What causes wireworms?
Click beetles lay their eggs directly in the soil. These eggs are tiny and white, round in shape, and usually are placed near grass or crop roots. When they hatch, the larvae emerge, which are what we call wireworms .
What does a wireworm turn into?
Wireworms move up and down in the soil during the season depending on temperature. They prefer soil temperature to be 50 to 60oF. After wireworm achieve full maturity during the summer, they will pupate in the soil, and the pupae will transform into click beetles after a few days.
What is the scientific name for wireworm?
common name: a wireworm. scientific name: Conoderus rudis (Brown) (Insecta: Coleoptera: Elateridae)
What crops do wireworms affect?
Wireworms feed primarily on grasses (including grass crops such as corn) but have a broad host range that includes vegetables (e.g., beans, beets, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, onion, peas, potatoes and radishes) and herbaceous ornamentals.
Where are wireworms found?
Wireworms are the larvae of click beetles. They are found throughout the United States, and are especially common on land that is poorly drained or has recently been in sod. Wireworms are 1/3 to 1 1/2″ long, dark brown to yellowish, jointed, hard shelled and cylindrical.
What is the life cycle of a wire worm?
2-6 yrs
The life cycle of wireworms ranges from 2-6 yrs depending upon species and location. All life stages (adult, larva, pupa) can overwinter and in most infested fields different larval stages can be found. Adults mate and females lay eggs around the roots of grasses and grains.
What does wireworm look like?
Wireworms are the larvae of the click beetle. The larvae grow up to 25 mm in length and are orangey/brown in colour with a narrow, segmented body, biting jaws and 3 pairs of short legs behind the head. The adult beetles are dark brown or black and are approximately 2 cm long and live in hedges and grassland areas.
How do you control wireworms?
Wireworm control involves taking a soil sampling for wireworms or inspecting the soil after plowing in the fall. Dry flour baits can be inserted into the soil using a corn planter. Twenty-five baits should be put out per acre, and these traps should be checked every couple days.
How do you prevent wireworms?
Encourage them by hanging houses and feeders near your garden. Crop rotation is especially important to the organic vegetable grower because it can help reduce many pest problems that lead to the use of pesticides. Potatoes make great wireworm traps. Cut a potato in half and run a stick through the middle.
How do I identify a wireworm?
Identification: The wireworm is slender, jointed, usually hard-shelled, with three pairs of legs, and tan brown in color. This is the immature stage of the click beetle, which deposit eggs on soil during May and June. Grasses, sod and sorghum-sudangrass are favorite egg-laying sites.
Can wireworms bite?
Millipedes in of themselves are harmless (do not bite, sting transmit diseases), and in fact are beneficial in their natural role as decomposers (feeding on dead organic matter). It is the sudden presence of large populations moving in and about residential properties that can be disconcerting.
What do wireworms do?
Adults do not damage potatoes, but the larvae, or wireworms, may damage seed pieces and young root systems during stand establishment, resulting in poor stands. More commonly the damage is seen as shallow to deep holes in the potatoes, caused by wireworms burrowing into the tuber while feeding.