Impact of wood ants on the spatial distribution and feeding by the pine weevil

The pine weevil (Hylobius abietis (L.)) is one of the most destructive pests in Swedish conifer plantations. Many efforts have been made to reduce its damage by the use of insecticides, planting site preparation, physical barriers and other management practices. A number of studies show the importan...

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Main Author: Jonkers, Laurence
Format: H2
Language:Inglés
Published: SLU/Dept. of Ecology 2013
Subjects:
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author Jonkers, Laurence
author_browse Jonkers, Laurence
author_facet Jonkers, Laurence
author_sort Jonkers, Laurence
collection Epsilon Archive for Student Projects
description The pine weevil (Hylobius abietis (L.)) is one of the most destructive pests in Swedish conifer plantations. Many efforts have been made to reduce its damage by the use of insecticides, planting site preparation, physical barriers and other management practices. A number of studies show the importance of ants in pest management in different systems. In this study I test the hypothesis that a high density of ants reduces damage on conifer seedlings by the pine weevil. The study was conducted on two clearcut areas in the Lunsen forest S of Uppsa-la, Sweden. In total, 900 Norway spruce seedlings (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) were planted (divided into plots with 25 seedlings) and different measures of the weevil’s damage were assessed, i.e. proportions of attacked and girdled seedlings, and mean feeding area. Densities of the ant species Formica polyctena and Myrmica ruginodis were obtained weekly by pitfall traps placed in each planting plot. No significant relationship between ant density and weevil damage was found when tested by means of the Spearman’s correlation. Results elucidating the process of pine weevils damaging seedlings are reported.
format H2
id RepoSLU5411
institution Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
language Inglés
publishDate 2013
publishDateSort 2013
publisher SLU/Dept. of Ecology
publisherStr SLU/Dept. of Ecology
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spelling RepoSLU54112013-04-12T14:23:34Z Impact of wood ants on the spatial distribution and feeding by the pine weevil Jonkers, Laurence integrated pest management (IPM) forest regeneration conifer seedling Formica polyctena Myrmica ruginodis Hylobius abietis The pine weevil (Hylobius abietis (L.)) is one of the most destructive pests in Swedish conifer plantations. Many efforts have been made to reduce its damage by the use of insecticides, planting site preparation, physical barriers and other management practices. A number of studies show the importance of ants in pest management in different systems. In this study I test the hypothesis that a high density of ants reduces damage on conifer seedlings by the pine weevil. The study was conducted on two clearcut areas in the Lunsen forest S of Uppsa-la, Sweden. In total, 900 Norway spruce seedlings (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) were planted (divided into plots with 25 seedlings) and different measures of the weevil’s damage were assessed, i.e. proportions of attacked and girdled seedlings, and mean feeding area. Densities of the ant species Formica polyctena and Myrmica ruginodis were obtained weekly by pitfall traps placed in each planting plot. No significant relationship between ant density and weevil damage was found when tested by means of the Spearman’s correlation. Results elucidating the process of pine weevils damaging seedlings are reported. SLU/Dept. of Ecology 2013 H2 eng https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/5411/
spellingShingle integrated pest management (IPM)
forest regeneration
conifer seedling
Formica polyctena
Myrmica ruginodis
Hylobius abietis
Jonkers, Laurence
Impact of wood ants on the spatial distribution and feeding by the pine weevil
title Impact of wood ants on the spatial distribution and feeding by the pine weevil
title_full Impact of wood ants on the spatial distribution and feeding by the pine weevil
title_fullStr Impact of wood ants on the spatial distribution and feeding by the pine weevil
title_full_unstemmed Impact of wood ants on the spatial distribution and feeding by the pine weevil
title_short Impact of wood ants on the spatial distribution and feeding by the pine weevil
title_sort impact of wood ants on the spatial distribution and feeding by the pine weevil
topic integrated pest management (IPM)
forest regeneration
conifer seedling
Formica polyctena
Myrmica ruginodis
Hylobius abietis