Linking landscape structure to Melanotus communis (Coleoptera: Elateridae) abundance in agroecosystems across North Carolina

Wireworms (Coleoptera: Elateridae) are an economically significant pest complex of numerous crops across the globe. These pests are polyphagous, spatially aggregated in the soil, and can have variable voltinism making their life histories particularly challenging to characterize. It is unclear how environmental factors mediate wireworm reproduction, movement, and phenology. As a result, integrated pest management of this complex has been difficult to achieve and growers have had to rely on prophylactic insecticide applications for crop protection. More refined risk assessment models to forecast wireworm abundance will aid in determining when and where fields are most vulnerable to pest damage and allow for more selective insecticide interventions.

To better understand wireworm activity we monitored 27 fields across a three year period using an adult sex pheromone lure developed for Melanotus communis, one of the most economically significant wireworm species in North Carolina. We collected geospatial land cover data within a 500m radius of trapping sites to describe any associations among cropping cycles, adjacent landscape composition, and edge effects as they relate to adult wireworm (click beetle) abundance. We used a regression mixed modeling approach to describe the effects of 9 landscape explanatory variables on either mean click beetle capture or cumulative insect days. We found that X were the most significant predictors of click beetle abundance. Results pending.