3 minute read
Trialling acoustic lures for the management of black crickets
TRIALLING ACOUSTIC LURES FOR
THE MANAGEMENT OF BLACK CRICKETS
Words by Sophie Hunt : Plant & Food Research Ltd research associate
Close up of a black field cricket
Plant & Food Research has been breeding colonies of insects for more than 60 years. The institute deals mainly with fruit and vegetable pests, indigenous or introduced, as well as some more helpful insects such as parasitoids – tiny wasps that attack and kill other insects. The team researches new ways to deal with pests, from parasitoids to acoustics.
Black field crickets (Teleogryllus commodus) are significant pests of vegetable crops and pasture in northern areas of New Zealand. In kūmara crops, valued at around $25 million per year, black field crickets can damage the tubers and make them unsaleable. Given rising temperatures, the population of black field crickets may become more dense and widespread in future. Black field crickets are currently controlled using bait containing maldison, limited to two applications per year owing to toxicity. This is supplemented with the use of broad-spectrum pesticides. However, pesticide resistance is a risk, and some pesticides are under review and may not be available in future. With kūmara growers potentially facing limited options for controlling cricket pests, developing an additional low-cost, non-chemical control for crickets could offer significant benefits for the industry, local communities and the environment.
One safe, reliable option would be to use acoustic lures, which are effective overseas for other pests. Funded by an Agribusiness Innovation Grant from AGMARDT, Plant & Food Research recently conducted a collaborative investigation with kūmara grower Simpson Gardens in Ruawai, near Dargaville. The research explored the potential use of an acoustic lure/trap to control black field crickets.
Sophie Hunt sets the night vision camera to film the cricket trap overnight
Male black field crickets attract females for mating using chirps and trills. The males who produce the most attractive sound are the most likely to be selected by the females. Plant & Food Research has been trialling an acoustic lure that makes the female think there’s an attractive male nearby.
The preference of female crickets for different male cricket calls was tested in the lab, with the most popular call selected for electronic replication in the field.
Black field crickets eat kūmara tubers
The field trial found that the lure/trap was successful in capturing female crickets. Given that a single female can produce around 2,000 eggs, even modestly reducing the numbers of females through capture could significantly reduce the following year’s population and their impact on kūmara crops. It is expected that these findings will provide a foundation for a larger research project in future and potentially lead to the development of a tool that could be used nationally and internationally. Further research will look to refine the caller and trap combination for optimal effectiveness.
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