Natural Enemy Community Composition and Impact on Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) Eggs in Minnesota Apple Orchards

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 324-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hailey N Shanovich ◽  
Brian H Aukema ◽  
Robert L Koch

Abstract Halyomorpha halys is an invasive, polyphagous insect that feeds on many major crops, including apple. Statewide monitoring in Minnesota has shown continued increase of H. halys populations and occurrence of this pest in apple orchards. Potential arthropod natural enemies of H. halys and other pests have not been studied in Minnesota apple orchards. The purpose of this study was to characterize the composition of natural enemy communities; compare their abundances, richness and diversities between apple cultivars using different sampling methods; and assess the impact of natural enemies on sentinel eggs of H. halys in Minnesota apple orchards. Sampling occurred during the summers of 2017 and 2018 on Zestar! and Honeycrisp cultivars in four different apple orchards. In vacuum samples, arachnids, neuropterans, and coccinellids had the highest relative abundances. On yellow sticky traps, anthocorids were the most abundant. The total predator abundance differed between the cultivars sampled across years, with more predators found on Zestar! compared with Honeycrisp. No differences were observed in richness or diversity between cultivars with the exception of yellow sticky traps in 2017, which showed a greater diversity of predators in Zestar!. Despite the abundance of natural enemies sampled, sentinel egg masses deployed in the orchards each summer suffered on average <2% predation and no parasitism across years. Knowledge of differences in predator abundance between cultivars could inform management decisions; however, with current management practices, the potential for biological control of H. halys in conventional apple orchards appears low.

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaoke Dong ◽  
Mengjing Xia ◽  
Cheng Li ◽  
Baofeng Mu ◽  
Zhiyong Zhang

Sowing plants that provide food resources in orchards is a potential habitat management practice for enhancing biological control. Flowering plants (providing pollen and nectar) and grasses (providing alternative prey) can benefit natural enemies in orchards; however, little is known about their relative importance. We studied the effect of management practices (flower strips, grass strips, and spontaneous grass) on arthropod predators under organic apple management regimes in apple orchards in Beijing, China. Orchards located at two different sites were assessed for 3 years (2017–2019). The cover crops had a significant impact on the abundance and diversity of arthropod predators. The grass treatment consistently supported significantly greater densities of alternative prey resources for predators, and predators were more abundant in the grass than in the other treatments. The Shannon–Wiener diversity was significantly higher for the cover crop treatment than for the control. Community structure was somewhat similar between the grass and control, but it differed between the flower treatment and grass/control. Weak evidence for an increase in mobile predators (ladybirds and lacewings) in the orchard canopy was found. Ladybirds and lacewings were more abundant in the grass treatment than in the other treatments in 2019 only, while the aphid abundance in the grass treatment was lowest. The fact that grass strips promoted higher predator abundance and stronger aphid suppression in comparison to the flower strips suggests that providing alternative prey for predators has great biocontrol service potential. The selection of cover crops and necessary management for conserving natural enemies in orchards are discussed in this paper.


2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (9) ◽  
pp. 947 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. J. Thomson ◽  
P. J. Neville ◽  
A. A. Hoffmann

There is increasing interest in developing environmental management systems to ensure that agricultural industries are sustainable; invertebrate indicators provide one potential tool for monitoring sustainable production. As a first step in developing invertebrate indicators for viticulture, we compare the efficiency of 3 common trapping methods in assessing populations of relevant orders of invertebrates. Yellow sticky traps were more effective in trapping Hymenoptera, Thysanoptera, Hemiptera, Diptera, Araneae and Coleoptera; transparent sticky traps were best for Lepidoptera and Neuroptera; and pitfall traps for Collembola and the family Formicidae. Numbers collected differed among months and December was the best month, overall, for trapping. Preliminary guidelines are developed for assessing key orders. While several methods are required for assessing invertebrate biodiversity, most orders can be sampled with a single method, particularly the yellow sticky trap. Our results indicate that changes in numbers of beneficial orders, due to changes in management practices, can be detected. Power analyses suggest a relatively small number of yellow sticky traps would be sufficient to detect changes of around 30%, or greater.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 00005
Author(s):  
Ludmila Bugaeva ◽  
Evgeniya Kashutina ◽  
Tatyna Ignateva

The article describes the changes in local entomofauna in the Sochi region. Monitoring for several decades provides information about the spreading and density of invasive species established a long time ago and causing massive damage to agricultural plants during regular outbreaks. This group of species, which includes the Boisduval scale Diaspis boisduvalii, the Japanese planthopper Ricania japonica, and the fall webworm Hyphantria cunea, has had an enormous effect on local insects’ community for the last 50 years. What is most important is that this list of alien species continues to grow. Since the late 1990s, several invaders have been discovered in the Sochi region, including including the sycamore lace bug Corythucha ciliata, the leafhoppers Metcalfa pruinosa and Arboridia kakogawana, the brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys, the tortoise wax scale Ceroplastes japonicus and the woolly aphid Eriosoma lanigerum. The invasion process causes significant changes in the relationship between newly established populations of invasive pests and their natural enemies, which are partly used as biocontrol agents. So the impact of local and introduced entomophagous species on the fauna is also discussed.


Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordano Salamanca ◽  
Brígida Souza ◽  
Vera Kyryczenko-Roth ◽  
Cesar Rodriguez-Saona

Methyl salicylate (MeSA) is an herbivore-induced plant volatile (HIPV) known to attract the natural enemies of herbivores in agro-ecosystems; however, whether this attraction leads to an increase in natural enemy functioning, i.e., predation, remains largely unknown. Here, we monitored for 2 years (2011–2012) the response of herbivores and natural enemies to MeSA lures (PredaLure) by using sticky and pitfall traps in cranberry bogs. In addition, European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, egg masses were used to determine whether natural enemy attraction to MeSA leads to higher predation. In both years, MeSA increased adult hoverfly captures on sticky traps and augmented predation of O. nubilalis eggs. However, MeSA also attracted more phytophagous thrips and, in 2012, more plant bugs (Miridae) to sticky traps. Furthermore, we used surveillance cameras to record the identity of natural enemies attracted to MeSA and measure their predation rate. Video recordings showed that MeSA lures increase visitation by adult lady beetles, adult hoverflies, and predatory mites to sentinel eggs, and predation of these eggs doubled compared to no-lure controls. Our data indicate that MeSA lures increase predator attraction, resulting in increased predation; thus, we provide evidence that attraction to HIPVs can increase natural enemy functioning in an agro-ecosystem.


Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 351
Author(s):  
Adara Pardo ◽  
David H. Lopes ◽  
Natalia Fierro ◽  
Paulo A. V. Borges

Intensive agricultural practices leading to habitat degradation represent a major threat to pollinators. Diverse management practices are expected to influence wild pollinator abundance and richness on farms, although their effect in perennial crops is still unclear. In this study, we assessed the impact of management on apple (Malus domestica) pollination on an oceanic island, by comparing conventional (with and without herbicide application) and organic apple orchards. Pollinator visitation and pan trap surveys were carried out in six apple orchards in Terceira Island (Azores) and the landscape composition surrounding orchards was characterized. We also quantified fruit set, seed set and apple weight. We found no significant effect of management on insect visitation rates, whereas there was a negative association with increasing surrounding agricultural land. In contrast, management had an effect on species abundance, richness and diversity at the orchard level. Conventional orchards without herbicides showed higher abundance than the rest, but lower richness and diversity than conventional orchards with herbicides. Management had an effect on fruit set, but not on seed set or fruit weight. Our results suggest that management alone is insufficient for the overall improvement of apple pollination on an oceanic island, while landscape composition may play a relevant role.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-121
Author(s):  
Tanja Drobnjakovic ◽  
Dejan Marcic ◽  
Ivana Potocnik ◽  
Emil Rekanovic ◽  
Mirjana Prijovic ◽  
...  

The impact of a bioinsecticide based on azadirachtin (Ozoneem trishul 1 %) on the abudance of mushroom flies (Sciaridae: Diptera) was compared to the effect of a commercial formulation of the malathion-based chemical insecticide Etiol tecni. Experiments were conducted in three growing chambers (B6, B7 and B8) of a commercial mushrom farm ?Delta Danube? d.o.o., Kovin. Casing treatments were performed in eight replications in a random block design. The azadirachtin-based bioinsecticide was applied in chamber B8 four times (0.5 ml/m2): during casing and later at seven-day intervals. The standard chemical insecticide based on malathion was applied in chambers B6 and B7 twice (2 x 0.3 ml/m2), on the third and sixth day after casing. In all three chambers, the abudance of mushroom flies was monitored by using yellow sticky traps, which were collected weekly and replaced with new ones four times at seven days intervals. The yellow sticky traps were examined in the laboratory under a binocular microscope to determine the presence and density of mushroom flies. Only one species of mushroom fly, Lycoriella ingenua (Dufour), was found on the yellow sticky traps throughout the experimental period. The average number of sciarid flies per mushroom block 15 and 22 days after treatment (DAT) was significantly lower in the test chamber B8 than in chambers B7 and B6, while there was no significant difference 30 and 36 DAT, compared to the control chamber B6. The average number of sciarid flies per mushroom row throughout the experiment was significantly lower in the test chamber B8 than in chambers B6 and B7. The results of our study suggest that the azadirachtin-based bioinsecticide can suppress populations of the mushroom fly L. ingenua and may provide a good alternative to conventional chemical insecticide.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document