Mortality of pollen beetle (Meligethes spp.) larvae due to predators and parasitoids in rape fields and the effect of conservation strips

Insect pests and their natural enemies on spring oilseed rape in Estonia : impact of cropping systems

“…According to Thiele (1977), 50% of the food consumed by P. rufipes is animal matter. Poecilus cupreus is an important predator of M. aeneus larvae (Büch 2002). Similarily to our data, Büchs and Nuss (2000) also found strong coincidence between the time of the occurrence of P. cupreus and P. melanarius and that of oilseed rape pest larvae during their change of strata for metamorphosis, and suggested that carabids are important larval predators.…”

The potential of crop management practices to reduce pollen beetle damage in oilseed rape

“…Natural enemy regulation of pollen beetles can be substantial (Buchi 2002;Hokkanen 2008), and the possibility to manipulate both pest and natural enemy populations for beetle control, through local and landscape-scale habitat management, has received significant research interest (e.g. Cook et al 2007;Schneider et al 2015;Beduschi et al 2015;Skellern and Cook in press).…”

Manipulation of Natural Enemies in Agroecosystems: Habitat and Semiochemicals for Sustainable Insect Pest Control

“…Flowering field margins adjacent to crop fields can provide necessary resources for natural enemies of crop pests during periods when crop flowers are not present, thus maintaining high populations of insect predators and parasitoids, which are supported by a provision of nutrients throughout the season (Sotherton, 1984;Ahern & Brewer, 2002;Büchi, 2002;Sanchez et al, 2003;Wanner et al, 2006aWanner et al, , 2006b. Such natural areas were once common in most agricultural landscapes, particularly between plantings, along roadsides, or as part of woody hedgerows, but as the production of crops has increased and intensified, these non-cropped areas are becoming less common (Sotherton, 1998).…”