Search

Wireworms, the larvae of Agriotesspp. (Coleoptera: Elateridae), cause serious damage to a number of crops. To develop an effective management strategy, a reliable method of estimating the abundance of the Agriotesspecies is needed. This paper describes a trapping study of Agriotesin parts of Austria. Over two years, adult click beetles were monitored using YATLOR sex pheromone traps and wireworms were monitored using bait traps. Also, the efficiency of bait traps with different numbers of perforations was compared. In a location in Upper Austria, A. lineatuswas by far the most common species and in a location in lower Austria, the majority of beetles caught were A. ustulatus. A. breviswas common in Upper Austria, but nearly absent in Lower Austria. There were large discrepancies between the species compositions of the adults and larvae caught, suggesting a low efficiency of the bait traps. More larvae were caught in bait traps with greater numbers of holes, but the difference was not statistically significant. Further improvements in bait traps or another sampling method will be needed to accurately estimate the density of wireworms.