Sticky Traps (sticky + trap)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Life Sciences


Selected Abstracts


Effect of vegetation management on autumn dispersal of Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) from tomato

JOURNAL OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 9-10 2009
E. D. Meck
Abstract Autumn dispersal of twospotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch) from tomato to overwintering host plants was studied in field experiments during 2004,2006. Three vegetation management strategies (herbicide, cultivation and no vegetation control) were established around mite-infested, senescing tomato plants. Tetranychus urticae dispersal was monitored using trap plants of common chickweed (Stellaria media) at 2, 6 and 12 m from the tomatoes within each vegetation management plot. Chickweed plants were sampled in the autumn and spring from 2004 to 2006. Sticky traps were placed next to trap plants in the autumn of 2005 to monitor aerial dispersal of mites. Mite populations infesting chickweed were low, and autumn dispersal of mites from tomatoes to the chickweed plots was considered to be short range. The vegetation management strategies had no effect on mite densities found in the chickweed, but the capture of mites on sticky traps indicated that aerial dispersal was also a means of dispersal to overwintering hosts. [source]


Diversity of Cicadellidae in agricultural production areas in the Ovens Valley, north-east Victoria, Australia

AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 3 2010
Piotr Tr, bicki
Abstract There is a paucity of data on the distribution of Cicadellidae (leafhoppers) in Australia. This study quantifies the relative abundance, seasonal activity and diversity of leafhoppers in the Ovens Valley region of north-east Victoria, Australia. Species diversity and abundance was assessed at four field sites in and around the field borders of commercially grown tobacco crops using three sampling techniques (pan trap, sticky trap and sweep net). Over 51 000 leafhopper samples were collected, with 57 species from 11 subfamilies and 19 tribes identified. Greater numbers and diversity of leafhoppers were collected in yellow pan traps. The predominant leafhopper collected was Orosius orientalis (Matsumura). Twenty-three leafhopper species were recorded for the first time in Victoria and eight economically important pest species were recorded. Seasonal activity of selected leafhopper species, covering two sampling seasons, is presented. [source]


Thrips see red , flower colour and the host relationships of a polyphagous anthophilic thrips

ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 5 2007
A. YAKU
Abstract 1.,The common blossom thrips, Frankliniella schultzei, is a polyphagous anthophilic species that colonises a wide range of host-plant species across different plant taxa. The environmental cues used by these polyphagous insects to recognise and locate host plants are not known. We therefore determined if colour is an important environmental signal used by F. schultzei to recognise flowers of eight of its more significant host-plant species. 2.,The effect of flower colour on the colonisation of different host plant species by F. schultzei was investigated by collecting and analysing the following: (a) numbers of thrips from different heights and aspects of the primary host plant Malvaviscus arboreus, (b) thrips distribution within flowers of Hibiscus rosasinensis, (c) colour reflectance from flowers of eight different host-plant species, and (d) reflectance from different coloured sticky traps and the number of thrips trapped on them at different times of the day and on different dates. 3.,The results indicate that: (a) the thrips (both sexes) concentrate towards the top of the primary host plant M. arboreus and are not distributed differentially according to sunny or shady aspect of the plant, (b) the number of female thrips on H. rosasinensis was higher in anthers compared to petals (corolla) and the basal parts of the flower, and males were as numerous on the petals as were females, and (c) there is a common floral reflectance pattern (but with different intensities) across the eight host plant species, mainly in the red part of the spectrum (600,700 nm). 4.,Results of colour sticky trapping show that red attracts more female thrips compared to any other colour and that most were caught between 09.00 and 11.00 hours. By contrast, more male thrips were trapped between 07.00 and 09.00 hours. Males were more evenly distributed across the different colours but the highest numbers were associated with the yellow traps. 5.,The higher densities of thrips at the top of their host plant may be related to the early morning (07.00,11.00 hours) activity of the thrips, when the top portions of the plant are more exposed to sunlight. The sex-related distributions of F. schultzei thrips across time, coloured sticky traps, and various parts of the flowers seem to be related to mating swarm formation by the males, on the one hand, and the relative frequency and intensity of the use of M. arboreus by the females, on the other, as a feeding and oviposition site. Frankliniella schultzei females respond more strongly to red than to any other colours, so it is predicted that the spectral properties of colour recognition by this species will correlate with the predominant red reflectance of its primary host, M. arboreus, and that there may well be a sex-related difference in colour recognition within this species. [source]


