Seasonal distribution and aerial movement of adult coecinellids on farmland

Seasonal and spatial aspects of coccinellid populations were studied on Rothamsted farm using a network of sticky traps in 1991 and 1992. Seasonal aerial population dynamics of Coccinella septempunctata and Propylea quatuordecimpunctata were similar in both years, but the population size of the former was smaller in 1992. The seasonal population dynamics of Adalia bipunctata differed between the two years with a much larger population in 1992. All the species showed aggregated distributions on the farm, but A. bipunctata was the most strongly aggregated in both years. The study indicated that C. septempunctata was less discriminating in its use of habitats for feeding and breeding than were A. bipunctata and P. quatuordecimpunctata which mainly exploited non‐crop habitats along hedgerows and grass banks.