We tested whether use of certain organic fertilizers on golf
courses is a risk factor for black turfgrass ataenius (BTA), an aphodiine scarab that is associated with dung or compost in natural systems. BTA larval and adult densities were higher in perennial ryegrass fairway plots treated with Milorganite or Nature Safe fertilizers in two successive years. Field-trapping studies, however, failed to support the hypthesis of long-range attraction, suggesting that the aforementioned phenomenon results from arrestment of adults on treated areas.
Species 1: Coleoptera Scarabaeidae Ataenius spretulus (black turfgrass ataenius)
Keywords: white grubs
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