Feeding preferences of three granivorous carabid species on weed seeds

The ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) constitute the largest family of adephagan beetles. Their role as arthropod predators is well known in various agro-ecosystems, and carabids are considered important biological control agents of important agriculture pests. Some recent studies also emphasized their potential in the biological control of weeds. In this context, the feeding preferences of three carabid species Pterostichus melanarius Illiger, Amara littoralis Mannerheim and Haraplus affinis Schrank on three important brassicaceous weeds including volunteer canola (Brassica napus cv. Q2), wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis L.) and stinkweed (Thlaspi arvense L. ) were studied under laboratory and greenhouse conditions in a choice test scenario. Further, no-choice tests were conducted to study the feeding potential of seeds of other important weed species. Carabids studied exhibited specific feeding preferences for seeds of particular weed seed species in all tests.