Bulletin of Entomological Research (1998) 88, 443-450

J.N. Matthiessen and S.E. Learmonth (1998)
Seasonally contrasting activity of African black beetle, Heteromychus arator (Coleoptera : Scarabaeidae): implications for populations, pest status and management
Bulletin of Entomological Research 88 (4), 443-450
Abstract: Flight and surface activity of the African black beetle, Heteronychus arator (Fabricius), detected by pitfall, light and window traps, was seasonally reversed. High surface activity relative to flight occurred in spring when beetles were mature, while relatively higher levels of flight occurred in autumn when they were immature. Pitfall trap captures were male-dominated in spring and female-dominated in autumn, and were a poor estimator of adult density. Light trap captures were consistently female-dominated. Although autumn flight was dispersive and inferred to have some role in population regulation, it was largely localized within the usual pasture habitat of the species. Some beetles flew into irrigated potato crops in autumn, but not specifically, as beetle abundance was consistently less than in surrounding dry pasture. High surface activity indicates spring is a strategic time for surface-applied control measures to prevent increase of H. arator in the next generation, a less disruptive alternative to conventional soil-incorporated insecticide directed at the new generation's larvae in summer. Such an approach would be best aimed early in the upsurge of activity, as most of the season's cohort of eggs was laid by the time surface activity peaked in mid-spring.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
population dynamics/ epidemiology
control - general

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Heteronychus arator	Grasses/turf/rangeland	Australia (Western)
	Heteronychus arator	Potato (Solanum tuberosum)	Australia (Western)