Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-08T01:21:08.018Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Factors influencing microhabitat selection and food preference of tree-dwelling earwigs (Dermaptera) in a temperate floodplain forest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2018

M. Kirstová ,
P. Pyszko  and
P. Kočárek
M. Kirstová
Affiliation:
Department of Biology and Ecology, Institute of Environmental Technologies, University of Ostrava, Chittussiho 10, 710 00 Ostrava, Czech Republic
P. Pyszko
Affiliation:
Department of Biology and Ecology, Institute of Environmental Technologies, University of Ostrava, Chittussiho 10, 710 00 Ostrava, Czech Republic
P. Kočárek*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology and Ecology, Institute of Environmental Technologies, University of Ostrava, Chittussiho 10, 710 00 Ostrava, Czech Republic
*
*Author for correspondence Phone: 553 462 317 E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The ecology of earwigs in natural forest ecosystems is poorly understood. We used sweeping to determine the population densities of adult earwigs, by sex and species, on ten tree species in a temperate floodplain forest in southern Moravia (Czech Republic). We also determined the relationships between the properties of tree species and earwig density and diet as indicated by digestive tract contents. The densities and diet composition of earwigs differed between the three detected earwig species [Apterygida media (Hagenbach, 1822), Chelidurella acanthopygia (Genè, 1832) and Forficula auricularia Linnaeus, 1758] and among tree species. Earwig densities were related to lichen coverage and fungal coverage on the trees. The diet of earwigs was associated with specific leaf area, herbivore damage to the leaves, and light exposure of the trees. A. media was the most abundant of the three earwig species. Although the contents of its digestive tract changed depending on available food resources, A. media appeared to preferentially consume soft-bodied insect herbivores and fungi associated with wounds caused by herbivores rather than plant material. Therefore, this species has the potential to help reduce the population densities of soft-bodied pests of forest trees.

Keywords

Dermapteraecologydiet analysispopulation densityfloodplain forestCentral Europe
Type
Research Papers
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 109 , Issue 1 , February 2019 , pp. 54 - 61
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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

