Predators of Diaprepes abbreviatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Larvae

Larvae of Diaprepes abbreviatus (L.) in petri dishes were susceptible to predation on the soil surface in a citrus grove. An average of 47% were removed by predators in the first 20 minutes in a 1979 study to determine rates of predation. Predators (2,613 recorded events) were exclusively ants in the grove studied, with the exceptions of 2 predation events by the spider Corythalia canosa Walckenaer (Salticidae) and 3 by Labidura sp. earwig juveniles. Of the 9 observed ant predator species, Tetramorium simillimum Roger, Paratrechina bourbonica (Forel), Pheidole floridana Emery, and Pheidole dentata Mayr were considered important because of their consistency in rates and presence in predation on Diaprepes larvae. Two other species, Solenopsis invicta Buren and Pheidole morrisi Forel, were found commonly. Predation rates by the various species differed over the course of the summer and with the time of day.