Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-01T08:53:21.522Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Laboratory studies on dispersion behaviour of adult beetles in grain. VI.—Three-dimensional analysis of dispersion of five species in a uniform bulk

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Gordon Surtees
Gordon Surtees
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Council, Pest Infestation Laboratory, Slough, Bucks.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The three-dimensional pattern of dispersion of five species of grain-infesting beetles was analysed in a 12-in.-cube bulk of wheat, kept in darkness at 25°C. and 14 per cent, moisture content, and built up of four layers, each of 16 three-in.-cube bags of Terylene net; the net retained the grain but allowed passage of insects. One hundred adults were placed in the centre of the upper surface of the topmost layer and after two weeks the entire bulk was broken down and the number of insects in each bag was determined. Five replicates were used for each species. More recoveries of Sitophilus granarius (L.), Tribolium castaneum (Hbst.), Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) and Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Steph.) were made from the top quarter of the bulk than from any of the lower layers. The vertical dispersion of Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.) was homogeneous. Lateral dispersion was homogeneous with T. castaneum, R. dominica and C. ferrugineus, but with S. granarius and O. surinamensis relatively more recoveries were made from the corner units of the bulk than from elsewhere. The dispersion pattern assumed by a species in a uniform bulk is affected by locomotory activity, boundary response and intragroup stimulation. Thigmotaxis was demonstrated in S. granarius, persisting at relatively high densities; thus, following dispersal, individuals collect along habitat boundaries and then move up them as a result of intragroup stimulation. The positive response to boundaries shown by individuals of T. castaneum in isolation breaks down in crowded conditions, producing movement back into the bulk of grain and thus homogeneous lateral dispersion. O. surinamensis shows a positive response to habitat boundaries but no movement up them. Dispersal is slow in R. dominica, but the ultimate pattern of vertical dispersion is homogeneous. C. ferrugineus shows a tendency to form clumps, even in conditions free from marked physical gradients. The data are discussed in relation to ecology of the species, low-density populations, aggregation behaviour and a dynamic concept of population dispersion.

Type
Research Paper
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 55 , Issue 1 , May 1964 , pp. 161 - 171
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1964

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agrawal, N. S., Hodson, A. C. & Christensen, C. M. (1958). Development of granary weevils and fungi in columns of wheat.—J. econ. Ent. 51 pp. 701–702.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Armstrong, M. T. & Howe, R. W. (1963). Saw-toothed grain beetles.—Agriculture 70 pp. 339–341.Google Scholar
Browning, H. C. (1947). Mechanical disturbance and light as factors influencing the pullulation of Calandra granaria Linn.—Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. 116 pp. 675–691.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howe, R. W. (1951). The movement of grain weevils through grain.—Bull. ent. Res. 42 pp. 125–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howe, R. W. (1962). A study of the heating of stored grain caused by insects.—Ann. appl. Biol. 50 pp. 137–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Naylor, A. F. (1959). An experimental analysis of dispersal in the flour beetle, Tribolium confusum.—Ecology 40 pp. 453–465.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Naylor, A. F. (1961). Dispersal in the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum (Tenebrionidae).—Ecology 42 pp. 231–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oxley, T. A. (1948). The scientific principles of grain storage.—103 pp. Liverpool, North. Publ. Co. Ltd.Google Scholar
Sharangapani, M. V. & Pingale, S. V. (1957). A study of the movements of some insect pests through grain stored in bags.—Indian J. Ent. 18 (1956) pp. 243–250.Google Scholar
Surtees, G. (1963a). Laboratory studies on dispersion behaviour of adult beetles in grain. I.—The grain weevil, Sitophilus granarius (L.) (Coleoptera, Curculionidae).—Bull. ent. Res. 54 pp. 147–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Surtees, G. (1963b). …II.—The saw-toothed grain beetle, Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.) (Coleoptera, Silvanidae).—Bull. ent. Res. 54 pp. 285–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Surtees, G. (1963c). …III.—Tribolium castaneum (Hbst.) (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) and Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Steph.) (Coleoptera, Cucujidae).—Bull. ent. Res. 54 pp. 297–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Surtees, G. (1964a). …IV.—The lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera, Bostrychidae).—Bull. ent. Res. 54 pp. 715–722.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Surtees, G. (1964b). …V.—Technique for three-dimensional analysis of dispersion patterns within small bulks.—Bull. ent. Res. 54 pp. 723–725.CrossRefGoogle Scholar