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data collection, pitfall traps, Coleoptera, fauna, life history, pastures, planting, ecosystems, forest types, forest restoration, invertebrates, indigenous species, flight, trapping, and reforestation

Native re‐forestation is a widely used restoration tool, typically undertaken with the expectation that planting native trees will initiate succession processes (including the re‐establishment of native fauna) that will eventually return the ecosystem to a native‐dominated state. Invertebrate groups can be used to assess restoration progress, as their life history traits enable them to respond more rapidly to environmental change than many other organisms. In this study, we assessed beetle responses to re‐forestation. Using two trapping methods (flight intercept traps and pitfall traps), we compared beetle assemblages in exotic pasture (pre‐restoration state),

flowering, omnivores, nectar, ecosystems, honeydew, pollination, sugars, Hemiptera, Kunzea, sooty molds, scale insects, trees, flowers, nectar feeding, pollinators, Blattaria, branches, and moths

Honeydew is abundant in many ecosystems and may provide an alternative food source (a buffer) for pollinators during periods of food shortage, but the impact of honeydew on pollination systems has received little attention to date. In New Zealand, kānuka trees (Myrtaceae: Kunzea ericoides (A. Rich) Joy Thompson) are often heavily infested by the endemic honeydew-producing scale insect Coelostomidia wairoensis (Maskell) (Hemiptera: Coelostomidiidae) and the period of high honeydew production can overlap with kānuka flowering. In this study, we quantified the sugar resources (honeydew and nectar) available on kānuka and recorded nocturnal insect activity on infested and uninfested kānuka during the flowering period. Insects were abundant on infested trees, but flowers on infested trees received fewer insect visitors than flowers on uninfested trees. There was little evidence that insects had switched directly from nectar-feeding to honeydew-feeding, but it is possible that some omnivores (e.g., cockroaches) were distracted by the other honeydew-associated resources on infested branches (e.g., sooty molds, prey). Additional sampling was carried out after kānuka flowering had finished to determine honeydew usage in the absence of adjacent nectar resources. Moths, which had fed almost exclusively on nectar earlier, were recorded feeding extensively on honeydew after flowering had ceased; hence, honeydew may provide an additional food source for potential pollinators. Our results show that honeydew resources can impact floral visitation patterns and suggest that future pollinator studies should consider the full range of sugar resources present in the study environment.

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Two geckos (Hoplodactylus duvaucelii and Hoplodactylus maculatus, Gekkonidae) have been recorded feeding on honeydew produced by the endemic scale insect Coelostomidia zealandica (Coelostomidiidae) on Korapuki Island, east of Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand. Restoration projects underway on islands in the nearby Hauraki Gulf have reintroduced Hoplodactylus geckos, but to date little attention has been given to honeydew resources on these restored islands. We made observations on Korapuki Island (February 2008) that confirmed that ngaio (Myoporum laetum) and karo (Pittosporum crassifolium) were the most common host plants of C. zealandica, that heavy C. zealandica infestations occurred on both hosts, and that heavily infested hosts were regularly visited by insects and geckos. Hence, dense patches of C. zealandica honeydew may be a significant food resource for Hoplodactylus geckos. A survey for C. zealandica on Hauraki Gulf islands and the adjacent Auckland mainland (2006-2008) showed that dense C. zealandica infestations were entirely missing from the Auckland region. Ngaio was sparse at the survey sites and none carried C. zealandica, whereas karo was locally abundant, but was never heavily infested by C. zealandica. Introduced non‐native animals and habitat loss have affected the distribution of Hoplodactylus geckos and may also have affected the distribution of C. zealandica and its host plants. As a result, the distinctive trophic interactions created by dense C. zealandica infestations are absent around Auckland, and the potential for restoration of consumer populations including geckos may be reduced.

Bactericera cockerelli(tomato potato psyllid, TPP) is a serious pest of potato crops, causing feeding damage and also vectoring Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum, the causal agent of the Zebra Chip (ZC) disease in potatoes. The results of 6 years of early and main crop potato trials at Pukekohe, New Zealand, are summarised and damage caused by TPP is reported. Results show that spring-sown (early) potato crops do not require insecticides. In main crop summer trials we tested action thresholds based on 10 and 20 TPP nymphs per 100 middle leaves but the incidence of ZC damage was commercially unacceptable, ranging from 4 to 9 %. Subsequently we tested an action threshold of >3 TPP adults per yellow sticky trap per week that led to ZC damage ranging from 0.9 to 1.6 %. We also compared monitoring of TPP using sticky trap catches with a degree day model started in mid winter (1 July) for forecasting generation times of TPP. On the basis of the field trial results, we recommend that from early summer onwards, the timing of the first foliar application of insecticide needs to be applied early enough to protect main crop potatoes from the first generation of TPP that occurs after potato tubers have emerged (at Pukekohe, this is the third TPP generation from 1 July when using degree day modelling). Three years of main crop trials indicate that an action threshold of >3 TPP per trap per week provides effective TPP/ZC management in the Pukekohe region when used in conjunction with natural enemies and an insecticide programme that features the use of selective insecticides. Bactericera cockerelli, (el psílido del tomate y de la papa, TPP), es una plaga seria en los cultivos de papa, causando daño al alimentarse y también como vector de Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum, el agente causal de la enfermedad de la Zebra Chip (ZC) de papa. Se resumen los resultados de seis años de ensayos en cultivos tempranos y de principales fechas de siembra de papa en Pukekohe, Nueva Zelandia, y se reporta el daño causado por TPP. Los resultados muestran que los cultivos de fechas tempranas de siembra en primavera no requieren de insecticidas. En los ensayos de las fechas principales del verano probamos niveles críticos de acción basados en 10 y 20 ninfas de TPP por 100 hojas intermedias, pero la incidencia del daño por ZC fue inaceptable comercialmente, variando de 4 al 9 %. Subsecuentemente, probamos el límite crítico de acción de > 3 adultos de TPP por trampa adherente amarilla por semana que condujera a niveles de daño con variación de 0.9 a 1.6 %. También comparamos el monitoreo de TPP utilizando trampas de captura adhesivas con un modelo de un grado por día empezando a la mitad del invierno (1° de julio) para predecir los tiempos de generación de TPP. Con base a los resultados de los ensayos de campo, recomendamos que, a partir del principio del verano en adelante, el tiempo para la primera aplicación foliar de insecticida necesita hacerse lo suficientemente temprano para proteger al cultivo de papa de la fecha principal, de la primera generación de TPP que se presenta después de la emergencia de los brotes (en Pukekohe esta es la tercera generación de TPP desde el 1° de julio cuando se usa el modelo de grado día). Tres años de ensayos en las fechas principales de siembra indican que una acción de límite crítico de >3 TPP por trampa por semana proporciona manejo efectivo de TPP/ZC en la región de Pukekohe cuando se usa junto con enemigos naturales y un programa de insecticidas que resalte el uso de insecticidas selectos.