Agriotes lineatus is one of the major European wireworm species and an important soil-dwelling pest in temperate regions. Wireworms are the larval stage of click beetles.<\/p>\r\n
The larvae live in the soil for several years and feed on seeds, roots, and underground plant parts. Because of their long life cycle and hidden feeding habit, infestations are difficult to manage.<\/p>\r\n
Wireworms are highly polyphagous and can cause serious losses in vegetable, field, and root crops.<\/p>","at_a_glance":{"host_plants":"Potato, maize, legumes, grasses, carrot, lettuce, onion, tomato","where_you_see_it":"In soil around roots and germinating seeds","seasonality":"Larvae present year-round in soil; adults emerge in spring and early summer","typical_damage":"Wilting seedlings, poor emergence, root tunneling, plant death"},"difficulty":"high: High","virus_risk":"none","sections":{"identification":"
Wireworms are rarely seen above ground. Damage symptoms often appear before larvae are detected.<\/p>\r\n
Larvae<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Slender, hard-bodied, shiny pale yellow<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
17\u201320 mm when fully grown<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
Cylindrical and segmented<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
Live several years in soil<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n
Adults<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Brown, elongate click beetle<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
About 7\u20138 mm long<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
Flattened body<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
Capable of producing an audible \u201cclick\u201d to flip themselves upright<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n
Key Clues<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Patchy emergence in fields<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
Wilting young plants despite sufficient moisture<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
Feeding holes in tubers and roots<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
Larvae found in soil near damaged plants<\/p>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","damage":"
Wireworms feed on germinating seeds, roots, and underground stems. A single larva can damage multiple plants.<\/p>\r\n
In potatoes and carrots, larvae create tunnels that reduce market quality. Seedlings may fail to emerge or collapse shortly after emergence.<\/p>\r\n
Damage is often more severe when grassland is converted into arable cropping.<\/p>","life_cycle":"
Females lay eggs 2\u20136 cm deep in soil.<\/p>\r\n
Eggs hatch after 25\u201360 days depending on temperature.<\/p>\r\n
Larval development lasts 3\u20136 years, during which larvae remain in the soil and move vertically depending on moisture levels.<\/p>\r\n
Pupation occurs in the soil and lasts 3\u20135 weeks.<\/p>\r\n
Adults emerge and may overwinter in the soil.<\/p>","monitoring":"
Inspect areas with poor plant emergence.<\/p>\r\n
Dig around damaged plants to detect larvae.<\/p>\r\n
Pheromone traps can be used to monitor adult click beetle activity.<\/p>\r\n
Monitoring is especially important before planting susceptible crops.<\/p>","management":"
Cultural control: Avoid planting susceptible crops immediately after grassland. Use crop rotation and trap crops such as wheat.<\/p>\r\n
Soil management: Improve drainage and avoid overly moist conditions favorable for larvae.<\/p>\r\n
Chemical control: Soil-applied insecticides may reduce populations but are often limited in effectiveness due to long larval lifespan.<\/p>\r\n
Integrated approaches are required due to the long developmental period.<\/p>"}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cubescircle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/organisms\/5364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cubescircle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/organisms"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cubescircle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/organism"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cubescircle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cubescircle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}