Effect of Intercropping Narrow-Leafed Lupin with Spring Triticale on the Abundance and Diversity of Rove Beetles

Description of the subject. Intercropping is a kind of polyculture, growing two or more crops together. This practice should improve pest management mainly by increasing predator diversity. It was hypothesized that the intercropping of narrow-leafed lupin with spring triticale would increase the number and diversity of rove beetles compared to monocultures of the aforementioned crops. Objectives. The aim of the research was to determine the effect of intercropping of narrow-leafed lupin with spring triticale on rove beetle abundance and diversity. Method. Over a three-year period, rove beetles were trapped with the use of pitfall traps, and adults were identified to species. The experiment was carried out on a narrow-leafed lupin and spring triticale crop sown as monocultures, and on two mixtures with different proportions of lupin seeds. Results. In total, in all treatments 100 rove beetle species were found, classified into three trophic groups. The most numerous forms were predatory zoophages, which were followed by parasites and saprophages. Staphylinidae abundance and ecological significance decreased with increasing degree of habitat diversity in comparison to crops grown in the pure stand. The same response to intercropping was observed in the case of zoophages. Conclusions. Contrary to what was hypothesized, the abundance and diversity of rove beetle decreased when narrow-leafed lupin and spring triticale were grown together compared to their monoculture. Presumably, the higher abundance of rove beetle in lupin and spring triticale grown in the pure stand is mostly the result of better food supply in monocultures during the whole season.