Agrios, G.N. (1980) Insect involvement in the transmission of fungal pathogens. pp. 293–324 in Harris, K.F. & Maramorosch, K. (Eds) Vectors of Plant Pathogens. New York, Academic Press.Google Scholar
Anderson, L.E. (1954) Hoyer's solution as a rapid permanent mounting medium for bryophytes. Bryologist 57, 242–244.Google Scholar
Asante, S.K. (1995) Functional responses of the European earwig and two species of coccinellids to densities of Eriosoma lanigerum (Hausmann) (Hemiptera: Aphididae). Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 34, 105–109.Google Scholar
Caldwell, E., Read, J. & Sanson, G.D. (2016) Which leaf mechanical traits correlate with insect herbivory among feeding guilds? Annals of Botany 117, 349–361.Google Scholar
Caroli, L., Perri, F. & Santini, L. (1993) Defoliazioni da Forficula auricularia L. su agrumi e drupacee. Informatore Fitopatologico 6, 19–23.Google Scholar
Caroll, D.P. & Hoyt, S.C. (1984) Augmentation of European earwigs (Dermaptera: Forficulidae) for biological control of apple aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae) in an apple orchard. Journal of Economic Entomology 77, 738–740.Google Scholar
Chen, G., Zhang, R.R., Liu, Y. & Sun, W.B. (2014) Spore dispersal of fetid Lysurus mokusin by feces of mycophagous insects. Journal of Chemical Ecology 40, 893–899.Google Scholar
Dvořák, L. & Těťál, I. (2013) Earwigs (Dermaptera) on heathlands and their surroundings in Western Bohemia (Czech Republic): results of monitoring using pitfall traps. Erica 20, 141–150.Google Scholar
Franke, U. (1985) Zur Biologie eines Buchenwaldbodens 7. Der Waldohrwurm Chelidurella acanthopygia. Carolinea 43, 105–112.Google Scholar
Haes, E.C.M. & Harding, P.T. (1997) Atlas of Grasshoppers, Crickets and Allied Insects in Britain and Ireland. London, The Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Hare, J.D. (2002) Plant genetic variation in tritrophic interactions. pp. 8–43 in Tscharntke, T. & Hawkins, B.A. (Eds) Multitrophic Level Interactions. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hatcher, P.E. (1995) Three-way interactions between plant pathogenic fungi, herbivorous insects and their host plants. Biological Reviews 70, 639–694.Google Scholar
Horne, P.A. & Edward, C.L. (1995) Phenology and food preferences of Labidura truncata Kirby (Dermaptera: Labiduridae) in Western Victoria. Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 34, 101–104.Google Scholar
Irmler, U. & Hingst, R. (1993) Zur Ökologie des Waldohrwurms (Chelidurella acanthopygia) in Schleswig-Holstein (Dermaptera). Faunistisch-Ökologische Mitteilungen 9/10, 377–390.Google Scholar
Keller, M.A. (1987) Influence of leaf surface on movements by the hymenopterous parasitoid Trichogramma exiguum. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 43, 55–59.Google Scholar
Kirstová, M., Pyszko, P., Šipoš, J., Drozd, P. & Kočárek, P. (2017) Vertical distribution of earwigs (Dermaptera: Forficulidae) in a temperate lowland forest, based on sampling with a mobile aerial lift platform. Entomological Science 20, 57–64.Google Scholar
Kočárek, P. (1998) Life cycles and habitat associations of three earwig (Dermaptera) species in lowland forest and its surroundings. Biologia, Bratislava 53, 205–211.Google Scholar
Kočárek, P. (2001) Description of pre-imaginal stages of Apterygida media (Dermaptera: Forficulidae), with a key to nymphs of Central European Dermaptera species. Entomological Problems 32, 93–97.Google Scholar
Kočárek, P., Holuša, J. & Vidlička, Ľ. (2005) Blattaria, Mantodea, Orthoptera & Dermaptera of the Czech and Slovak Republics. Illustrated key 3. Blattaria, Mantodea, Orthoptera & Dermaptera České a Slovenské republiky, Ilustrovaný klíč 3, Zlín, Kabourek.Google Scholar
Kocarek, P., Dvorak, L. & Kirstova, M. (2015) Euborellia annulipes (Dermaptera: Anisolabididae), a new alien earwig in Central European greenhouses: potential pest or beneficial inhabitant? Applied Entomology and Zoology 50, 201–206.Google Scholar
Morales, M. (2012) Sciplot: Scientific Graphing Functions for Factorial Designs. R package version 1.1-0. Vienna, R Foundation for Statistical Computing.Google Scholar
Mueller, T.F., Blommers, L.H.M. & Mols, P.J.M. (1988) Earwig (Forficula auricularia) predation on the woolly apple aphid, Eriosoma lanigerum. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 47, 145–152.Google Scholar
Oksanen, J., Blanchet, F.G., Kindt, R., Legendre, P., Minchin, P.R., O'hara, R.B., Simpson, G.L., Solymos, P., Stevens, M.H.H. & Wagner, H. (2015). Vegan: Community Ecology Package. R package version 2.2-2/r2945. Vienna, R Foundation for Statistical Computing.Google Scholar
Peeters, P.J. (2002) Correlations between leaf structural traits and the densities of herbivorous insect guilds. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 77, 43–65.Google Scholar
Rasband, W.S. (1997–2016) ImageJ, U. S. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. Available online at https://imagej.nih.gov/ij/.Google Scholar
R Core Team (2014) R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Vienna, R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Available online at http://www.R-project.org.Google Scholar
Rentz, D.C.F. & Kevan, D.K.M. (1991) Dermaptera (earwigs). pp. 360–368 in Naumann, I.D., Came, P.B., Lawrence, J.F., Nielsen, E.S., Spradbery, J.P., Taylor, R.W., Whitten, M.J. & Littlejohn, M.J. (Eds) The Insects of Australia: A Textbook for Students and Research Workers. Ithaca, Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Romeu-Dalmau, C., Espadaler, X. & Piñol, J. (2011) Abundance, interannual variation and potential pest predator role of two co-occurring earwig species in citrus canopies. Journal of Applied Entomology 136, 501–509.Google Scholar
Santini, L. & Caroli, L. (1992) Danni ai fruttiferi da Forficola comune (Forficula auricularia L.). Informatore Fitopatologico 5, 35–38.Google Scholar
Sauphanor, B. & Sureau, F. (1993) Aggregation behaviour and interspecific relationships in Dermaptera. Oecologia 96, 360–364.Google Scholar
Schädler, M., Jung, G., Auge, H. & Brandl, R. (2003) Palatability, decomposition and insect herbivory: patterns in a successional old-field plant community. Oikos 103, 121–132.Google Scholar
Seyd, E.L. & Seaward, M.R.D. (1984) The association of oribatid mites with lichens. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 80, 369–420.Google Scholar
Skuhravý, V. (1960) Die Nahrung des Ohrwurms (Forficula auricularia L.) in den Feldkulturen. Acta Societatis Entomologicae Bohemiae 57, 329–339.Google Scholar
Southwood, S.R. (1986) Plant surfaces and insects – an overview. pp. 1–22 in Juniper, B. & Southwood, S.R. (Eds) Insects and the Plant Surface. London, Edward Arnold.Google Scholar
Strandberg, J.O. (1981) Predation of cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni, pupae by the striped earwig, Labidura riparia, and two bird species. Environmental Entomology 10, 712–715.Google Scholar
Stubbs, C.S. (1989) Patterns of distribution and abundance of corticolous lichens and their invertebrate associates on Quercus rubra in Maine. The Bryologist 92, 453–460.Google Scholar
Thornhill, R. (1976) Sexual selection and paternal investment in insects. The American Naturalist 110, 153–163.Google Scholar
Ulyshen, M.D. (2011) Arthropod vertical stratification in temperate deciduous forests: implications for conservation-oriented management. Forest Ecology and Management 261, 1479–1489.Google Scholar
Wheeler, B. & Torchiano, M. (2016) lmPerm: Permutation tests for linear models. R package version 2.1.0. Available online at https://github.com/mtorchiano/lmPerm.Google Scholar