  H. Wendt.  Der Einfluß der Hecken auf den landwirtschaftlichen Ertrag , 1951 .

[36]  K. Klinger.  Auswirkungen eingesäter Randstreifen an einem Winterweizen‐Feld auf die Raubarthropodenfauna und den Getreideblattlausbefall , 1987 .

[37]  S. Wratten,et al.  Creation of island' habitats in farmland to manipulate populations of beneficial arthropods : predator densities and species composition , 1991 .

[38]  Daniel Simberloff,et al.  Equilibrium Theory of Island Biogeography and Ecology , 1974 .

[39]  W. Nentwig.  Epigeic spiders, their potential prey and competitors: Relationship between size and frequency , 1982, Oecologia.

[40]  M. Baars,et al.  POPULATION DYNAMICS OF TWO CARABID BEETLES AT A DUTCH HEATHLAND II. EGG PRODUCTION AND SURVIVAL IN RELATION TO DENSITY , 1984 .

[41]  Fundamentals of Ecology , 1974 .

[42]  E. Pollard.  Hedges. III. The Effect of Removal of the Bottom Flora of a Hawthorn Hedgerow on the Carabidae of the Hedge Bottom , 1968 .

[43]  W. Tischler.  Die Hecke als Lebensraum für Pflanzen und Tiere, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung ihrer Schädlinge , 1951 .

[44]  W. Nentwig.  Non-webbuilding spiders: prey specialists or generalists? , 1986, Oecologia.

[45]  T. Lewis.  The effect of an artificial windbreak on the distribution of aphids in a lettuce crop , 1965 .

[46]  H. Heessen.  Egg production of Pterostichus oblongopunctatus (Fabricius) (Col., Carabidae) and Philonthus decorus (Gravenhorst) (Col., Staphylinidae). , 1979 .

[47]  T. White,et al.  The importance of a relative shortage of food in animal ecology , 2004, Oecologia.

[48]  D. Reichle,et al.  Significance of spider predation in the energy dynamics of forest-floor arthropod communities , 1972 .

[49]  E. Pollard,et al.  Fluctuations in resource availability and insect populations , 1981, Oecologia.

[50]  S. Roach.  Arthropod predators on cotton, corn, tobacco, and soybeans in South Carolina. , 1980 .

[51]  P. J. Boer,et al.  Recruitment and summer diapause in the dynamics of a population of Nebria brevicollis (F.) (Coleoptera, Carabidae). , 1989 .

[52]  C. Edwards,et al.  Studies on Polyphagous Predators of Cereal Aphids , 1979 .

[53]  H. Wallin.  The effects of spatial distribution on the development and reproduction of Pterostichus cupreus L., P. melanarius Ill., P. niger Schall. and Harpalus rufipes DeGeer (Col., Carabidae) on arable land , 1988 .

[54]  S. Riechert,et al.  Spiders as Biological Control Agents , 1984 .

[55]  N. Sotherton.  The distribution and abundance of predatory arthropods overwintering on farmland , 1984 .

[56]  H. V. Emden,et al.  Insect Stability and Diversity in Agro-Ecosystems , 1974 .

[57]  A. Honěk.  The effect of crop density and microclimate on pitfall trap catches of Carabidae, Staphylinidae (Coleoptera), and Lycosidae (Araneae) in cereal fields , 1988, Pedobiologia.

[58]  P. Chiverton.  Pitfall‐trap catches of the carabid beetle Pterostichus melanarius, in relation to gut contents and prey densities, in insecticide treated and untreated spring barley , 1984 .

[59]  T. E. Reagan,et al.  Influence of selected weed control practices on araneid faunal composition and abundance in sugarcane , 1986 .

[60]  H. Wallin.  Habitat choice of some field‐inhabiting carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) studied by recapture of marked individuals , 1986 .

[61]  W. Nentwig.  The prey of web-building spiders compared with feeding experiments (Araneae: Araneidae, Linyphiidae, pholcidae, Agelenidae) , 2004, Oecologia.

[62]  David A. Spiller.  Interspecific Competition Between Spiders and Its Relevance to Biological Control by General Predators , 1986 .

[63]  I. Krehan.  Die Steuerung von Jahresrhythmik und Diapause bei Larval-und Imagoüberwinterern der Gattung Pterostichus (Col., Carab.) , 1970, Oecologia.

[64]  H. Emden.  The Effect of Uncultivated Land on the Distribution of Cabbage Aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae) on an Adjacent Crop , 1965 .

[65]  P. J. Boer.  Dispersal power and survival. Carabids in a cultivated coutryside , 1977 .