Use of an electric blanket for winter field collection of Argentine stem weevil,Listronotus bonariensis(Kuschel) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

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Abstract
Maintenance of large populations of the parasitoid Microctonus hyperodae Loan demanded high numbers of its host the Argentine stem weevil Listronotus bonariensis (Kuschel). To fulfil this requirement under winter conditions a very effective technique using an electric blanket was devised to collect up to 450 weevils day - 1 irrespective of weather conditions. Under warmer spring conditions fewer weevils were trapped and there were indications that the method may have biased catches towards weevils that had been opportunistically parasitised by the Sitona discoideus Gyllenhal parasitoid, Microctonus aethiopoides Loan. Possible reasons for these results are discussed, as is the potential of the method as a surveying tool.