Density, dispersal, and feeding impact of western flower thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) on flowering chrysanthemum at different spatial scales

ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 1 2005
Marc Rhainds
Abstract., 1. This study evaluated the effect of dispersal on the density and feeding impact of a phytophagous insect in relation to the spatial distribution of its host plants. 2. The interaction between density, dispersal, and feeding impact of western flower thrips on flowering chrysanthemum was quantified at three spatial scales, with infested and uninfested plants either isolated in 0.25 m2 individual cages, or enclosed together in 2.25 m2 communal cages or 75 m2 greenhouses. 3. In individual cages, the rate of dispersal from chrysanthemum plants to blue sticky traps increased with the density of thrips for females but not males. Uninfested plants consistently had fewer thrips when they were individually caged rather than enclosed with plants infested with adults, indicating that dispersal mediates inter-plant distribution of thrips. 4. The feeding impact of thrips on inflorescences was evaluated using the absorbance of ethanol extracts at wavelengths characteristic of yellow carotenoid pigments associated with chrysanthemum inflorescences (415, 445, and 472 nm). Increasing absorbance of extracts with increasing density of thrips per inflorescence suggests that feeding by thrips results in ruptured cells leaching carotenoid pigments. 5. In communal cages, the distribution of thrips was uniform for infested and uninfested plants, whereas the density and feeding impact of thrips in greenhouses were higher for infested than uninfested plants. These results suggest that short-range dispersal by adults homogenises the density and feeding impact of thrips among host plants only on a small spatial scale. [source]


Bemisia tabaci in Croatia

EPPO BULLETIN, Issue 1 2002
T. Masten
Bemisia tabaci was reported for the first time in the Mediterranean part of Croatia in 2000. It was found in glasshouses in the agricultural area between the towns of Trogir and Omis, on the following crops: Euphorbia pulcherrima, Thunbergia grandiflora, Cucumis sativus (cucumber), Solanum melongena (aubergine), Phaseolus spp. (beans), Ficus carica (fig), Rubus spp. and several weeds of the families Asteraceae and Solanaceae. In 2001, monitoring for the pest was organized all over the country, in each of the 21 counties. In each county, there were several monitoring points so that all the major vegetable and flower producers were included. A special effort was made to record the spread of B. tabaci in the region where it was first found, bearing in mind that optimal conditions for outdoor spread exist along the Adriatic coast. Yellow sticky traps and visual inspection are used to monitor for B. tabaci. Eradication measures are being applied, and regulatory measures have been taken to prevent further spread of B. tabaci to continental parts of Croatia. [source]


Elevated air temperature alters an old-field insect community in a multifactor climate change experiment

GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
SHAWN N. VILLALPANDO
Abstract To address how multiple, interacting climate drivers may affect plant,insect community associations, we sampled insects that naturally colonized a constructed old-field plant community grown for over 2 years under simultaneous CO2, temperature, and water manipulation. Insects were sampled using a combination of sticky traps and vacuum sampling, identified to morphospecies and the insect community with respect to abundance, richness, and evenness quantified. Individuals were assigned to four broad feeding guilds in order to examine potential trophic level effects. Although there were occasional effects of CO2 and water treatment, the effects of warming on the insect community were large and consistent. Warming significantly increased Order Thysanoptera abundance and reduced overall morphospecies richness and evenness. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling found that only temperature affected insect community composition, while a Sørensen similarity index showed less correspondence in the insect community between temperature treatments compared with CO2 or soil water treatments. Within the herbivore guild, elevated temperature significantly reduced richness and evenness. Corresponding reductions of diversity measures at higher trophic levels (i.e. parasitoids), along with the finding that herbivore richness was a significant predictor of parasitoid richness, suggest trophic-level effects within the insect community. When the most abundant species were considered in temperature treatments, a small number of species increased in abundance at elevated temperature, while others declined compared with ambient temperature. Effects of temperature in the dominant insects demonstrated that treatment effects were limited to a relatively small number of morphospecies. Observed effects of elevated CO2 concentration on whole-community foliar N concentration did not result in any effect on herbivores, which are probably the most susceptible guild to changes in plant nutritional quality. These results demonstrate that climatic warming may alter certain insect communities via effects on insect species most responsive to a higher temperature, contributing to a change in community structure. [source]


