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Agronomist, Rick Rundell-Gordon (Dodgshun Medlin), reports finding small black beetles in a newly sown canola crop about 30 km south-west of Swan Hill in the Victorian Mallee district. The beetles were caught in several pitfall traps, and have been identified as belonging to the Carabidae family. Researcher, Angelos Tsitsilas (cesar), has also reported finding Carabidae beetles in an established pasture paddock north of Winchelsea in the Western district of Victoria. The beetles were easily found during a visual inspection of the paddock, which is about to be sown to canola.
Carabidae beetles are beneficial, eating a wide range of soft-bodied prey such as caterpillars, aphids, wireworms, earwigs and slugs. Both larvae and adults are predatory and have prominent mouthparts that protrude forward. Adult beetles are generally shiny black in colour, have a characteristic flattened ‘hot-water- bottle’- shaped body and large bulging eyes on the sides of the head. They are flightless nocturnal beetles.
Carabidae beetle larvae have a sclerotised (hardened) head and long-cylindrical shaped body. They are easily confused with true wireworm and false wireworm larvae. Carabidae beetle larvae can be distinguished by prominent mouthparts that are directed forward and the presence of well-developed legs. They also have two long processes projecting from the last segment.
There are several species of Carabidae beetles that attack many important pasture and crop pests. Click for images of the greenlined ground beetle, teropha beetle and carabid beetle.
What is PestFacts?
PestFacts south-eastern keeps growers and advisers informed about invertebrate pests and beneficials in broadacre crops and pastures during the winter-cropping season in Victoria and southern New South Wales.
PestFacts south-eastern is run through IPMforGrains: Best Practice Insect Pest Management, a project delivered by the National Pest Information Network (cesar, DPIRD, QDAF, NSW DPI, and SARDI). This project aims to provide grain growers and advisors with information on invertebrate grain pest occurrence and equip industry with the knowledge needed to implement integrated pest management practices. This initiative is a GRDC investment and includes in-kind contributions from all project partner organisations.
We need your reports
PestFacts is produced on an ʻas-needsʼ basis and relies upon pest observations and field reports from our subscribers. If you have recently observed invertebrate pests (or beneficial species) in broadacre crops, please contact us to report your observations.
Agricultural invertebrate identification
If you are a grower or agronomist in Victoria or NSW working with broadacre crops or pastures, we can assist you with identifying invertebrates found on farms at no cost. Please contact us for identification help.
PestFacts map
PestFacts map is an interactive tool that allows users to search and view historical pest reports across Victoria and NSW. The map is updated with each issue of PestFacts to include new reports.
How to acknowledge PestFacts?
With appropriate acknowledgement, cesar grants permission to reproduce information taken directly from PestFacts. To cite PestFacts: “PestFacts south-eastern (<<enter date published>>). cesar pty ltd.”
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