Evaluation of Native and Nonnative Ornamentals as Pollinator Plants in Florida: I. Floral Abundance and Insect Visitation

Diverse floral resources impart immense value for pollinating insects of all types. With increasing popularity and demand for modern ornamental hybrids, cultivation by breeders has led to selection for a suite of traits such as extended bloom periods and novel colors and forms deemed attractive to the human eye. Largely understudied is pollinator preference for these new cultivars, as compared with their native congeners. To address this gap in understanding, 10 species of popular herbaceous flowering plants, commonly labeled as pollinator-friendly, were evaluated at two sites in Florida [U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cold hardiness zones 8b and 9a] and across three seasons for their floral abundance and overall attractiveness to different groups of pollinating insects. Each genus, apart from pentas, encompassed a native and nonnative species. Native species included blanket flower (Gaillardia pulchella), lanceleaf coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata), pineland lantana (Lantana depressa), and scarlet sage (Salvia coccinea). Nonnative species included Barbican™ yellow-red ring blanket flower (G. aristata ‘Gaiz005’), Bloomify™ rose lantana (L. camara ‘UF-1011-2’), mysty salvia (S. longispicata ×farinacea ‘Balsalmysty’), Lucky Star® dark red pentas (Pentas lanceolata ‘PAS1231189’), ruby glow pentas (P. lanceolata ‘Ruby glow’) and Uptick™ Gold & Bronze coreopsis (Coreopsis × ‘Baluptgonz’). Flower-visiting insects were recorded during five-minute intervals in the morning and categorized into the following morpho-groups: honey bees, large-bodied bees (bumble and carpenter bees), other bees (small to medium-bodied native bees), butterflies/moths, and wasps. Floral abundance and pollinator visitation varied widely by season, location, and species. Of the plant species evaluated, nonnative plants produced nearly twice as many flowers as native plants. About 22,000 floral visitations were observed. The majority of visits were by native, small to medium-bodied bees (55.28%), followed by butterflies and moths (15.4%), large-bodied native bees (11.8%), wasps (10.0%), and honey bees (7.6%). Among plant genera, both native and nonnative coreopsis and blanket flower were most attractive to native, small to medium-bodied bees (e.g., sweat bees, leafcutter bees) with the greatest number of visitations occurring during the early and midmonths of the study (May–August). Across the study, butterflies and moths visited lantana more frequently than all other ornamentals evaluated, whereas pentas were most attractive to wasps. Large-bodied bees visited plants most frequently in May and June, primarily foraging from both native and nonnative salvia. While results from this study showed nominal differences between native and nonnative species in their ability to attract the studied pollinator groups, care should be taken to making similar assessments of other modern plant types.

Evaluation of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) in an Intercropping System as Pollinator Enhancer for Increased Crop Yield

Production of pollinator-dependent crops (PDCs) is increasing. However, pollinators are declining partly due to loss of floral resources. There is urgency to mitigate this decline and the potential risks to the production of PDCs and food security. One way is by promoting farming systems that enhance flower-rich habitats. In a two-year study, Pinkeye Purple Hull and Whippoorwill cowpea varieties attractive to pollinators were intercropped with three PDCs (squash, okra, and watermelon). We evaluated whether cowpea intercrop increases the abundance and diversity of pollinators, other beneficial insects, and crop yield, and decreases the abundance of the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB). Diverse pollinators were recorded in both years for a total of 80,379, representing seven pollinator families (Andrenidae, Apidae, Crabronidae, Formicidae, Halictidae, Tachinidae, and Vespidae) captured in pan traps, six families (Apidae, Crabronidae, Halictidae, Pyralidae, Tachinidae, and Vespidae) from sticky traps, and five pollinator types (bumble bees, carpenter bees, honeybees, butterflies and moths, and wasps) through direct visual count. Pollinator abundance and diversity was highest on the cowpea-intercropped treatments than controls. PDCs intercropped with cowpea recorded more beneficial insects than BMSB. Okra, squash, and watermelon intercrops produced 7%, 27%, and 54% more fruits than the control, respectively. Our findings indicate that intercropping cowpeas with PDCs attracted more and diverse pollinators and resulted in increased crop yield. However, to optimize pollination, factors such as planting dates to synchronize the flowering of both cowpeas and PDCs should be taken into consideration.

