1. Enhancing Beneficial Insects
Using Native Plants
Mention photos of plant used for research
Douglas A. Landis and Anna K. Fiedler
Department of Entomology
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI USA

2. Outline Introduction to beneficial insects
Role of plants in enhancing beneficial insects
Research on native plants
Implications for agricultural landscapes
Which subset for use in midwest. To put in broader context, exam. H2

3. Beneficial Insects Pollinators -Honey bees -Native bees
Natural enemies
-Predators
-Parasitoids
Arthropod-Mediated Ecosystem Services (AMES)
$57 B/y
$3.1 B/y pollination
$4.5 B/y pest suppression
Losey & Vaughan BioScience, 2006
Pred require prey, ptoids require hosts. When nes are provided with these addt’l resources, ne pops will increase so that nes have potential to better control pest insect populations. Nectar: sugar Pollen: protein
Known as hab mgmt.

4. Conservation Biological Control
Natural enemies may require:
Food
Nectar
Pollen
Sap, honeydew
Alternate host/prey
Shelter
Pred require prey, ptoids require hosts. When nes are provided with these addt’l resources, ne pops will increase so that nes have potential to better control pest insect populations. Nectar: sugar Pollen: protein
Known as hab mgmt.

5. Habitat Management Widely used plants in habitat management
Dill Anethum graveolens
Coriander Coriandrum sativum
Buckwheat Fagopyrum esculentum
Alyssum Lobularia maritima
Faba bean Vicia faba
Native plants
Provide ecosystem services
Enhance native biodiversity
Restoration of imperiled habitats
Habitat permanency (perennials)

6. SARE Project Goals
Assess natural enemy attractiveness to native plants
Determine important plant characteristics
Which subset for use in midwest. To put in broader context, exam. Obj 3. Native vs non=native and by ne group

7. Methods: Plot Establishment
2004
2003
2005
- 43 native perennials,
5 recommended non-native annuals
RCBD, 5 replicates
245 total 1m2 plots
2 hectares
Recommended: freq rec for use in hab mgmt was an est. yr for plants. All 43 native forbs bloomed in 2005 and phenology was similar to wild plants, so will show data from 2005 (as a representative year) today. 1m2 plots shown in photos above, 6m between plots (gesture to field photo) Gathered all data in 2004 and 2005.

8. Methods: Plant Sampling
Plant characteristics
Week of peak bloom
Flower height
Corolla depth, width
(Spot imaging system)
Flower hue, chroma
(S 2000 Fiber optic spectrophotometer)
Floral area/ m2 plot
(Scion image)
To address this question, I measured a set of plant characteristics in addition to performing insect collections. Point to pix while explaining method. Hue=color Chroma=color intensity

9. Methods: Insect Sampling
Vacuum-sampled all flowers for 30 seconds during 3 weeks of peak bloom
(Stihl BG55)
Insects identified to family, counted (77,883 total)
Point to pix while explaining method, Grass= neg. control. Insects id’d and classified into NE, herb, and “other”
Sampled grass areas between plots weekly

10. 2005 Bloom Period
Genus, sp not italics for ease of reading. Explain: by WEEK, line- in bloom, sm square-full bloom, lg square-peak bloom date. Data info are an avg of samples from 1 pl spp over 3 weeks rep by squares

11. 2005 Bloom Period s s s s s s
Non-natives in pink here, date of seeding or planting noted s p

12. 2005 Bloom Period p s
Divided plants into 3 seasons for analyses

13. Bee Abundance at Native Plants
early
middle
late
These are bees that were collected in Anna’s vacuum samples.
Tuell et al. Environ. Entomol. In press

14. Natural Enemies Collected at Flowers
30%
25%
To address this question, I measured a set of plant characteristics in addition to performing insect collections. Point to pix while explaining method. Hue=color Chroma=color intensity
2005 data

15. Early Season: May – mid June
plants.msu.edu
2005 data

16. Early Season: May – mid June
2005 data

17. Early Season: May – mid June
2005 data
2005 data

18. Mid Season: July – mid August
Fwd selxn (backward used, yielded same results) -log trans to homogenize variances. Quadratic terms added where they added to explanatory power of the variable
2005 data
2005 data

19. Late Season: mid August – September
THINK about why the grass control has about 10nes/season!!
2005 data

20. Most Attractive Plant Species

21. Attractive Flower Characteristics
Not:
Flower height
Corolla depth, width
Flower color/saturation
Natural enemies and bees both like:
Large floral area relative to time of season
Which subset for use in midwest. To put in broader context, exam. H2

22. Win-Win Scenarios
On-farm conservation

23. Win-Win Scenarios
Biofuel production

24. Broader Implications Consistent with conservation goals Soil and water
Biodiversity
Ecosystem services
Rural Sustainability
Native Plant Nurseries
Agrotourism

25. Learn More “Enhancing Beneficial Insects with Native Plants”

26. Acknowledgements Research collaborators: Bill Schneider
Gene Vogel, Richard Stuckey
Julianna Tuell, Rufus Isaacs
USDA NRCS
Ingham County Soil
Conservation District
MSU IPM
Identification support:
Gary Parsons
Dr. Debra Trock
Landis lab:
Chris Sebolt, Jeff Evans, Mary Gardiner, Alejandro Costamagna
Funding Support:
USDA Sustainable Agriculture Special Grant
Undergraduate Research Assistants:
Jessica Steffen, Dawn Richards, Emily Knoblock, Bob McDonald, Alissa Berro, Matt Wood, Chuck Stahlman, Charlie Richards, Tara Lehman, Mike Wayo, and Ryan Alderson.
Wildtype native plant nursery, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Farmer collaborators, Pollination researchers