Effects of reduced rates of two insecticides on enzyme activity and mortality of an aphid and its lacewing predator

By applying insecticides at lower rates of active ingredients per unit area, survival rates of the pests' natural enemies can be enhanced, whereas pest mortality can remain high. The effects of reduced application rates of the insecticides lambda-cyhalothrin and dimethoate on the mortality of bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphon padi (L.), and lacewing Micromus tasmaniae Walker were determined in the laboratory and field. Cholinesterase (ChE) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities in survivors provided a measure of sublethal effects and general fitness. In the laboratory, lacewings were less sensitive than aphids to both insecticides, and dimethoate was more toxic than lambda-cyhalothrin. However, these results could not be recreated in the field, in part due to very low recapture rates. In summary, lambda-cyhalothrin seemed to have no effect on aphids, but it was toxic to lacewings. Dimethoate was far less toxic in the field, but aphids were still more sensitive than were lacewings. Cholinesterase activity was reduced by dimethoate exposure in the laboratory in both species, but there were species-specific differences. Dimethoate and lambda-cyhalothrin had no effects on GST activity in either species. The high mortality rate for lacewings and aphids exposed to dimethoate in the field suggests that the application rate could be reduced to as low as 10% of that recommended by manufacturers, and this should still be highly efficacious against aphids, while protecting the predatory lacewing. Measurement of enzyme activity could provide a useful indicator of "fitness" of survivors.     

Controlling ‘bois noir’ disease on grapevine: does the timing of herbicide application affect vector emergence?

Bois noir is an important grapevine yellows disease that can cause serious economical losses in European grapevine production. Hyalesthes obsoletus Signoret (Hemiptera, Cixiidae) is the principal vector of bois noir in Switzerland and stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is its favourite host plant species in vineyards. As bois noir disease can hardly be cured and direct control measures against H. obsoletus are ineffective, viticultural control practices target stinging nettle, the actual reservoir and source of both the pathogen and its vector. Currently, it is recommended to apply herbicides against stinging nettle at the end of the season to kill developing H. obsoletus nymphs. To verify if this late period of herbicide application is justified, stinging nettle patches were treated with glyphosate in the autumn, in the spring or were left untreated as a control. Herbicide applications at both dates controlled the growth of stinging nettle very well in the subsequent summer, although the autumnal treatment was slightly more efficient. To study glyphosate’s direct impact on the development of H. obsoletus nymphs, emergence traps were placed directly in the centre of treated and untreated stinging nettle patches. There was no significant difference among the three treatments in the total number of adults emerging. Thus, an aerial application of glyphosate in either spring or autumn did not inhibit the nymphs’ development on the roots of stinging nettle in the soil. Our results challenge current recommendations of applying herbicides against stinging nettle at the end of the season and suggest that stinging nettle could also be controlled in spring, alike other viticultural weeds.     

Processed kaolin as an alternative insecticide against the European pear sucker, Cacopsylla pyri (L.)

Abstract:  Application of processed kaolin particle film (Surround^® WP; Engelhard Corporation, Iselin, NJ, USA) repels insects without lethal effects; hence side effects on beneficial arthropods are low. Processed kaolin may be an alternative to broad-spectrum insecticides used against European pear sucker, Cacopsylla pyri (L.), in organic and conventional pear production. A small-plot field trial was conducted in spring 2003 to assess this hypothesis. Multiple applications of processed kaolin during the first flying period of C. pyri significantly reduced the number of nymphs compared to the untreated control. Processed kaolin protected pear trees at least as good as the standard organic insecticide rotenone. Since the effects on the summer population could not be assessed in this small-plot trial due to the high mobility of the adult C. pyri , a large-plot trial was conducted in 2004. Thereby, the processed kaolin showed a very high efficacy and the population of C. pyri was kept under a damaging level over the whole season. At the end of June the population density of C. pyri in the processed kaolin treated area was lower than in the IPM treated plot. In conclusion, kaolin shows promise as an alternative control for C. pyri in organic and IPM orchards.     

