Species Identification of Wireworms (Agriotes spp.; Coleoptera: Elateridae) of Agricultural Importance in Europe: A New “Horizontal Identification Table”

Abstract

Wireworms are yellowish soil-dwelling larvae that damage a wide range of arable crops. The most common wireworms found in European cultivated fields (except for the Caucasus) belong to the genus Agriotes (Coleoptera: Elateridae). In several European countries, environment-impacting insecticides are applied on a prophylactic basis to control them. However, before any treatment can be applied, European legislation requires that an assessment is done when pest population levels exceed a damage threshold. The threshold substantially depends on wireworm species, thus quick reliable larval identification is needed to implement the appropriate integrated pest management practices. Furthermore, research into non-chemical strategies involves carrying out tests with live and identified wireworms. Thus, thousands of wireworms were observed in a bid to identify live larvae so that larval density could be assessed and compared with species-specific thresholds before sowing, and laboratory experiments were carried out. This work led to a horizontal identification table that allows for quick and accurate identification of live larvae. This key, unlike traditional dichotomous keys, simultaneously considers a set of multiple discriminating morphological characters in order of stability. The key can be reliably used by less experienced users and, once minimum familiarity is acquired, most larvae can be identified rapidly, with high precision.

Occurrence and management of two emerging soil-dwelling pests ravaging cabbage and onions in Kenya

“…Wireworms can cause 100% crop damage when infestation occurs during the seedling stage, leading to poor crop stands 64 . Studies in North America and Europe have identified numerous wireworm species with devastating effects on a broad range of crops 62 , 68 , 71 . However, the larvae of most sub-Saharan species remain undescribed, with no DNA sequence data.…”

Evaluation of Entomopathogenic Nematodes against Common Wireworm Species in Potato Cultivation

“…The collected larvae were brought individually to the laboratory in plastic containers (50 mL) containing autoclaved sandy loamy soil (20 g) with a slice of potato (Ø2 cm) and kept at 25 °C. The 4th and 5th larvae were separated according to their head width and observed for one week for any sign of infection [ 9 , 34 , 35 ]. Only healthy larvae were included in the pathogenicity bioassays.…”

“…Up to now, more than 39 wireworm species have been reported to attack potatoes around the world [ 7 ]. However, 9 species, Agriotes brevis Candèze, Agriotes lineatus Linnaeus, Agriotes litigiosus Rossi, Agriotes obscurus Linnaeus, Agriotes proximus Linnaeus, Agriotes rufipalpis Brullé, Agriotes sordidus Illiger, Agriotes sputator Linnaeus, and Agriotes ustulatus Schäller, are considered the most devastating in Europe [ 8 , 9 ].…”

The Role of Ascorbate-Glutathione System and Volatiles Emitted by Insect-Damaged Lettuce Roots As Navigation Signals for Insect and Slug Parasitic Nematodes

“…The plants were exposed to artificial light from high pressure sodium vapour light (Osram) for four hours daily, and were watered every four days with tap water. Fifty wireworms (A. lineatus) were collected from soil on the Biotechnical Faculty grounds and identified using the raster pattern on the lower side of their abdomen, according to Furlan et al [33]. Ten growing pots were randomly chosen for wireworm infestation (five larvae per pot), while the remaining ten pots were used as controls.…”