Three years of surveillance associates agro‐environmental factors with wireworm infestations in Manitoba, Canada

BACKGROUND Wireworms, the soil‐dwelling larvae of click beetles, are a major threat to global agricultural production. This is largely due to their generalist polyphagous feeding capabilities, extended and cryptic life cycles, and limited management options available. Although wireworms are well‐documented as economically important pests in the Canadian Prairies, including Manitoba, there are gaps in knowledge on species distributions, subterranean behaviour and life cycles, feeding ecology and damage capacity, and economic thresholds for crop yield loss. Results We carried out 3 years (2018–2020) of intensive surveillance of larval populations across Manitoba. A total of 31 fields (24 in ≥ 2 consecutive years) were surveyed in early spring using standardized bait trapping approaches. Wireworms were present in 94% of surveyed sites, but the catch within fields varied year to year. While Hypnoidus bicolor predominated (94% of larvae), several other pest species were identified. We then explored the relationships between wireworm trap numbers and agro‐environmental factors. The larval catch tended to decrease under conditions of low soil temperatures and increased clay content, coupled with high soil moisture and precipitation during the trapping period. Treatment and cultural methods appeared less influential; however, wheat production in either of the previous two growing seasons was associated with increased wireworm catch. Our models failed to predict a relationship between wireworm catch and crop yields, although infestations were rare in our region. Conclusion Our findings better infer the risks posed by wireworms to crop production in the Canadian Prairies, and the agro‐environmental factors that represent the greatest contributors to these risks. This information should be incorporated into future integrated pest management (IPM) strategies for wireworms. © 2021 Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada Pest Management Science © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry Reproduced with the permission of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada. Wireworms are prevalent in the Canadian Prairies but numbers vary by year. Larval activity increases with reduced soil moisture and clay content, and higher soil temperatures with wheat in rotation.