European earwigs Forficula auricularia L are important predators of diaspidid scale insects in New Zealand kiwifruit As European earwigs readily hide during the day in shelter traps made of corrugated cardboard strips rolled into cylinders it may be possible to manipulate the level of scale predation The effect of trapping duration on aggregation of earwigs and whether the addition of shelter traps to kiwifruit vine canopies led to increased numbers of earwigs and predation of scale insects were investigated More earwigs were found in cardboard shelter traps exposed for up to 8 weeks than shorter periods However shelter traps were not associated with increased numbers of earwigs in vine canopies or with increased predation of scale insects Predation of scale insects was 7382 and on individual canes depended on the initial density of scale Further study is needed to realise the potential of earwigs as predators of scale insects and other pests

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Fuller's rose weevil, Naupactus cervinus (Boheman) (Curculionidae: Entiminae), is an important quarantine pest of New Zealand kiwifruit exported to Asian markets. Both adults and larvae are considered to be polyphagous. In this study, the survival of larval N. cervinus was estimated on common groundcover species of kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.) in the Bay of Plenty, the main region in New Zealand where kiwifruit is grown. The botanical composition of groundcover in commercial kiwifruit orchards, characterised by survey, was dominated by ryegrass (Lolium perenne), with white clover (Trifolium repens), creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens), wild strawberry (Duchesnea indica) and broadleaf dock (Rumex obtusifolius) in lower abundance. Survival to mature larvae or adult was relatively low (·11%) for N. cervinus introduced as neonates to field plots or potted ryegrass, white clover and broadleaf dock. White clover was a more favourable host for survival to adults than ryegrass. This study suggests that increased survival of N. cervinus larvae may occur where white clover and large dock plants are abundant, but that survival is likely to be highly variable because of the heterogeneous availability of preferred host plants and host plant quality. These data suggest that larval polyphagy is a strategy that enables N. cervinus to persist at low densities in kiwifruit orchards despite variation in the quality and diversity of groundcover.

European earwigs Forficula auricularia L are potentially important natural enemies of armoured scale insects in commercial kiwifruit orchards Earwigs are sensitive to broadspectrum insecticides and diazinon residues can kill earwigs for up to 17 nights after spraying Eight paired organic and conventional Kiwigreen orchard blocks were surveyed in the summer of 2006/07 to estimate the number of earwigs present In each block 25 shelter traps were placed in the vine canopy for 1 month Fewer earwigs were recorded in conventional blocks than in organic blocks (P0018) A sample of 800 leaves was taken from each of the blocks in March to record predation of scale insects by earwigs There was no clear evidence that scale insects on leaves were predated by earwigs This was attributed to the low level of mature scale insects the preferred stage for predation by earwigs