University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-1992 Dispersal and diet of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata. Donald C. Weber University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Weber, Donald C., "Dispersal and diet of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata." (1992). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 5650. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/5650 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DISPERSAL AND DIET OF THE COLORADO POTATO BEETLE, LEPTINOTARSA DECEMLINEATA A Dissertation Presented by DONALD C. WEBER Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY September 1992 Department of Entomology Copyright by Donald Charles Weber 1992 All Rights Reserved DISPERSAL AND DIET OF THE COLORADO POTATO BEETLE, LEPTINOTARSA DECEMLINEATA A Dissertation Presented by DONALD C. WEBER Approved as to style and content by: 0 & JohiLP. Buonaccorsi, Member ohn D. Edman, Department Head Entomology ACKNOWLEDGMENTS David N. Ferro provided the concept and guidance for this project, and encouraged me to undertake valuable IPM extension work at UMass. His dedication to addressing applied problems, while at the same time gaining insight into the basic biology of pest insects and their natural enemies, is a paradigm which will shape my career. Dave supported me with financial assistance as well as personal motivation and encouragement. The Switzer Environmental Fellowship lent generous general support. A Massachusetts Special IPM Research Grant funded research in Chapter 6. I greatly appreciated the guidance and input of my thesis committee. John Buonaccorsi, Ring Carde, and Joseph Elkinton have been patient in their thorough perusal of my voluminous and far-from-perfect manuscripts. John Buonaccorsi has been particularly helpful with regard to statistical and experimental design questions. Greg Kline and Trina Hosmer also answered a variety of statistical queries. This research would be nowhere without the long hours of steamy, muddy, sometimes thorny and often tedious field and lab work by Feng Chen, Dave Cowan, Lukas Hyder, Mike Yeats, Andrew Slocombe and Paul Maiewski; also assisting were John Gault, Roxanne Berry, Chris Mercier, Bin Yang, Quan C. Yuan, Ralph Mankowsky, and Claudine Lima. Andrew Slocombe, Joydip Kundu, Raja Holovanahalia, Arthur Tuttle and Michael Schlechter worked diligently on the flight mill setup and experiments, Chapters 2 and 3. Quan C. Yuan and Feng IV Chen programmed additional features of the CPB phenology model, making possible the population simulations in Chapter 6. Field work for Chapters 5 and 6 was performed with the courtesy of Maiewski Farms of Whately, Cavanaugh Farms of Agawam, and Rogaleski Farms of Hatfield. Others contributed important comments on chapter manuscripts: Christine Reid, Geoff Zehnder, Arpad Szentesi, Tibor Jermy, John Stoffolano, Ruth Hazzard, and Frank Mangan. Quan C. Yuan translated several Russian articles; Robert Reid assisted in French translation; and Arpad Szentesi translated Hungarian abstracts. Martin Aluja and Kathy Murray were great study partners for the comprehensive exam. Arthur Tuttle, Ruth Hazzard, Karen Idoine, Rolando Lopez and Bob Voss were dedicated followers of the beetle and a joy to work with as labmates. Through it all, my parents have always been encouraging and helpful. My wife Christine Reid, and my daughter Sarah, have been the most supportive and loving family one could hope for. v ABSTRACT DISPERSAL AND DIET OF THE COLORADO POTATO BEETLE, LEPTINOTARSA DECEMLINEATA SEPTEMBER 1992 DONALD C. WEBER, B.A., WILLIAMS COLLEGE M.S., UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS Directed by: Professor David N. Ferro The Colorado potato beetle (CPB) is a serious pest of potatoes and other solanaceous crops in North America and Europe. Reliance on chemical control has induced pesticide resistance, necessitating alternative management strategies based primarily on biological and cultural tactics. Better knowledge of this insect’s movement, particularly its flight, could aid greatly in developing cultural controls. Computer-linked flight mills were used to study flight of overwintered and summer-generation female CPB fed in the laboratory on seven different solanaceous plant species. Over 30 days, flight was greatest with starved overwintered females three to six days postemergence. Flight for the overwintered generation was negatively related to desirability of food, as measured by larval success. Flight for summer females, and fecundity for both