TY - JOUR
T1 - Communities of Canopy-Dwelling Arthropods in Response to Diverse Forages
AU - Bhandari, Krishna B.
AU - West, C. P.
AU - Longing, S. D.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2018 by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Core Ideas: True bugs, grasshoppers, and spiders were among the more abundant canopy arthropods in pastures. Old world bluestem had among the least abundance of canopy arthropods in 2 out of 3 yr. Old world bluestem provides a less favorable habitat than alfalfa for canopy insects. ‘WW-B.Dahl’ old world bluestem (OWB) [Bothriochloa bladhii (Retz) S.T. Blake] is an important warm-season perennial grass pasture in semiarid western Texas. This grass deters pestiferous ants; however, its effect on canopy-dwelling insects is not documented. The abundance of canopy-dwelling arthropods among OWB, OWB–alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), alfalfa, and native grass pastures was compared by sweep-net sampling over 3 yr (2014–2016). Forty-six families of nine insect orders and a single family of spider (Araneae: Araneidae) were identified. Among total individuals, 85% were insects and 15% were spiders. Housefly (Musca spp., Diptera: Muscidae), potato leafhopper (Empoasca spp., Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), lygus bug (Lygus hesperus, Hemiptera: Miridae), and spur-throated grasshopper (Melanoplus spp., Orthoptera: Acrididae) were other abundant taxa. Among the insects collected, spur-throated grasshoppers were the most abundant, comprising 12% of total taxa. Alfalfa hosted the greatest number of total insects, including pests such as potato leafhopper and lygus bug. Lower abundances of pestiferous insects were found in OWB while still hosting greater abundances of some arthropods of ecological significance such as spider and ladybird beetle (Hippodamia spp., Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).
AB - Core Ideas: True bugs, grasshoppers, and spiders were among the more abundant canopy arthropods in pastures. Old world bluestem had among the least abundance of canopy arthropods in 2 out of 3 yr. Old world bluestem provides a less favorable habitat than alfalfa for canopy insects. ‘WW-B.Dahl’ old world bluestem (OWB) [Bothriochloa bladhii (Retz) S.T. Blake] is an important warm-season perennial grass pasture in semiarid western Texas. This grass deters pestiferous ants; however, its effect on canopy-dwelling insects is not documented. The abundance of canopy-dwelling arthropods among OWB, OWB–alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), alfalfa, and native grass pastures was compared by sweep-net sampling over 3 yr (2014–2016). Forty-six families of nine insect orders and a single family of spider (Araneae: Araneidae) were identified. Among total individuals, 85% were insects and 15% were spiders. Housefly (Musca spp., Diptera: Muscidae), potato leafhopper (Empoasca spp., Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), lygus bug (Lygus hesperus, Hemiptera: Miridae), and spur-throated grasshopper (Melanoplus spp., Orthoptera: Acrididae) were other abundant taxa. Among the insects collected, spur-throated grasshoppers were the most abundant, comprising 12% of total taxa. Alfalfa hosted the greatest number of total insects, including pests such as potato leafhopper and lygus bug. Lower abundances of pestiferous insects were found in OWB while still hosting greater abundances of some arthropods of ecological significance such as spider and ladybird beetle (Hippodamia spp., Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85082722544&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2134/ael2018.07.0037
DO - 10.2134/ael2018.07.0037
M3 - Letter
AN - SCOPUS:85082722544
VL - 3
SP - 1
EP - 5
JO - Agricultural and Environmental Letters
JF - Agricultural and Environmental Letters
SN - 2471-9625
IS - 1
ER -