Rubidium labelling demonstrates movement of predators from native vegetation to cotton

Abstract

<p>We employed rubidium labelling to track the movement of arthropod natural enemies from a shelterbelt into an adjacent cotton field. Findings demonstrate that Dicranolaius bellulus (Coleoptera: Melyridae) and Oxyopes spp. (Araneae: Oxyopidae) move from the shelterbelt into the crop interior. Capture of rubidium-marked arthropod-predators within the cotton field provides the first hard evidence that semi-natural perennial habitats such as shelterbelts on cotton farms in Australia act as a resource for arthropod predators in adjacent crops.</p>