Long-term exposure to elevated CO2 in a Florida scrub-oak forest increases herbivore densities but has no effect on other arthropod guilds

INSECT CONSERVATION AND DIVERSITY, Issue 2 2010
PETER STILING
Abstract., 1.,This study uses pitfall traps and sticky traps to examine the effects of elevated CO2 on the densities of insect herbivores, insectivores, and detritivores. 2.,Pitfall trapping for the last 3 years of 11 years of continuously elevated CO2 revealed increases of insect herbivore species such as Thysanoptera (thrips), Hemiptera, and Lepidoptera, but no effects on insectivores such as spiders, parasitic wasps, and ants; or on detritivores such as Diptera (flies), Psocoptera (book lice), Blattodea (cockroaches), Collembola (spring tails), Orthoptera (crickets), and Coleoptera (beetles). 3.,As the bottom-up effects of elevated CO2 are transmitted through plants to herbivores, they do not appear to reach insect natural enemies or decomposers. [source]


The effects of plant structure on the spatial and microspatial distribution of a bromeliad-living jumping spider (Salticidae)

JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2005
GUSTAVO Q. ROMERO
Summary 1In several regions of South America, the neotropical jumping spider Psecas chapoda inhabits and reproduces strictly on the bromeliad Bromelia balansae. Previous studies reported that this spider is more frequent on bromeliads in grasslands than on those growing in forests, and on larger plants, but only when the bromeliads are without inflorescence. Upon blooming, B. balansae fold their leaves back, thereby changing the plant architecture from a tri-dimensional to a bi-dimensional flattened shape, and our hypothesis is that this alteration affects the spider's habitat-selection decisions. 2In the present study, we examined experimentally the effects of inflorescence, plant size and blockade of the axil of the leaves (spider shelters) of forest bromeliads on the colonization of a bromeliad by P. chapoda. By using sticky traps, we also compared prey availability in grassland and forest. 3Plants with simulated inflorescence were colonized at a lower frequency than those without inflorescence simulation. Grassland bromeliads in which the rosettes were blocked with dry leaves were colonized less frequently than open bromeliads, whereas forest bromeliads from which dry leaves had been removed were not colonized. Spiders generally abandoned bromeliads in which three-quarters of the length of the leaves had been removed, although females with eggsacs remained on these plants. Prey availability (biomass and number) was up to 18 fold higher in the grassland than in the forest. These results suggest that microhabitat structure and prey availability shape the spatial distribution of P. chapoda populations. 4Our findings suggest that Psecas chapoda can evaluate, in fine detail, the physical state of its microhabitat, and this unusual spider,plant association is readily destabilized by changes in the microhabitat (i.e., it is strictly dependent on the size and morphology of the host plant). This study is one of the few to report a strict association between a spider species and its host plant, and also one of the few to examine the effects of habitat and microhabitat structure on the spatial distribution of active hunters on plants. [source]


Seasonal activity and abundance of Orosius orientalis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) at agricultural sites in Southeastern Australia

JOURNAL OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
P. Tr, bicki
Abstract Orosius orientalis is a leafhopper vector of several viruses and phytoplasmas affecting a broad range of agricultural crops. Sweep net, yellow pan trap and yellow sticky trap collection techniques were evaluated. Seasonal distribution of O. orientalis was surveyed over two successive growing seasons around the borders of commercially grown tobacco crops. Orosius orientalis seasonal activity as assessed using pan and sticky traps was characterised by a trimodal peak and relative abundance as assessed using sweep nets differed between field sites with peak activity occurring in spring and summer months. Yellow pan traps consistently trapped a higher number of O. orientalis than yellow sticky traps. [source]


Effect of vegetation management on autumn dispersal of Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) from tomato

