Migratory flight behaviour of the pollen beetle Meligethes aeneus

Mauchline, A. L. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1168-8552, Cook, S. M., Powell, W., Chapman, J. W. and Osborne, J. L. (2017) Migratory flight behaviour of the pollen beetle Meligethes aeneus. Pest Management Science, 73 (6). pp. 1076-1082. ISSN 1526-4998 doi: 10.1002/ps.4550

Abstract/Summary

BACKGROUND The field ecology of the pollen beetle Meligethes aeneus and its damaging effects on oilseed rape crops are well understood. However, the flight behaviour of M. aeneus, in particular the drivers for migratory movements across the landscape, is not well studied. We combined three established methodologies; suction traps, vertical-looking radar and high-altitude aerial netting to demonstrate that M. aeneus fly at a range of altitudes at different points during its active season. RESULTS By linking evidence of high-altitude mass migration with immigration of pollen beetles into oilseed rape fields, we were able to ‘ground-truth’ the results to characterise the seasonal movements of this pest across the landscape. CONCLUSION We demonstrate that this novel combination of methodologies can advance our understanding of the population movements of pollen beetles and could provide an opportunity to develop predictive models to estimate the severity and timing of pest outbreaks.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/69369
Identification Number/DOI	10.1002/ps.4550
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Agriculture, Policy and Development > Department of Sustainable Land Management > Centre for Agri-environmental Research (CAER)
Publisher	Wiley
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