Yield loss caused by insect pests remains a substantial problem in agriculture. Chemical control, with potential negative effects on non-target organisms, is still the main tool for pest management. For pest species with limited dispersal capacity, rotation of the crop in time and space has potential as an alternative management measure. This is particularly important in organic farming, where most agrochemicals are prohibited, but also relevant as a complementary pest management strategy in conventional agriculture. Clover is an important crop used for animal feed and as green manure; however, seed-eating weevils can severely limit the seed yield. We hypothesized that the previous year’s clover seed fields constitute the major sources of weevil pests. Consequently, a greater distance to, and a smaller pest load from, this source should reduce the number of weevils colonizing the new seed fields. To map population dynamics and dispersal range of Protapion fulvipes, an economically important seed weevil specialized on white clover, we conducted field studies over four years in 45 white clover seed fields. We found that P. fulvipes overwinters close to its source field and disperses to new fields in early spring the following year. Pest abundance increased with pest load in the previous year’s seed field, but decreased by 68% per km distance to the previous year’s field. Thus, separation of seed production fields between years by 2–3 km would create a spatiotemporal pest management tool to reduce the pest infestation below the estimated economic injury level.

虫害造成的产量损失仍然是农业中的一个重大问题。化学防治对非目标生物有潜在的负面影响，仍然是害虫管理的主要工具。对于传播能力有限的害虫物种，作物在时间和空间上的轮作具有作为替代管理措施的潜力。这在有机农业中尤为重要，因为大多数农用化学品都被禁止使用，但在常规农业中作为一种补充性病虫害管理策略也很重要。三叶草是用于动物饲料和绿肥的重要作物；然而，吃种子的象鼻虫会严重限制种子产量。我们假设前一年的三叶草种子田是象鼻虫害虫的主要来源。因此，距离更远，害虫数量更小，这个来源应该会减少在新种子田中定居的象鼻虫的数量。绘制人口动态和分布范围Protapion fulvipes 是一种专门种植白三叶草的经济上重要的种子象鼻虫，我们在 45 个白三叶草种子田中进行了四年多的实地研究。我们发现P. fulvipes在其源田附近越冬，并在次年早春分散到新的田地。害虫丰度随着前一年种子田中害虫负荷的增加而增加，但每公里距离上一年的田地减少了 68%。因此，将种子生产田在年份之间间隔 2-3 公里将创建一种时空害虫管理工具，以将害虫侵扰减少到估计的经济损害水平以下。