Ground beetles (Carabidae) as seed predators
2003
Honek, A. | Martinkova, Z. (Vyzkumny Ustav Rostlinne Vyroby, Prague (Czech Republic)) | Jarosik, V.
The consumption and preferences of polyphagous ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) for the seeds of herbaceous plants was determined. The effect of carabid (species, satiation) and seed (species, size) on the intensity of seed predation was investigated in the laboratory. The consumption of the generally preferred Cirsium arvense seed by 23 species of common carabids increased with body size. Seed of Capsella bursa-pastoris was preferred by small carabids and their consumption rates were not related to their size. The average daily consumption of all the carabid species tested was essentially the same for both kinds of seed. Predation of seed present on the ground in the field was studied in 1999-2000 in Prague suburbs. Seeds were placed in stands of different crops as in the laboratory experiments. Pitfall traps placed near the cages revealed that carabids were the only seed predators active in the area. Rates of removal of seed of 6 weed species varied with crop, season, seed and site. The rates of removal increased with increasing activity density of the carabids and paucity of seed from naturally occurring weeds. In stands of winter wheat, millet and soybeans, there were significant differences in the rates of removal of the seed of 3 herbaceous species. The field preferences were correlated with those established in the laboratory. Seed predation thus may be an effective component of weed control on arable land, particularly at low weed densities.
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