National Garden Day furnish a great opportunity to recognize research supported by USDA ’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture . New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station scientist have made important discoveries about how flowering works in the garden and other home nurture good louse .
experient gardener always receive some worm among their neatly planted vegetable rows and carefully manicured flowerbeds . These worm are informally fuck as “ beneficials ” — those that feed on common dirt ball pests , help oneself go down constitutional material , and/or pollinate flowering plants . In the case of the former , the “ beneficials ” can play an important environmental and economical role as biological pest controls , which could help depress the use of pesticide , reduce labor effort and strengthen the resiliency of constitutive production . And this can make a big impact on New Hampshire , where zealous gardeners and lowly - scale agricultural production abound .
late , a team of New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station scientist made up of UNH faculty and alumni published research in Environmental Entomology examining the role of annual insectary plants — which are flowering plants grown to attract , provender and shelter beneficial insects — in serving as habitats for syrphid flies . Also known as hover or flower flies , syrphids appear as a mixing of a housefly and honeybee — typically with black and white or chickenhearted bands across their bodies — and derive their name from their conduct of hovering over blossom and other plants . And while adult syrphids favor ambrosia and pollen for a meal , many mintage of syrphid larva will consume large numbers racket of common pests like aphid .
“ This report is the first report of the species composition of syrphids living and foraging in our local veg system , ” described co - source Anna Wallingford , an NHAES scientist and a inquiry assistant professor in the Department of Agriculture , nutrition , and food organisation section at UNH . “ We knew that syrphids as a chemical group can allow for important ecosystem service , and we knew plenty about the foraging behaviors of metal money in the western U.S. and Europe , but now we know which species are active here in New England . ”
In other part of the U.S. , peculiarly in California and the Northwest , farmers utilise insectary intercrops ( plants used specifically for attracting predatory dirt ball species ) to attract and maintain syrphids . However , these practices have not been examine within the Northeast . To determine some of the more effective works for attracting syrphids in the Northeast , the research team observed 8 insectary plant species at three sites over three years . The study was channel at UNH ’s Woodman Horticulture Research Farm ; the University of Massachusetts Crop and Animal Research and Education Farm in South Deerfield , MA . ; and the University of Connecticut Plant Science Research Farm in Storrs , CT .
“ We ’ll employ this information as a point of departure to study the behavior and living histories of the key participant in our vegetable agroecosystems , which will lead to better landscape painting direction proficiency and more sustainable pest management down the line of descent , ” added Wallingford .
full-grown syrphids will remain within an region longer if there are flowering plants to provide them with nectar and pollen . These floral imagination then give the adult the procreative business leader to lie their testis near aphid colonies , where their vernal will predate on aphid and other cushy - incarnate plague . At each study site , the enquiry team measured the density of syrphid fly and the species of the syrphid present . Because not all syrphid species attack aphids , knowing which species are present is important .
“ Toxomerus marginatus , or the margined calligrapher , was the most abundant syrphid tent-fly found in this field of study ( about 70 percent of the total surveyed syrphids ) and is known to be abundant across North America , ” said conscientious objector - generator Alina ( Harris ) Cypher ’ 19 G , an integrated pest and pollinator direction specializer with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and partner biologist with the Natural Resource Conservation Service . “ In addition to corrode aphids , their predatory larvae provender on a variety of other soft - corporate insect ( thrips , caterpillars , mealy bugs ) , which suggests our insectary plant research has implications of contributing pest management inspection and repair in kitchen stove of crop and pesterer complexes . ”
The researchers observe that mellifluous genus Alyssum ( Lobularia maritima L.)—a low - growing cool - time of year yearbook in the Brassicaceae plant kinsperson — attracted the most syrphids over the course of this study . However , buckwheat , dill , and cilantro also hosted large issue of syrphid fly and , at time , hosted more syrphids than the madwort .
“ One drawback of using buckwheat , dill , and Chinese parsley over alyssum is that they bloom for short metre periods , and they are n’t as stale hardy in the spring and fall , ” say Cypher . “ Alyssum was the standout coinage due to its time of year - long continuous bloom period that did not involve multiple planting throughout the year . ”
Using an former blooming plant that can provide a uninterrupted food seed is important since the most abundant syrphid observed , T. marginatus , fell from mid - March to other October in the Northeast and year - round in some southerly regions of North America .
As for the next step in this research , Cypher said that a similar subject field could investigate aboriginal repeated plant to serve identity which perennials could be used to attract syrphids .
“ We bang these native syrphid flies co - evolved with native plants , suggesting that their mouthparts and the flower should be a perfect fit , ” Cypher say . “ Our most abundant syrphid fly , T. marginatus , visit aboriginal flowers in the Apiaceae home , including golden Smyrnium olusatrum , angelica , sweet cicely , and wild lovage , as well as native from the Anemone genus and woody natives from the genus of ninebark , blackberry bush , and blueberry bush . ”
“ Any of these perennial natives could be planted near cash harvest to fend for a variety of other beneficial native insects . Unlike the annuals tested in this subject , perennials would n’t require yearly re - planting , ” she added .
origin : nifa.usda.gov
