A STUDY OF SOME ECOLOGICAL FACTORS WHICH AFFECT THE BEHAVIOR OF THE JAPANESE BEETLE IN OHIO

190 Pages·06.363 MB·English

by  WESSEL, RICHARD DEATON

A STUDY OP SOME ECOLOGICAL FACTORS WHICH AFFECT THE
BEHAVIOR OF THE JAPANESE BEETLE IN OHIO
DISSERTATION
Presented in P a rtia l F ulfillm en t of the Requirements
fo r the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the
Graduate School of The Ohio S tate
U niversity
By
RICHARD DEATON WESSEL, B.A., M.Sc.
The Ohio S tate U niversity
1951
Approved by?^ Uik &u
Dwigmt M. DeLong f /
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To Dr. Joseph B. Polivka, A ssistan t Entom ologist and
d irecto r of the Japanese b eetle research at the Ohio A gri­
c u ltu ra l Experiment S tatio n , fo r h is techn ical d ire c tio n
and invaluable assistan ce during the progress of these
experim ents and in preparatio n of th is m anuscript, I am
deeply Indebted.
To Dr. Claude R. Neiswander, Chairman, Department of
Entomology a t the Ohio A gricultural Experiment S tatio n , fo r
h is valuable advice and au th o rizatio n of th is work; to the
various members of the Department of Agronomy of the Ohio
A gricultural Experiment S tatio n fo r th e ir suggestions and
assistan ce concerning the agronomic aspects of th is
problem; and to the Ohio A g ricu ltu ral Experiment S tatio n
which made these experim ents p o ssib le, acknowledgement is
also rendered.
To Dr. Dwight M. DeLong, Professor, Department of
Zoology and Entomology a t the Ohio S tate U niversity, fo r
h is u n tirin g patience and counsel as my academic advisor;
to Dr. D. Ransom W hitney of the Department of M athematics
and S ta tis tic s Laboratory of the Ohio S tate U niversity and
to Dr. C. R ichard Weaver, A ssistant Entom ologist, a t the
Ohio A gricu ltu ral Experiment S tatio n , fo r th e ir assistan ce
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In the evaluation and s ta tis tic a l analyses of these data;
and to Clark Robey, Experiment S tatio n photographer, fo r
h is aid In the photography concerned w ith th is problem,
I also express profound g ra titu d e .
To my parents, Dr. and Mrs. C h ristian C. W essel, for
th e ir constant In te re st, support, and encouragement
esp ecially during my academic years, my h e a rtfe lt apprecia­
tio n transcends a ll words.
To Sue C ailor, who has contributed to th is work in so
many charming ways, m ostly unknown to her, I extend my
inestim able thanks.
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TABLE OP CONTENTS
Acknowledgements................................. ......................................................... 1
In tro d u ctio n ...................................................................................................... 4
The Problem........................................................... ............................................ 5
Review of the L ite ra tu re ....................................................................... 12
F actors of the Edaphic E nvironm ent........................................ 22
Experim ents w ith F e r tiliz e r s ............................................... 22
Summary...................................................................................................... 58
Experim ents w ith Physical F acto rs.................................. 60
Summary..................................................................................................... 70
Experim ents w ith Hydrogen Ion C oncentration (pH)71
Summary......................................................................................................
8 6
Experim ents w ith Volume W eight and pH in
R elation to la rv a l pop u latio n s....................................
8 8
Summary.................................................................................................... 108
Experim ents w ith Chemical Analyses of S o il 109
Experim ents w ith S o il M oisture.......................................... 112
Summary..................................................................................................... 156
D iscussion of the Problem.................................................................... 159
Summary of the Problem . .................................................................... 161
L ite ra tu re C ited ............................................................................................ 165
Appendix of Supplementary D ata...................................................... 169
The Autobiography........................................................................................ 188
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INTRODUCTION
The Japanese b eetle (P o p lllla Japonlca Newman) has
been present in Ohio since 1931. Each year, since the
a rriv a l of th is in sec t, a few new points of in fe sta tio n
have been discovered u n til a t present areas of in ­
1 1 0
fe sta tio n have been recorded, lo cated in 49 of the
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counties of the s ta te .
