Using Rove Beetles for Biocontrol
When to Use Rove Beetles for Biocontrol
Although there is only one species of rove beetle commercially available. Support of natural populations is the best way to increase predation of pests in your area. Adult rove beetles may not emerge in spring until several weeks after the overwintering root maggot adults emerge. Natural populations of this species of rove beetle will likely emerge in spring several weeks after overwinter root maggot adults emerge.
Maximizing Effectiveness
The presence of crop pests can frequently be critical to attracting populations of beneficial insects because they require an adequate food source to successfully develop and reproduce.
Compatibility with other Pest Management Tactics
Laboratory tests showed A. bilineata to be highly susceptible to pyrethroid insecticides. A strain of A. bilineata selected for tolerance to cyclodiene-type insecticides proved successful as a natural enemy of cabbage maggots in Canadian trials in the 1960's. In a 1980 field study, the insecticide chlorfenvinphos used in conjunction with A. bilineata successfully controlled cabbage maggots, although parasitism was reduced. A study in 2002 demonstrated A. bilineata susceptibility to spinosad spray and granule treatments, and another study in 2011 concluded that certain contact pesticides (dichlorvos, and chlorpyrifos-methyl) can be used with rove beetle species in systems that benefit from rove beetles as natural enemies. However, further studies are needed to fully understand the physiological impact of pesticide use on rove beetle species in agricultural settings. Any time you are considering using a pesticide, you must read and follow the label and all local laws.
Conservation
Rove beetles are found under debris and rocks, near water, in compost and piles of decaying material, or in the crop canopy. The adults have been found in sweet corn tassels and silks late in the season. Managing hedgerows, shelterbelts and other vegetation may help provide protection for adult beetles and potentially overwintering locations for larvae. Applications of broad-spectrum insecticides should be avoided when possible.
- For general information about conserving natural enemies, see the Xerces society.