Direct and indirect bottom-up and top-down forces shape the abundance of the orb-web spider Argiope bruennichi

Species abundance in local communities is determined by bottom-up and top-down processes, which can act directly and indirectly on the focal species. Studies examining these effects simultaneously are rare. Here we explore the direct top-down and direct and indirect bottom-up forces regulating the abundance and predation success of an intermediate predator, the web-building spider Argiope bruennichi (Araneae: Araneidae). We manipulated plant diversity (2, 6, 12 or 20 sown species) in 9 wildflower strips in a region of intensive farmland. To identify the major factors regulating the distribution and abundance of A. bruennichi, we quantified three characteristics of vegetation (species diversity, composition and vegetation structure) as well as the spider's prey community and natural enemies. The distribution and abundance of A. bruennichi was regulated by combined bottom-up and top-down processes as well as by direct and indirect interactions between trophic levels. Four main factors were identified: (1) the strong direct effect of vegetation structure, (2) the positive effect of plant species diversity, which affected spider abundance directly and indirectly through increased densities and size of flower-visiting prey species, (3) the positive or negative direct effects of different plant species, and (4) the strongly negative direct effect of predacious hornets. The advantage of taking a global approach to understand the regulation of species abundance is highlighted first by the quantification of the relative importance of factors, with a surprisingly strong effect of hornet predators, and second by the discovery of a direct effect of plant diversity, which raises intriguing questions about habitat selection by this spider.     

The relative contributions of species richness and species composition to ecosystem functioning

How species diversity influences ecosystem functioning has been the subject of many experiments and remains a key question for ecology and conservation biology. However, the fact that diversity cannot be manipulated without affecting species composition makes this quest methodologically challenging. Here, we evaluate the relative importance of diversity and of composition on biomass production, by using partial Mantel tests for one variable while controlling for the other. We analyse two datasets, from the Jena (2002–2008) and the Grandcour (2008–2009) Experiments. In both experiments, plots were sown with different numbers of species to unravel mechanisms underlying the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF). Contrary to Jena, plots were neither mowed nor weeded in Grandcour, allowing external species to establish. Based on the diversity–ecosystem functioning and competition theories, we tested two predictions: 1) the contribution of composition should increase with time; 2) the contribution of composition should be more important in non‐weeded than in controlled systems. We found support for the second hypothesis, but not for the first. On the contrary, the contribution of species richness became markedly more important few years after the start of the Jena Experiment. This result can be interpreted as suggesting that species complementarity, rather than intraspecific competition, is the driving force in this system. Finally, we explored to what extent the estimated relative importance of both factors varied when measured on different spatial scales of the experiment (in this case, increasing the number of plots included in the analyses). We found a strong effect of scale, suggesting that comparisons between studies, and more generally the extrapolation of results from experiments to natural situations, should be made with caution.     

Population structure and incidence of the stolbur phytoplasma vector Hyalesthes obsoletus (Cixiidae) among geographic regions in Switzerland

The dissemination of stolbur phytoplasma (16Sr‐XIIA group)‐induced yellows diseases depends on the dispersal biology and host plant fidelity of the planthopper vector Hyalesthes obsoletus (Hemiptera: Cixiidae). We analysed the degree of these two properties in H. obsoletus by studying its population genetic structure and stolbur infection rates relative to the two major host plants, Convolvolus arvensis and Urtica dioica, in order to infer relevant divisions for stolbur epidemiology in Swiss viticultural regions. Three regional populations with the potential to determine stolbur epidemiology in distinct ways were identified. First, populations associated with U. dioica in northern Switzerland were most related to genetically distinct U. dioica host race populations identified previously in Germany. Second, populations in central and southwest Switzerland were undifferentiated relative to host plant and likely have wider stolbur transmission breadths than the northern specialized populations. Third, populations in south of the Alps (Ticino) were undifferentiated relative to host plant but geographically isolated from other Swiss regions, thus implying separate population dynamics in this area. The knowledge of these three distinct epidemiological cycles will help to adapt management programmes against stolbur diseases in Swiss vineyards.