Journal
JOURNAL OF PEST SCIENCE
Volume 86, Issue 3, Pages 525-532Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s10340-013-0480-3
Keywords
Carabidae; Ground beetles; Itame argillacearia; Rhagoletis mendax; Lowbush blueberries; Predator-prey interactions
Categories
Funding
- NSERC (USRA)
- Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture
- Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia
- PEI Wild Blueberry Growers' Association
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada ACAAF program
- Agri-Futures Nova Scotia
- Conseil pour le developpement de l'agriculture du Quebec
- New Brunswick Agricultural Council
- PEI Adapt Council
- NL Agri-Adapt Council Inc.
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Agriculture relies on ecosystem services, such as biological control of pests, for economic success and sustainability. Commercially managed lowbush blueberries are an important crop in eastern North America, but pest control by natural enemies has not been well studied. In this paper we address questions about consumption of two blueberry pests by ground beetles (Carabidae) that are common in blueberry fields. In the first experiment, a Poecilus l. lucublandus, Carabus nemoralis, or Pterostichus mutus beetle was placed with two blueberry spanworm larvae, Itame argillacearia, in a simple (cup only or cup + soil) or more complex (cup + soil + blueberry sprigs) treatment arena. In most cases, probability of spanworm consumption reached 100 % in simple arenas by the end of the experiment (48 h) but was 25-50 % lower in more complex arenas. In a second experiment, a male or female Pterostichus melanarius or Harpalus rufipes beetle was placed in a plastic container with saturated or dry soil into which mature blueberry maggots, Rhagoletis mendax, dropped from blueberries to pupate. Approximately 40-80 and 35 % fewer pupae were recovered when a P. melanarius and H. rufipes beetle was present, respectively, but soil moisture and beetle sex were not significant factors. Our results demonstrate that ground beetles can prey upon important blueberry pests, but suggest that consumption may be influenced by microhabitat structure.
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