Determining flight behaviour in the European wireworms Agriotes lineatus and A. obscurus.

Introduced European Wireworms Agriotes lineatus and A. obscurus are increasingly serious and destructive pest of many field crops in British Columbia. Previous studies focus on the larval life stage, while information on adult biology is lacking and important for developing sound management strategies. Flight behaviour in North America was unknown, thus potential exclusion of the insects using physical barriers was being investigated. I tested the hypothesis that both species were capable of flight under specific temperature conditions and made both lab and field observations on flight and ground dispersal. Laboratory experiments induced flight behaviour at a minimum ambient air temperature of 25ºC, corresponding to beetle surface temperatures of 26 ºC (±1.0ºC) from direct insolation. Field observations recorded flight activity in males and females of both species studied. It is suggested that flight is primarily in response to avoidance of desiccation.