generations, was positively related to food desirability. Starved females laid vi virtually no eggs; starved summer females did not fly. Flight and fecundity of individual females were not related within treatments. Field investigations examined adult immigration to the same plant species over time and space, the distribution of overwintering adults, and disruption of their spring colonization to nonrotated potato crops. Recruitment to plots placed either near or far from potato crops showed that long-distance flight was primarily by starved overwintered adults, and also by fed first summer-generation adults. Two periods of short-distance dispersal occurred with older overwintered adults, and before diapause. Results suggest that the value of crop rotation depends on site-specific factors, not just the distance to overwintering sites or current-year potato crops. Overwintering distribution was studied at three sites over two years. CPB concentrated within woody borders, averaging 60-200/m2 in these areas before winter, compared to 8-13/m2 within potato fields. Mortality was higher in fields than in borders, and greater near the ground surface. Only 15-44% of live beetles were in potato fields. In experiments with small plots, colonization of fields from woody borders was disrupted by a trap crop, either treated with pesticide or collected daily. Simulation models suggest that this colonization disruption tactic could significantly reduce pesticide applications and eliminate the need for disruptive treatments against adult beetles. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . iv ABSTRACT ... vi LIST OF TABLES. xi LIST OF FIGURES.xii Chapter 1. COLORADO POTATO BEETLE: DIVERSE LIFE HISTORY POSES CHALLENGE TO MANAGEMENT .1 Geographic Range and Plant Hosts .1 Reproduction and Development.2 Pesticide Resistance.5 Biological Controls .7 Cultural Controls.7 Dispersal.11 Seasonality of Dispersal.14 Flight Mill Experiments.16 Implications of Dispersal Patterns .18 Life-history Strategy.18 Knowledge Is Power .19 References Cited.20 2. MICROCOMPUTER-BASED SYSTEM FOR QUANTIFYING FLIGHT OF COLORADO POTATO BEETLES .27 Tethered Flight of Insects .27 Flight Mill Description.28 The Twelve Flight Mills.28 Interface Boards .29 Computer Hardware .31 Software.31 Mill Support Structure and Lighting.31 Flight Mill Operation.31 References Cited. 34 • • • vm 3. FLIGHT AND FECUNDITY OF COLORADO POTATO BEETLES FED ON DIFFERENT DIETS.43 Introduction.43 Methods.46 Results and Discussion.49 Survival of Beetles.49 Fecundity .52 Time Trends.53 Interactions of Time and Treatments on Fecundity .55 Relationship of Fecundity to Larval Success.56 Flight .57 Time Effect .57 Treatment Effect.58 Effect of Impending Death .58 Effects of Emergence Date and Initial Weight.59 Flight and Fecundity.60 References Cited.62 4. RECRUITMENT OF COLORADO POTATO BEETLES TO DIFFERENT HOSTS IN THE FIELD.81 Introduction.81 Methods.83 Results and Discussion.85 Plant Choice.85 Time Trends.86 Rotated versus Nonrotated Plots.87 Influence of Weather .88 Directional Effects within Plots.90 Sex of Recruited Beetles.91 Fecundity of Recruited Females.92 Value of Adult Recruitment Data.95 References Cited.96 IX 5. DISTRIBUTION OF OVERWINTERING COLORADO POTATO BEETLE IN AND NEAR MASSACHUSETTS POTATO FIELDS .110 Introduction. 110 Methods . Ill Site Descriptions. Ill Sampling Design. 112 Results .. 113 Distribution along Transects . 113 Distribution by Depth .. 113 Mortality . 114 Discussion. 115 References Cited...118 6. DISRUPTING SPRING COLONIZATION OF COLORADO POTATO BEETLE TO NON-ROTATED POTATO FIELDS .124 Introduction.. 124 Methods . 126 Site Descriptions.126 Soil Sampling .127 Colonization Disruption.129 Population Simulations . 131 Results and Discussion. 133 Distribution of Overwintering Beetles .133 Colonization Disruption.137 Population Simulations .144 Future of Diapause/Colonization Disruption.145 References Cited. 148 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..160 xi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 3.1 Comparison of survival of female Colorado potato beetles raised on different diets for overwintered and summer generations .51 3.2 Fecundity of overwintered female Colorado potato beetles fed on different diets .54 3.3 Fecundity of summer female Colorado potato beetles fed on different diets .54 4.1 Total numbers of adult Colorado potato beetles recruited in experimental plots in South Deerfield, Massachusetts, 1990-1991 . 87 4.2 Directional effects for Colorado potato beetle recruitment within plots in South Deerfield, Massachusetts,