Environmental Entomology (2011) 40, 1177-1182

Nathaniel J. Walton and Rufus Isaacs (2011)
Survival of three commercially available natural enemies exposed to Michigan wildflowers
Environmental Entomology 40 (5), 1177-1182
Abstract: Flowering plants are often used in habitat management programs to conserve the arthropod natural enemies of insect pests. In this study, nine species of flowering plants representing six families commonly found in North America east of the Rocky Mountains were evaluated based on how much they extended the lifespans of three commercially available natural enemy species in cages with cut flower stems compared with cages containing water only. The natural enemies used in the experiments were a lady beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville), a predatory bug (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae: Orius insidiosus (Say)), and an aphid parasitoid (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidius colemani Viereck). The plant species that most extended the lifespans of all three natural enemies were Monarda fistulosa L. (Lamiaceae), Solidago juncea Aiton (Asteraceae), and Daucus carota L. (Apiaceae). Agastache nepetoides (L.) Kuntze (Lamiaceae), Lobelia siphilitica L. (Campanulaceae), and Trifolium pratense L. (Fabaceae) were intermediate in their support of natural enemies. One plant species, Penstemon hirsutus (L.) Willdenow (Scrophulariaceae), did not contribute to the longevity of natural enemies any more than water alone. These results emphasize the need for multi-species evaluations of flowering plants for conservation biocontrol programs, and the variability in plant value for natural enemies.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Nathaniel J. Walton, Rufus Isaacs

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
environment/habitat manipulation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
Aphidius colemani (parasitoid)			U.S.A. (NE)
Orius insidiosus (predator)			U.S.A. (NE)
Hippodamia convergens (predator)			U.S.A. (NE)