Behaviour of nocturnal insects is routinely observed under red light, but it is unclear how the behaviour under red light compares to behaviour in complete darkness, or under a source of white light. Here, we measure movement behaviour of the nocturnal carabid beetle Pterostichus melanarius Illiger (Coleoptera: Carabidae) using camera recording under a near‐infrared (nir), red or white radiation source. Red light significantly reduced movement speed in females similar to the effect of white light and different from nir. Also movement activity and pause length were affected by radiation source, with a significant difference between nir and white light, and with intermediate values in red light. The results presented here indicate that P. melanarius has different movement behaviour under the three radiation sources and suggest that nir rather than red radiation is most appropriate for measuring behaviour in total darkness. However, in the field total darkness is rare both because of natural light sources such as the moon and stars but increasingly also because of ecological light pollution, and therefore red light may still be of use for observing ecologically and practically relevant natural night‐time behaviour.

Een overzicht van de beschikbare kennis voor een selectie van akkerbouwgewassen met hun bijbehorende bodemziekten Beheersing van bodempathogenen via bodemgezondheidsmaatregelen Beheersing van bodempathogenen via bodemgezondheidsmaatregelen Een overzicht van de beschikbare kennis voor een selectie van akkerbouwgewassen met hun bijbehorende bodemziekten Dit onderzoek is gefinancierd door TKI AgriFood en Brancheorganisatie Akkerbouw, en is uitgevoerd binnen de PPS Beter Bodembeheer (AF-16064). WR is een onderdeel van Rapport WPR-955 A.J. Termorshuizen, L.P.G. Molendijk, J. Postma, 2019. Beheersing van bodempathogenen via bodemgezondheidsmaatregelen; Een overzicht van de beschikbare kennis voor een selectie van akkerbouwgewassen met hun bijbehorende bodemziekten. Wageningen Research, Rapport WPR-955. 104 blz.; 1 fig.; 6 tab.; 304 ref. Dit rapport is gratis te downloaden op https://doi.org/10.18174/513197Dit rapport geeft een overzicht van bodemmaatregelen die ingezet kunnen worden om bodempathogenen in de Nederlandse akkerbouw te beheersen. De nadruk ligt op de gewassen aardappelen, cichorei, granen, kool-en raapzaad, peen, peulvruchten, suikerbiet en ui. Relevante kennis in de wetenschappelijke literatuur en rapporten en kennis aanwezig bij experts vanuit lopend onderzoek is voor de meest voorkomende problematische bodempathogenen, zowel aaltjes als schimmels, in kaart gebracht.

Quantification of the movement of insects at field and landscape levels helps us to understand their ecology and ecological functions. We conducted a meta-analysis on movement of carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), to identify key factors affecting movement and population redistribution. We characterize the rate of redistribution using motility μ (L2 T-1), which is a measure for diffusion of a population in space and time that is consistent with ecological diffusion theory and which can be used for upscaling short-term data to longer time frames. Formulas are provided to calculate motility from literature data on movement distances. A field experiment was conducted to measure the redistribution of mass-released carabid, Pterostichus melanarius in a crop field, and derive motility by fitting a Fokker-Planck diffusion model using inverse modelling. Bias in estimates of motility from literature data is elucidated using the data from the field experiment as a case study. The meta-analysis showed that motility is 5.6 times as high in farmland as in woody habitat. Species associated with forested habitats had greater motility than species associated with open field habitats, both in arable land and woody habitat. The meta-analysis did not identify consistent differences in motility at the species level, or between clusters of larger and smaller beetles. The results presented here provide a basis for calculating time-varying distribution patterns of carabids in farmland and woody habitat. The formulas for calculating motility can be used for other taxa.