JOURNAL OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 9-10 2009
E. D. Meck
Abstract Autumn dispersal of twospotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch) from tomato to overwintering host plants was studied in field experiments during 2004,2006. Three vegetation management strategies (herbicide, cultivation and no vegetation control) were established around mite-infested, senescing tomato plants. Tetranychus urticae dispersal was monitored using trap plants of common chickweed (Stellaria media) at 2, 6 and 12 m from the tomatoes within each vegetation management plot. Chickweed plants were sampled in the autumn and spring from 2004 to 2006. Sticky traps were placed next to trap plants in the autumn of 2005 to monitor aerial dispersal of mites. Mite populations infesting chickweed were low, and autumn dispersal of mites from tomatoes to the chickweed plots was considered to be short range. The vegetation management strategies had no effect on mite densities found in the chickweed, but the capture of mites on sticky traps indicated that aerial dispersal was also a means of dispersal to overwintering hosts. [source]


Spatio-temporal pattern of Pentastiridius leporinus migration in an ephemeral cropping system

AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 1 2010
Alberto Bressan
1Cixiid planthoppers (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Cixiidae) are considered to be important economic pests because of their ability to transmit phloem-restricted prokaryotes causing emerging plant diseases worldwide. However, little information is available on the biology and ecology of such species. This is the case for Pentastiridius leporinus (Linnaeus), a cixiid planthopper reported to live on common reed across Countries of Central and Northern Europe. However, in the east of France, the same planthopper species appears to complete its life cycle in the sugar beet-wheat cropping system and has been repeatedly shown to transmit prokaryotic plant pathogens that are associated with an emerging disease of sugar beet called syndrome ,basses richesses'. 2To gather evidence on the biology of the planthopper in the cropping rotation, we analysed the flight activity of adults. We used transparent sticky traps for sampling migrating adults and quantified nymphs as well as emerging adults on the roots of wheat plants. 3Results showed a significant correlation between disappearance of nymphs and emerging adults from wheat roots and the occurrence of migrant adults in nearby sugar beet fields. Planthoppers migrated more abundantly and colonized sugar beet for longer periods than any other crop available. Flight activity was very pronounced during the migratory phase that was extended from the middle of June to the middle of July. A geographic information system and geostatical analysis revealed that planthoppers flew and colonized the centre of the sugar beet field rather than the borders. 4Overall, results obtained in the present study suggest that the ecology and biology of the planthopper vector in the cropping rotation is a primary factor that leads to the emergence of the syndrome ,basses richesses' disease of sugar beet. [source]


Erythroneura lawsoni abundance and feeding injury levels are influenced by foliar nutrient status in intensively managed American sycamore

AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 1 2010
David Robert Coyle
1Abundance and feeding injury of the leafhopper Erythroneura lawsoni Robinson was measured in an intensively-managed American sycamore Platanus occidentalis L. plantation. Trees were planted in spring 2000 in a randomized complete block design, and received one of three annual treatments: (i) fertilization (120 kg N/ha/year); (ii) irrigation (3.0 cm/week); (iii) fertilization + irrigation; or (iv) control (no treatment). 2Foliar nutrient concentrations were significantly influenced by the treatments because only sulphur and manganese levels were not statistically greater in trees receiving fertilization. 3Over 116 000 E. lawsoni were captured on sticky traps during the study. Leafhopper abundance was highest on nonfertilized trees for the majority of the season, and was positively correlated with foliar nutrient concentrations. Significant temporal variation in E. lawsoni abundance occurred, suggesting five discrete generations in South Carolina. 4Significant temporal variation occurred in E. lawsoni foliar injury levels, with the highest injury ratings occurring in late June and August. Foliar injury was negatively correlated with foliar nutrient content, and higher levels of injury occurred more frequently on nonfertilized trees. 5The results obtained in the present study indicated that increased E. lawsoni abundance occurred on trees that did not receive fertilization. Nonfertilized trees experienced greater foliar injury, suggesting that lower foliar nutrient status may have led to increased levels of compensatory feeding. [source]


Attraction of ambrosia and bark beetles to coast live oaks infected by Phytophthora ramorum

AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 4 2008
Brice A. McPherson
Abstract 1,Sudden oak death is caused by the apparently introduced oomycete, Phytophthora ramorum. We investigated the role of bark and ambrosia beetles in disease progression in coast live oaks Quercus agrifolia. 2,In two Marin County, California sites, 80 trees were inoculated in July 2002 with P. ramorum and 40 were wounded without inoculation. Half of the trees in each group were sprayed with the insecticide permethrin [cyclopropanecarboxylic acid, 3-(2,2-dichloroethenyl)-2,2-dimethyl-(3-phenoxyphenyl) methyl ester] to prevent ambrosia and bark beetle attacks, and then were sprayed twice per year thereafter. After each treatment, sticky traps were placed on only the permethrin-treated trees. Beetles were collected periodically in 2003. 3,Inoculated trees accounted for 95% of all beetles trapped. The ambrosia beetles Monarthrum scutellare and Xyleborinus saxeseni and the western oak bark beetle Pseudopityophthorus pubipennis were the most abundant of the seven species trapped. 4,Permethrin treatment delayed initiation of beetle attacks and significantly reduced the mean number of attacks per tree. Beetles did not attack any wounded or noncankered inoculated trees. 5,Trees with larger cankers trapped more beetles early in the disease. Once permethrin lost effectiveness, the number of beetle entrance tunnels was a more reliable predictor of subsequent trap catch than was canker size. 6,Beetles were initially attracted to P. ramorum cankers in response to kairomones generated in the host-pathogen interaction. After beetles attacked the permethrin-treated trees, aggregation pheromones most probably were the principal factor in beetle colonization behaviour. [source]


Dispersal kernels of the invasive alien western corn rootworm and the effectiveness of buffer zones in eradication programmes in Europe

ANNALS OF APPLIED BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2010
L.R. Carrasco
Europe is attempting to contain or, in some regions, to eradicate the invading and maize destroying western corn rootworm (WCR). Eradication and containment measures include crop rotation and insecticide treatments within different types of buffer zones surrounding new introduction points. However, quantitative estimates of the relationship between the probability of adult dispersal and distance from an introduction point have not been used to determine the width of buffer zones. We address this by fitting dispersal models of the negative exponential and negative power law families in logarithmic and non-logarithmic form to recapture data from nine mark-release-recapture experiments of marked WCR adults from habitats as typically found in the vicinity of airports in southern Hungary in 2003 and 2004. After each release of 4000,6300 marked WCR, recaptures were recorded three times using non-baited yellow sticky traps at 30,305 m from the release point and sex pheromone-baited transparent sticky traps placed at 500,3500 m. Both the negative exponential and negative power law models in non-log form presented the best overall fit to the numbers of recaptured adults (1% recapture rate). The negative exponential model in log form presented the best fit to the data in the tail. The models suggested that half of the dispersing WCR adults travelling along a given bearing will have travelled between 117 and 425 m and 1% of the adults between 775 and 8250 m after 1 day. An individual-based model of dispersal and mortality over a generation of WCR adults indicated that 9.7,45.3% of the adults would escape a focus zone (where maize is only grown once in 3 consecutive years) of 1 km radius and 0.6,21% a safety zone (where maize is only grown once in 2 consecutive years) of 5 km radius and consequently current European Commission (EC) measures are inadequate for the eradication of WCR in Europe. Although buffer zones large enough to allow eradication would be economically unpalatable, an increase of the minimum width of the focus zone from 1 to 5 km and the safety zone from 5 to 50 km would improve the management of local dispersal. [source]


Impact of the predatory mite Anystis baccarum (Prostigmata: Anystidae) on apple rust mite Aculus schlechtendali (Prostigmata: Eriophyidae) populations in Northern Ireland Bramley orchards

ANNALS OF APPLIED BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2003
A G S CUTHBERTSON
Summary Anystis baccarum is a common predatory mite in Northern Ireland Bramley orchards. To determine its effect on Aculus schlechtendali populations, sticky traps and sprays of demeton-S-methyl were used to exclude A. baccarum from branches. Out of four trials, exclusion of A. baccarum by sticky traps alone resulted in significantly greater numbers of A. schlechtendali in one trial. In the other trials where A. schlechtendali numbers were lower, there was either no effect, or possible evidence of fewer A. schlechtendali. The combination of demeton-S-methyl treatments and sticky traps to exclude A. baccarum resulted in significantly more A. schlechtendali in two trials out of three in 1998. It seems likely that this resulted from the dual effects of stimulation of A. schlechtendali reproduction by the acaricide and the absence of predation by A. baccarum, because acaricide treatment alone in 1999 resulted in significant reductions in A. schlechtendali numbers at the end of the season. This effect could have resulted from A. baccarum re-invading the treatment branches after the effects of the acaricide had worn off. It is recommended that growers are encouraged to conserve A. baccarum within their orchards. [source]


