Research Scientist University of Guelph Ridgetown, Ontario, Canada
The increase in insecticide seed treatment use in North American corn and soybean production since the early 2000s prompted the need to better understand the pests targeted by these products. Generally, there is a lack of knowledge of the species, life history, and economic impact of wireworms, the larvae of click beetles (Coleoptera: Elateridae) present in field crop production in many regions. A four-year study of the efficacy of insecticide seed treatments conducted in Ontario, Canada across 145 and 33 corn and soybean fields, respectively, commonly found wireworms present, but rarely at economically injurious levels. Another objective of that study was to identify the primary wireworm species in Ontario corn and soybean production, document their co-occurrence and distribution throughout the studied region, and identify risk factors related to their abundance. A total of 4,332 specimens were collected from 1,245 different sampling records. The dominant species collected was Limonius agonus which comprised 71.5% of the specimens. The remaining specimens were identified as Hypnoides abbreviatus, Melanotus similis and M. cribulosus, M. depressus, Agriotes mancus, A. mellilus, Hemicrepidius spp., and M. communis. Multiple wireworm species were found to commonly occur within the same field and the same sample.