Of the 110 iso la te d in fe sta tio n s, eight have become
problem areas. In recent years a tremendous momentum of
d isp ersal has developed from these eight p o in ts.
The reasons fo r the rap id increase in population in
some areas w hile the m ajority of the in fe ste d po in ts re ­
main more or le ss in activ e has been a point of considerable
discussion. No im m ediately discernable conditions are
apparent to w arrent such behavior when areas of these
two types are compared. A pparently there is a com bination
of ecological fa c to rs in operation which tend to hold th is
in sect in check throughout the m ajority of the in fe sted
lo catio n s.
To in v estig ate th is behavior and to uncover, if
p o ssib le, the complex of ecological fa c to rs responsible
fo r th is conduct is the subject of th is d isse rta tio n .
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A STUDY OP SOME ECOLOGICAL FACTORS WHICH AFFECT THE
BEHAVIOR OF THE JAPANESE BEETLE IN OHIO
The Problem
The Japanese b eetle (P o p lllia .japonica Newman) was
f ir s t discovered in Ohio in 1931. At th is tim e adult
b eetles were trapped in C leveland and in Columbus. At
present, years la te r, these areas ex h ib it rem arkably
2 0
d iffe re n t conditions concerning the behavior of th is
in s e c t.
The C leveland in fe sta tio n has expanded a t an appalling
ra te ; u n til at p resen t, 90$ of the area of Cuyahoga and
Lake Counties and p a rts of L orain, Medina, Summit, Geauga,
and A shtabula Counties compose a large area where the b eetle
is continuously d istrib u te d . On the other hand, the
Columbus In fe sta tio n is now continuous over less than one-
fo u rth of F ranklin County.
This difference in area, however, is not the most sig ­
n ific a n t point in the com parison. Throughout Cuyahoga and
Lake C ounties there has been a continuous increase in the
number of b eetles and accordingly tremendous damage to the
tu rf of the many g olf courses, parks, and cem eteries to
say nothing of the ravages of the ad u lts upon a ll host
p la n ts. The Columbus area, In comparison, has undergone
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slow expansion and b eetle numbers have never been great
enough to cause more than su p e rfic ia l damage or a ttra c t
the a tte n tio n of the p u b lic.
This is but one of the several sim ilar comparisons th at
could be made. C urrently th ere are eig h t problem areas,
such as C leveland, in Ohio. These areas in order of prob­
lem age are (1) Cuyahoga and Lake C ounties, (2) Guernsey
County (Cambridge and North Salem), (3) Mahoning and
Trumbull Counties (Youngstown and W arren), (4) Licking
County (Newark), (5) Columbiana County (East Liverpool and
W ellsv ille), ( ) W ashington County (M arietta, e tc .), (7)
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Jefferso n County (S tu b en v ille), and ( ) Summit County
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(Akron and B arberton). Figure 1 shows the p resent lo catio n
of these areas as w ell as the rem ainder of the in ­
1 1 0
fe sta tio n s in the sta te , the tim e of discovery of each of
these lo catio n s is lis te d in Table 1.
The shaded areas around C incinnati and G allap olis show
the extent of the b eetle expansion but continuous spraying
and so il treatm ent by the U nited S tates Department of
A griculture and various sta te agencies have so fa r p re­
vented the b u ild up of economic populations In these areas.
The shaded areas of Wayne, Muskingum, Belmont, and Monroe
Counties denote the lo catio n of the b eetle; but, to date,
no more than su p e rfic ia l damage has been observed.
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Since the behavior of the Japanese b eetle in Ohio
in d icates th a t the in sect has found conditions su itab le in
only a few areas, while the m ajority of the lo catio n s have
been unsuitable fo r rap id increase in numbers, the facto rs
responsible for th is condition should be more c le a rly under
stood fo r the purpose of determ ining where the e ffo rts of
con trol should be expended and the educational program
stressed . Thus fo r the past four years th is author has
sought an answer to the question of why th is in sect has
become of g reat economic im portance in the problem areas,
while other areas, w ith records of the same age, barely
m aintain a population, which is freq u en tly im m easureable.
