Soil/Root Dwellers- Mollusca

Classification;

• Plant-boring pests- Attack the plants roots, tubers, bulbs, rhizomes or the basal regions of the stem
• Some are disease vectors
• Above ground feeders- on the leaves above ground in wet weather or dark phase.

 What do they do?

• Shred organic material
• Stimulate microbial activity
• Mix microbes with their food
• Mineralize plant nutrients
• Burrow
• Stimulate the succession of species
• Control pests

Predator

Micro-predators can be either feed on different prey or specialists, hunting only a single prey type. Predators include anything from centipedes, spiders, some mites, ground-beetles etc. Many predators eat crops pests and some have been developed for commercial bio-controls an example is parasitic wasps.

Predatory Mites Prey on nematodes, other mites and larvae of insects

Shredder

Seen in the soil surfaces. Chew up the dead plant matter as they eat bacteria and fungi on the surface of the plants. most abundant shredders are millipedes and sowbugs etc. These can become pests by feeding on living roots if sufficient dead plant material is not present. 



Sowbugs; powerful mouthparts used to fragment plant residue and leaf litter.

Herbivores

Numerous root-feeding insects. Mole crickets and anthomyiid flies (root maggot) just being 2 examples. some herbivorous such as rootworms can be crop pests where they occur in large numbers. they feed on roots and other plant parts

The Symphylan, relative to the centipede, feeds on the plant roots and can become a major crop pest if its population is not under control.

Fungal Feeders

Arthropods that graze on fungi includes some mites and silverfish along with springtails. they consume bacteria and fungi off the root surfaces. they are a pest in plants as they are a fraction if the loss in plant nutrients and the nutrients release by fauna

Pale-coloured, blind springtail is a typical fungi feeder. they live deep in the surface layer of natural and agriculture soils throughout the world