Early-season movement dynamics of phytophagous pest and natural enemies across a native vegetation-crop ecotone

There is limited understanding about the landscape factors influencing the spatio-temporal distribution of insects, and how these can be manipulated to suppress pest populations in crops. Theory suggests that the relative timing of pest and natural enemy arrival in crops may influence pest suppression; however there is a lack of data to substantiate this claim. We investigated the movement patterns of insects from native vegetation (NV) into nearby crop fields early in the cropping season, and the implications of these patterns for pest control services.\nLineage: Using bi-directional interception traps we quantified the number of insects crossing an NV/crop ecotone, relative to a control crop/crop interface early in the growing season in two agricultural regions (one in New South Wales and one in Queensland). We used these data to infer patterns of insect movement.