Effects of sheep stocking rates and management on the abundance of a pasture-feeding caterpillar

Abstract

Merino hogget stocking rates and management (continuous stocking, 2-rotation, and 6-rotation) are shown to interact with the abundance of a pasture-feeding insect Metacrias huttoni (Butler) (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) in a predictable manner. The 6–year study of 9 grazing treatments demonstrates progressive variations in insect abundance over local space and over time. A multivariate estimator, S, of spatio-abundance is derived over the full range of treatments.

Keywords:

• grazed pastures
• sheep
• stocking rates
• management
• insects
• Metacrias
• interactions
• spatio-abundance