Atheta coriaria

Type

Soil predator (rove beetle)

Target pests

• Sciarid flies
• Pupae of thrips (suppression)

Notes

Strong component of soil-level IPM programmes.

IPM positioning

Soil-dwelling predator; preventative for sciarid larvae and supportive for vine weevil egg control.

Best deployment strategy

• Introduce preventatively to build a soil predator population early in the crop.
• Maintain substrate moisture and avoid practices that disrupt soil ecology.
• Use alongside nematodes for stronger curative control of sciarid larvae under pressure.

Compatibility notes

• Works well with: Stratiolaelaps scimitus as a soil predator layer.
• Works well with: Steinernema feltiae when sciarid pressure is high (nematodes provide curative knockdown).

Environmental preferences

• Soil predator: performance depends on substrate moisture and temperature.
• Requires consistently moist substrate; drying cycles reduce activity and survival.
• Moderate temperatures generally support best establishment.