Identification of flower functional traits affecting abundance of generalist predators in perennial multiple species wildflower strips

Abstract

In agricultural fields, wildflower strips can be sown to enhance conservation biological control of insect pests. However, issues remain regarding the composition of flower mixtures to effectively attract and support large communities of natural enemies. Trait-based approaches are promising for this purpose. In the present study, conducted in an agricultural field of Belgium in 2014 and 2015, 15 flower mixtures were considered to explore the relation between the abundance of trapped generalist predators (i.e. lacewings [Neuroptera: Chrysopidae], ladybeetles [Coleoptera: Coccinellidae] and hoverflies [Diptera: Syrphidae]) and the community-weighted means of seven flower traits. Through a redundancy analysis, it was found that the presence/absence of flower ultra-violet pattern and the morphology of the corolla (that determines the accessibility of floral resources) were the traits that significantly affected the abundance of the generalist predators in the flower mixtures. The ladybeetles Harmonia axyridis and Propylea quatuordecimpunctata as well as the lacewings Chrysoperla carnea were more abundant in mixtures with a high cover of flowers showing an ultra-violet pattern, while the opposite was observed for the ladybeetle Coccinella septempunctata. As for hoverflies, Episyrphus balteatus and Eupeodes corollae were more abundant in mixtures with a high cover of flowers with open nectar. These results bring new knowledge regarding how a range of natural enemy species reacts to flower cues in diversified plant communities and should help in elaborating flower mixtures that enhance conservation biological control.