Arthropods in the spotlight – identifying predators of vineyard pest insects with infrared photography

  • Grape berry moths, particularly Lobesia botrana Denis & Schiffermüller (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), and vinegar flies, such as Drosophila melanogaster Meigen and Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae), are important vineyard pests, causing severe quality loss of grapes. Several arthropod taxa may be involved in the natural control of these pests. However, the role of arthropod predators in the natural control of vineyard pests remains unclear. We investigated 32 vineyards in the Palatinate region, southwest Germany, under organic and conventional management, which in both cases received either full or reduced fungicide applications (2 × 2 design). Predation of L. botrana eggs and pupae and D. melanogaster pupae on sentinel cards exposed in the vineyards was observed with infrared cameras. In total, nine predator taxa could be identified. The most dominant predator was the European earwig, Forficula auricularia L. (Dermaptera: Forficulidae), with 90% of all predation events. We conclude that F. auricularia is likely a key predator of vineyard pests, and that special attention should be paid to maintain it at high population densities.

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Metadaten
Author:Jo Marie ReiffORCiD, Konrad Theiss, Christoph Hoffmann, Martin H. Entling
URN:urn:nbn:de:hbz:386-kluedo-88192
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/eea.13456
ISSN:1570-7458
Parent Title (English):Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata
Publisher:Wiley
Editor:Leo W. Beukeboom
Document Type:Article
Language of publication:English
Date of Publication (online):2025/03/12
Year of first Publication:2024
Publishing Institution:Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau
Date of the Publication (Server):2025/04/04
Issue:(2024) Vol.172 / 9
Page Number:9
First Page:818
Last Page:826
Source:https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eea.13456
Faculties / Organisational entities:Landau - Fachbereich Natur- und Umweltwissenschaften
DDC-Cassification:5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 570 Biowissenschaften, Biologie
Collections:Open-Access-Publikationsfonds
Licence (German):Creative Commons 4.0 - Namensnennung (CC BY 4.0)