Effects of high temperature and soil moisture on survival of first-instar larvae of the scarab Anoplognathus porosus (Dalman)(Coleoptera)

On the pastorally rich New England Tablelands (north-eastern New South Wales in Australia), there are over twenty-five pasture scarab species, many occurring together throughout the area (R. J. Roberts, personal communication). Sometimes these insects become so numerous that serious damage to pasture results. No control or management procedure yet proposed has prevented this damage. In summer the scarab larvae, which aggregate near the surface of the soil, are subjected to short exposures to temperatures above 30° C. These temperatures have proved to be lethal to some larvae of Sericesthis nigrolineata Boisduval (Davidson, Wiseman & Wolfe 1972a, b). Using laboratory data on survival at high temperatures and various soil moistures, Davidson, Wiseman & Wolfe (1970) predicted the level of survival of larval populations in field experimental plots near Armidale. A similar investigation with larvae of Anoplognathus porosus (Dalman) is described in this paper.

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