RELATIVE AND SEASONAL ABUNDANCE OF PREDACEOUS ARTHROPODS IN ALABAMA PEANUT FIELDS AS INDEXED BY PITFALL TRAPS

Pitfall traps were used to monitor the seasonal abundance of predators in conventionally tilled, irrigated, and nonirrigated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) fields in Alabama in 1987 and 1988. A diverse fauna of predaceous arthropods was captured; Labidura riparia (Pallas) (Dermaptera: Labiduridae) was the most abundant. Solenopsis invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Geocoris spp. (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae), carabids, staphylinids, and lycosids were also common. Traps placed between plant rows and those within rows yielded similar averages. All predaceous groups were captured throughout the peanut-growing season but in varied densities. Predator abundance peaked 70-100 d after planting, depending on the group. Capture of most predators increased exponentially for part or all of the growing season.