Utilization of Dead Insects on the Soil Surface in Row Crop Situations

Abstract

Field experiments and pitfall-trap data from corn and sorghum fields at Tifton, Ga., demonstrated the presence of an arthropod guild scavenging dead insects. This guild was quite efficient in utilizing insect carcasses, with 80% of the dead insects placed on soil surface discovered and handled by scavengers within 24 h, >95% within 72 h. Small grasshopper carcasses were removed more rapidly than four other types of insect bait. Pitfall traps baited with dead insects, when compared with unbaited controls, demonstrated that fire ants, earwigs, and scarabs were the principal carcass-consuming groups. Burial of carcasses by scarabs occurred more frequently in a relatively undisturbed (18 days postcultivation) versus a recently disturbed field (6 days postcultivation).