Red-Winged Blackbird Predation on Northern Corn Rootworm Beetles in Field Corn

Ornithology and integrated pest management: Red‐winged BlackbirdsAgelaius phoeniceusand corn

“…In addition, these same abundant birds may play beneficial roles in agricultural and natural ecosystems. For example, Red-winged Blackbirds consume large quantities of insect pests in corn and other crops, especially rootworm beetles Diabrotica longicornis, European corn borers Ostrinia nubilalis and corn earworms Heliothis zea (Mott & Stone 1973, Bendell et al 1981, Bendell & Weatherhead 1982, McNicol et al 1982, Bollinger & Caslick 1985a. Red-winged Blackbirds, prey themselves to a variety of vertebrate predators, may buffer predation on other birds, including nesting waterfowl (Dolbeer 1980).…”

“…Economically significant damage to corn (i.e. > 5% yield loss) usually occurs only within 8 km of these late-summer roosts (Dolbeer 1980, Bollinger & Caslick 1985b. During October-November, after the corn is harvested, Red-winged Blackbirds migrate to the southern United States for the winter .…”

Nestling Diet of Eastern Meadowlarks in East-central Illinois

“…Food items from each nest were placed into separate vials. Volumes were measured by liquid displacement (Bollinger and Caslick 1985b). Mealworms were given to each nestling to replace the lost meal and nestlings were subsequently returned to the nest.…”

“…The remaining grasslands tend to occur in small, scattered patches surrounded by large tracts of agricultural land, negatively affecting areasensitive grassland birds (Ribic et al 2009). Many birds have been shown to use rowcrop agriculture (Bollinger and Caslick 1985b;Best et al 1995Best et al , 1998Boutin et al 1999;Kershner et al 2004;Walk et al 2010) for multiple reasons including both foraging and nesting. Relatively little information is available regarding the interactions between grassland birds and rowcrops (such as corn and soybeans) that have the potential to be mutually beneficial (e.g., Bollinger and Caslick 1985a).…”

Status and management of neotropical migratory birds

“…Crop damage is also usually concentrated in space and time. Most fields receive little or no damage, but those located near roosting concentrations of birds (e.g., cornfields near marshes) can be heavily damaged, and most crop damage occurs near the time of crop maturation (Bollinger and Caslick 1985). Crop damage also tends to be highest where crop and landscape diversity is lowest (Stone and Danner 1980).…”