The in sect in re la tio n to it s environment, or the
study of the in s e c t's ecology, has been the prim ary con­
sid eratio n . The study of the fa c to rs of the atm ospheric
environment such as tem perature, wind, and p re c ip ita tio n
have been p a rtia lly sacrificed in favor of working w ith
the edaphic fa c to rs. S oil m oisturq pH, f e r til ity , volume
w eight, and other physical fa c to rs have received the
m ajority of a tte n tio n .
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Table 1 . The location of the Original Japanese Beetle
Binds hy Counties and C ities or Townships
with the Date of Bind, Humber of Points Within
the Area, and the In itia l Humber of Beetles
Taken.*
Birst Bind
Ho . of Ho . 0:
City or Trap Be et 1
County Township Dat e Locations Taken
Allen Lima I9U3 1 1
Ashland Ashland I9UU 10 23
Londonville I9U5 1 3
Ashtabula Andover 19 50 1 l
Ashtabula 1937 7 129
Aust inburg 19 51 - l
Cherry Valley 19 51 2
-
Conneaut 1935 2 2
Dor set 1951 1
-
East Conneaut I9UI 28 91
Geneava I9U5 7 7
Geneva-on-the-Lake 19 51 1
—
Jeffer son 1951 - 2
Richmond Center 1951 _ 6
Athens Athens 19^0 1 l
H elsonville I9U2 2 2
Belmont Barne sv ille 1939 j■z 3
B ellaire 1937 1 l
Bridgeport 1939 1 l
Martins Berry 1939 9 13
Butler Hamilton 19^5 l l
Middiet own 19 50 1 1
Carroll Carrollton 193S 3 3
Clark Springfield I9H5 l 1
Columbiana Butler Twp 19^2 l 51
East Liverpool 193^ 1 2
Salem 1935 l 1
W ellsville I9H6 1 Several
Coshocton Coshocton 1937 15 28
( Cont inued)
♦These data were compiled from reports on the original in­
festation s furnished by the State Department of Agriculture,
the Bederal Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, and
from the unpublished data of Dr. J. B. Polivka.
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First Find
No • of No. 0:
City or Trap Beetli
County Township Dat e Locations Taken
Co sho cton Isleta 19 50 1 k
Crawf ord Bucyrus 19^0 3 3
Crestline I9U2 11 20
Cuyahoga Cleveland 1931 1 l
Cleveland Heights 1937 1 l
East Cleveland 1937 1 1
Er i e Sandusky 193S 1 l
Fairf ield Lancast er 1935 2 2
Fayett e Wahsington C.E. 1933 1 1
Franklin Columbus 1931 5 5
Bexley 193S 1 1
Brice 19^9 1 1
G allia G allipoli s 1937 10 12
Geauga Bainbr idge I9U9 1 1
Chardon 19 Hs 2 2
Che sterland 19^9 1 2
Lake Lucerne 1951 b
Munson Twp. I9U2 1 b
South Eussel 19 51 — b
Greene Fairborne I9US 1 2
0 sborne 19 U9 3 b
Guernsey Cambridge 1939 2 b
Kimbolton 1939 1 1
North Salem 1939 13 69H
Hamilton Cincinnati 1937 1 1
Hocking Good Hope Twp. I9U2 1 167
Holme s M iller sburg 19^1 1 1
Huron Bellevue 19^2 67 218
Norwalk iSbo 1 1
Willard 19^3 1 1
Jef f er son Stub enville 1932 H 5
Knox Mount Vernon 19U2 b 5
Lake Madi son 1950 Scout ing Several
Mentor 19U1 2 ^7
P ainesville 19^5 20 32
Perry 19U7 2 5
Lawrence Fayette Twp. 19U5 1 1
Ironton 19 51 — 1
Licking Hanover 19 50 1 2
Newark 193s 12 155
( Continued)