Morphometrics Variations of Carpenter Bees Xylocopa confusa Latreille and Xylocopa latipes Drury from Different Habitats in Central Sulawesi

Habitat is a place for living things to grow and develop. Differences in physical characteristics of habitats within an area can affect the morphometry of an organism. This study aims to provide information related to the morphometric variation of the carpenter bees Xylocopa confusa Latreille and Xylocopa latipes Drury in different habitats in Central Sulawesi. The research was conducted in four types of habitat, namely primary forest, secondary forest, rural areas, and urban areas in January 2019. The collection of carpenter bees useds a sweep net by swinging it around the sampling location. The carpenter bees obtained were then killed in a killing jar for five minutes. The carpenter bees samples were put into a sample bottle based on the type of habitat. Furthermore, the pinning process was carried out using insect needles. The results showed that the physical characteristics of the different habitats could affect the morphometric variations of the carpenter bees Xylocopa confusa and Xylocopa latipes. The size of the body morphometry of carpenter bees is larger in primary forest habitats, while the smallest size of bees is found in urban areas. This research is useful as preliminary data before carrying out the cultivation and conservation process of wood bees considering that their role in nature is very important.

Morphological description, DNA barcodes and phylogenetic placement of a new mite species: Dinogamasus saengdaoae sp. nov. (Mesostigmata: Laelapidae) found in the acarinarium of carpenter bees in Thailand

Dinogamasus saengdaoae Attasopa & Ferrari sp. nov. is described based on adult females from the abdominal pouch of females of Xylocopa tenuiscapa (Westwood) in Chiang Mai Province, Northern Thailand. The new species belongs to the D. perkinsi (Oudemans) group (sensu LeVeque) and can be distinguished from its congeners by the combination of the following characters: (1) dorsal shield covering opisthosoma neither laterally nor posteriorly; (2) opisthonotal soft cuticle with a pair of relatively long setae posteriorly; (3) setae pd1, pd2 on genu I and ad3, pd3, pl1, pl2 on both genu and tibia I conical. Maximum likelihood-based analysis of newly-generated DNA barcodes shows that the sequenced specimens of D. saengdaoae sp. nov. form a monophyletic cluster, and parsimony analysis of a previously available morphological dataset indicates that the species comprises a strongly-supported clade with D. perkinsi and D. piperi LeVeque. We provide an additional couplet for Lundqvist’s key for the species of Dinogamasus Kramer to facilitate identification of D. saengdaoae sp. nov..

Pollinators on Cowpea Vigna unguiculata: Implications for Intercropping to Enhance Biodiversity

Pollinators are on the decline and loss of flower resources play a major role. This raises concerns regarding production of insect-pollinated crops and therefore food security. There is urgency to mitigate the decline through creation of farming systems that encourage flower-rich habitats. Cowpea is a crop that produces pollen and nectar attractive to pollinators. Twenty-four cowpea varieties were planted, and the number of pollinators were counted using three sampling methods: pan traps, sticky traps, and direct visual counts. Five pollinator types (honey bees, bumble bees, carpenter bees, wasps, and butterflies and moths), 11 and 16 pollinator families were recorded from direct visual counts, pan and sticky traps, respectively. Pollinator distribution varied significantly among varieties and sampling methods, with highest number on Penny Rile (546.0 ± 38.6) and lowest (214.8 ± 29.2) in Iron and Clay. Sticky traps accounted for 45%, direct visual counts (31%), and pan traps (23%) of pollinators. Pollinators captured by pan traps were more diverse than the other methods. The relationship between number of pollinators and number of flowers was significant (r2 = 0.3; p = 0.009). Cowpea can increase resources for pollinators and could be used to improve pollinator abundance and diversity in different farming systems.