Short-range dispersal of recently emerged males and females of Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae) monitored by sticky sphere traps baited with protein and Lynfield traps baited with cue-lure

AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 2 2007
Christopher Weldon
Abstract, Dispersal of immature male and female Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae), was assessed over a period of 1 week from a single release point on three separate occasions using an array of Lynfield traps baited with cue-lure and odouriferous yellow or black sticky spheres baited with food lure (protein autolysate). Lynfield traps recaptured males; yellow or black spheres recaptured both sexes in approximately equal proportions, although at a much lower rate. As a percentage of the recapture rate for males by Lynfield traps, the mean recapture rate for yellow spheres ranged from 1.0% to 7.5% for males and 0.7% to 4.0% for females, whereas the recapture rates for black spheres ranged from 0.4% to 3.6% and 0.6% to 1.8%, respectively. The rate of recapture of sterile male flies was greater than that of unsterilised flies; this may have been due to a faster maturation rate in sterile males or because a greater proportion of them remained within the trap array rather than dispersing. There was no significant trend in recapture rate with distance from the release point to the edge of the array (88 m), except in the case of females on sticky traps where no trend was detected between 19 and 88 m. These results lend support to assumptions made about the distribution of males and females with respect to the minimum breeding density of fruit fly propagules invading a fly-free zone, and the method chosen to distribute sterile B. tryoni for the sterile insect technique. [source]


Rainforest habitat resistance to the migration of Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot (Acari: Phytoseiidae) in south-eastern Queensland

AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 1 2005
Mohammad Golam N Azam
Abstract, This paper tests the hypothesis that habitat differences affect the migratory ability of the Chilean predatory mite, Phytoseiulus persimilis, an introduced biological control agent of the spider mite, Tetranychus urticae. It is suggested that habitat resistance accounts for the species' inability to invade rainforests in south-eastern Queensland, Australia. Like its prey, P. persimilis migrates to distant plants on air currents. To test our hypothesis, populations of the Chilean predatory mite were established on potted bean plants in both remnant rainforest and adjacent open fields, and their migration monitored using sticky traps. Overall it was found that prey populations on leaves were similar in both habitats, but those of predators were about 20% lower in rainforest. However, the numbers of both predators and prey caught on sticky traps in rainforest were about 6% and 25%, respectively, of those caught in open fields, indicating a strongly reduced rate of aerial migration in the forest. The number of P. persimilis caught on the sticky traps increased with increasing populations of predators on foliage. Thus, dense vegetation inhibits the movement of air currents and inhibits colonisation by both predators and, to a lesser extent, spider mites. These results suggest that the inhibition of aerial migration is one reason for lower numbers of P. persimilis in forest habitats, both because its own vagility is restricted, and because its prey is less able to disperse. [source]


The Flight Heights of Chalcid Wasps (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea) in a Lowland Bornean Rain Forest: Fig Wasps are the High Fliers,

BIOTROPICA, Issue 3 2000
Stephen G. Compton
ABSTRACT Tropical rain forests are characterized by their rich plant diversity and highly diverse insect faunas containing mainly rare species. Phytophagous and parasitoid insects utilizing such fragmented resources often must travel considerable distances to find suitable hosts. For small, weak-flying insects, entry into the fast-flowing air above the canopy can provide one way by which long-distance dispersal is achieved. Using sticky traps placed at different heights in a lowland rain forest of Borneo, we compared the diurnal and nocturnal flight heights of chalcids, a group of mainly very small parasitoids and phytophages, to determine if the air above the canopy was used for dispersal. Most families were represented throughout the range of trap heights, including those above the general canopy. A higher proportion of individuals were trapped above the canopy at night than during the day. Fig wasps were exceptional in that they were trapped almost entirely above the canopy. They included species associated with host trees that do not fruit in the canopy, suggesting that these short-lived, slow-flying insects actively fly up above the canopy and then use the wind to passively carry them the long distances needed to reach their highly localized and ephemeral hosts. Once the fig wasps detect the species-specific volatiles released by their host figs, they then may fly down into the canopy, where the lower wind speeds would allow them to fly actively upwind to their hosts. [source]