Survey of Wireworms (Coleoptera: Elateridae) in North Carolina Sweetpotato Fields and Seasonal Abundance of Conoderus vespertinus

Adult and larval wireworm (Coleoptera: Elateridae) populations were surveyed in North Carolina sweetpotato, Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam., fields during 2005 and 2006 by using yellow sticky traps and larval baits. Eight species of larvae and nine species of adult wireworms were identified. Conoderus vespertinus (F.) was the most prevalent wireworm species, making up 65.9% of the larvae and 62.9% of the adults captured. Adult C. vespertinus were most abundant in July, and larvae were smaller and more abundant after 15 July than earlier in the season, indicating an early summer generation turnover and oviposition in fields planted to sweetpotato. A significant positive relationship was observed between late-season abundance of C. vespertinus and the incidence of wireworm damage. Other wireworm species encountered were Conoderus amplicollis (Gyllenhal), Conoderus bellus (Say), Conoderus falli (Lane), Conoderus lividus (Degeer), Conoderus scissus (Schaeffer), Glyphonyx bimarginatus (Schaeffer), and Melanotus communis (Gyllenhal).