Biological control of white grubs (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) by larvae of Promachus yesonicus (Diptera: Asilidae) in China
1995
Wei, X. | Xu, X. | DeLoach, C.J.
In a 7-year survey of cultivated fields in Henan Province, China, natural populations of white grubs in the soil were inversely correlated with populations of predaceous asilid larvae, mostly Promachus yesonicus Bigot. Grub populations were reduced by 99% and damage to wheat seedlings was reduced by 96%, when six to eight predator larvae per 5-m2 plot were present. In 5-m2 field plots artificially infested with 30 grubs per plot during 3 years, the addition of larvae of P. yesonicus reduced grub populations by from 21% with one predator larva per plot to 99% with eight per plot. In these same plots, damage to wheat seedlings was reduced by 68 to 96% with the addition of one to eight larvae of P. yesonicus per plot. P. yesonicus was easy to rear in the laboratory where adults mated normally and females laid an average 202 eggs. Larvae of P. yesonicus have potential as biological agents for control of scarab grubs.
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