Survival of submerged larvae of cranberry girdler, Chrysoteuchia topiaria, in the laboratory

Flooding for several days in late summer or early fall is reported to control larvae of the cranberry girdler, Chrysoteuchia topiaria (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), which feed on roots of cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton (Ericales: Ericaceae). During flooding, larvae float to the surface or remain submerged. Floating larvae are vulnerable to bird predation, but the fate of submerged larvae has not been studied. The factorially designed laboratory experiments reported here examined survival of submerged cranberry girdler larvae at water temperatures of 10, 15 or 20 °C, and flood durations of 24, 48 or 72 h. These conditions are characteristic of floods applied to western Canadian cranberry farms. In the first year of the study, more submerged larvae survived at 10 °C than at 15 or 20 °C, and more survived 24-h submersion than 48- or 72-h submersion; there was no difference between survival at 15 and 20 °C or 48- and 72-h submersion. In the second year of the study, when there were no 10 °C treatments, more submerged larvae survived at 15 than at 20 °C, and more survived 24-h submersion than 72-h submersion; survival after 48 h was not significantly different from survival after 24 or 72 h. In both years, there was no interaction effect of water temperature and duration of submersion: survival of submerged larvae decreased with longer flood durations and higher temperatures. Dissolved oxygen concentrations before submersion ranged from 5.8±0.1 to 6.3±0.2 ppm in the first year, and 5.5±0.1 to 5.7±0.1 ppm in the second. After submersion, dissolved oxygen concentrations in cups with larvae were approximately 0.5 ppm lower than in cups without larvae, suggesting that larvae continued to respire and use oxygen for some time after submersion. Results of the experiments are used to improve guidelines for flooding to control cranberry girdler larvae.