Poecilus lucublandus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and Pterostichus mutus Do Not Feed on Hair Fescue, Red Sorrel, and Poverty Oatgrass Seeds

Poecilus lucublandus (Say), Pterostichus mutus (Say), and Harpalus rufipes (De Geer) are abundant Carabidae in lowbush blueberry fields and may contribute to weed seed predation. We used laboratory no-choice test experiments to determine if these beetles feed on seeds of hair fescue (Festuca filiformis Pourr., Poales: Poaceae), poverty oatgrass (Danthonia spicata L.), and red sorrel (Rumex acetosella L., Caryophyllales: Polygonaceae), which are common weeds in lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait., Ericales: Ericaceae) fields. Poecilus lucublandus and P. mutus did not feed on seeds of the test weed species, but H. rufipes consumed on average over 30 seeds of each species. There are other weed seeds in blueberry fields that could be palatable to P. lucublandus and P. mutus, which warrants further research on the granivory potential of these important carabid species.

Ground Beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Assemblages in Apple Orchards Receiving Pheromone-based or Conventional Tortricid Management Programs

Pitfall trapping was used to assess the effect of a low-spray mating disruption program targeted against the codling moth and leafrollers on carabid communities (potential predators of codling moth, Cydia pomonella [L.], leafrollers [Lepidoptera: Tortricidae] and apple maggot, Rhagoletis pomonella [Walsh]) in the orchard ground cover. Abundance and species richness of carabids were generally higher in mating disruption blocks relative to conventionally-managed blocks. Over 2 yrs, 3,173 carabids representing 62 species in 27 genera were collected. The most common carabids (more than 5% of the total carabid population) were Harpalus pensylvanicus (DeGeer) (38.2%), Harpalus erythropus Dejean (11.4%), Poecilus lucublandus (Say) (10.1%), Dicaelus elongatus Bonelli (6.2%) and Harpalus longicollis LeConte (5.9%).