Abstract
Mulching can be beneficial for organic highbush blueberry production, but its effects on insect pests have received little attention. For pests that pupate in soil, depth may affect pupation success due to differences in temperature and moisture, mortality factors such as predation, or efficacy of controls such as insecticidal soil drenches. We examined how mulch type and moisture affect pupation depth for Rhagoletis mendax Curran (blueberry maggot), an important pest of blueberries. In laboratory studies, pupation depth was measured in wood waste compost, uncomposted pine needles, soil and sand, each at dry, field moisture levels and wet, 99% water holding capacity conditions. Pupation occurred more deeply but with greater variability in pine needle mulch compared to compost mulch, soil, or sand. Approximately 50% of maggots pupated on the surface of wet soil, however, maggots burrowed more deeply in wet than in dry pine needles. Moisture level did not significantly affect pupation depth in compost or sand. Some larvae unexpectedly escaped the stacks of cups used to assess pupation depth or died before forming a puparium. Less than 70% of stacks with dry pine needles contained pupae, and fewer pupae were recovered from wet than dry compost and soil. These results suggest that mulch material and/or moisture levels can have significant impacts on R. mendax pupation depth with potential implications for its management.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AliNiazee MT (1974) The western cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis indifferans (Diptera: Tephritidae) 1. Distribution of the diapausing pupae in the soil. Can Entomol 106:909–912
Aluja M, Sivinski J, Rull J, Hodgson PJ (2005) Behavior and predation of fruit fly larvae (Anastrepha spp.) (Diptera: Tephritidae) after exiting fruit in four types of habitats in tropical Veracruz, Mexico. Environ Entomol 34:1507–1516
Alyokhin AV, Mille C, Messing RH, Duan JJ (2001) Selection of pupation habitats by oriental fruit fly larvae in the laboratory. J Insect Behav 14:57–67
Burkhard NE, Lynch DH, Percival DC, Sharifi M (2009) Organic mulch impact on vegetation dynamics and productivity of highbush blueberry under organic production. Hortscience 44:1–9
Cameron PJ, Morrison FO (1974) Sampling methods for estimating the abundance and distribution of all life stages of the apple maggot, Rhagoletis pomonella (Diptera: Tephritidae). Can Entomol 106:1025–1034
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (2009) Directive D-02-04: Phytosanitary Requirements for the Importation From the Continental United States and for Domestic Movement of Commodities Regulated for Blueberry Maggot. Plant Products Directorate, Plant Health Division. Ottawa
Cossentine J, Thistlewood H, Goettel M, Jaronski S (2010) Susceptibility of preimaginal western cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis indifferans (Diptera: Tephritidae) to Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin Clavicipitaceae (Hyocreales). J Invertebr Pathol 104:105–109
Crozier L (1995) The blueberry fruit fly. Wild Blueberry Network Information Centre. http://nsac.ca/wildblue/facts/insects/fruitfly.asp. Accessed 31 May 2011
Delbridge R, Rogers D (2010) Wild blueberry insect and disease management schedule. http://www.extensioncentral.com/eng/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=95&Itemid=32. Accessed 28 Jan 2011
Dimou I, Koutsikopoulos C, Economopoulos AP, Lykakis J (2003) Depth of pupation of the wild olive fruit fly. Bactrocera (Dacus) oleae (Gmel.) (Dipt., Tephritidae), as affected by soil abiotic factors. J Appl Entomol 127:12–17
European Union (2008) New rules on pesticide residues to strengthen food safety in the European Union. http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/1282&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN. Accessed 15 Apr 2011
Guillén L, Aluja M, Equihua M, Sivinski J (2002) Performance of two fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) pupal parasitoids (Coptera haywardi [Hymenoptera: Diapriidae] and Pachycrepoideus vindemiae [Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae]) under different environmental conditions. Biol Control 23:219–227
Hennessey MK (1994) Depth of pupation of Caribbean fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) in soils in the laboratory. Environ Entomol 23:1119–1123
Hodgson PJ, Sivinski J, Quintero G, Aluja M (1998) Depth of pupation and survival of fruit fly (Anastrepha spp.: Tephritidae) pupae in a range of agricultural habitats. Environ Entomol 27:1310–1314
Hou B, Xie Q, Zhang R (2006) Depth of pupation and survival of the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae) pupae at selected soil moistures. Appl Entomol Zool 41:515–520
Hulthen AD, Clarke AR (2006) The influence of soil type and moisture on pupal survival of Bactrocera tryoni (Froggat) (Diptera: Tephritidae). Aus J Entomol 45:16–19
Ibrahim Y, Mohamad R (1978) Pupal distrbution of Dacus dorsalis Hendel in relation to host plants and its pupation depth. Pertanika 1:66–69
Jackson CG, Long JP, Klungness LM (1998) Depth of pupation in four species of fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in sand with and without moisture. J Econ Entomol 91:138–142
Kroetsch D, Wang C (2008) Particle size distribution. In: Carter MR, Gregorich EG (eds) Soil sampling and methods of analysis, 2nd edn. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 720–722
Kuepper GL, Diver S (2010) Blueberries: organic production. ATTRA Publication #IP021. http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/blueberry.html. Accessed 11 Jan 2011
Lathrop FH, Nickels CB (1932) The biology and control of the blueberry maggot in Washington County, ME. USDA Dep Agr Tech Bull 275
Loreto F, Nascetti P, Graverini A, Mannozzi M (2000) Emission and content of monoterpenes in intact and wounded needles of the Mediterranean pine, Pinus pinea. Funct Ecol 14:589–595
Nielsen WTA (1965) Culturing of the apple maggot, Rhagoletis pomonella. J Econ Entomol 58:1056–1057
SAS (2009) JMP Version 8.0.2. SAS Institute Inc., Cary
Siddiqui QH, Ashraf M (2002) Significance of moisture percentage and depth levels on pupation substrate in the quality production of Bactrocera zonata (Diptera: Tephritidae). Pakistan J Biol Sci 5:1311–1312
TMECC (2001). Quick-test for bulk density, porosity/pore space, free airspace and water holding capacity of compost. In: Thompson WH, Leege PB, Millner P, Watson ME (eds) Test methods for the examination of composting and compost. The US Composting Council Research and Education Foundation (CCREF) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Washington, pp 03A-04-06
Tsitsipis JA, Papanicolaou EP (1979) Pupation depth in artificially reared olive fruit flies Dacus oleae (Diptera: Tephritidae), is affected by several physical characteristics of the substrates. Ann Zool Ecol Anim 11:31–40
Urbaneja A, Garcia Mari F, Tortosa D, Navarro C, Vanaclocha P, Bargues L, Castanera P (2006) Influence of ground predators on the survival of the Mediterranean fruit fly pupae, Ceratitis capitata, in Spanish citrus orchards. Biocontrol 51:611–626
Villani MG, Allee LL, Diaz A, Robbins PS (1999) Adaptive strategies of edaphic organisms. Ann Rev Entomol 44:233–256
Zar JH (1999) Biostatistical analysis. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River
Acknowledgments
We thank Rachel Kennedy, Jennifer Campbell, and Jason Sproule for technical assistance. Funding was provided by the Natural Sciences Engineering Research Council of Canada in partnership with Nova Agri Inc., the Canada Research Chairs Program, and the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by M. Traugott.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Renkema, J.M., Cutler, G.C., Lynch, D.H. et al. Mulch type and moisture level affect pupation depth of Rhagoletis mendax Curran (Diptera: Tephritidae) in the laboratory. J Pest Sci 84, 281–287 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-011-0365-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-011-0365-2