An investigation inot the use of multiple site characteristics to predict the presence and infestation level of wireworms (Agriotes sup., Coleoptera: Elateridae) in individual grass fields

Abstract

SummarySixty‐two grass fields were sampled in England and Wales over a three year period to assess the level of wireworm population present. Data on site‐specific variables including soil physical characteristics, grass duration, grass genera diversity and other abiotic factors such as field aspect, altitude, and meteorological parameters were abiotic factors such as field aspect, altitude, and meteorological parameters were collected at each site. Only grass duration and soil bulk density showed any association with wireworm infestation stauts when considered as single variates. Data from a sub‐set of 41 fields were used to develop a series of multi‐variate discriminant rules to predit wireworm presence/absece in individual fields. These were vaildated using data from the remaining 21 fields. In general, the rules tended to over‐estimate the number of wireworm‐infested fields by misclassifying uninfested fields as infestes. Multivariate models to predict wireworm populaiton levels in infested fields were also developed using multiple and generalised linear regression. The predictive accuracy of these was poor. Neither the population prediciton models nor the presence/absence rulses accounted fully for the large inte‐field variation in wireworm infestation status.