Wild Flowering Plants Research Articles

Establishing Wildflower Pollinator Habitats in Agricultural Farmland to Provide Multiple Ecosystem Services.

Beneficial insects provide critical ecosystem services and in agriculture their contribution in pollination and pest control is widely evident (Losey and Vaughan, 2006; Kremen and Chaplin-Kramer, 2007). Globally, 35% of food production benefits from pollinator services (Klein et al., 2007). In many systems, pollination has been provided by the domesticated honey bee (primarily Apis mellifera), but the reliability of pollination services by wild pollinators is becoming increasingly valued (Garibaldi et al., 2013, 2014). These wild pollinators, the majority of which are bee species, persist independently in the ecosystem by relying on multiple resources to complete their lifecycles (Bohart, 1972). Similarly, natural enemies, such as insect predators and parasitoids, provide vital pest control and also persist independently in the farmscape. Although these beneficial insects are not directly managed for their ecosystem services, the farm landscape surrounding targeted crop fields can be modified to increase their abundance and diversity resulting in increased ecosystem services to support a sustainable agricultural system (Landis et al., 2000; Hannon and Sisk, 2009; Holzschuh et al., 2012). Managing farmscapes for these wild beneficial insects is especially critical as insects are threatened by human-mediated landscape disturbances (Tscharntke et al., 2005). With wild bee populations in decline (Potts et al., 2010), there is increasing interest in managing for wild bees by incorporating pollinator habitat into farmland. The concept of setting aside land specifically for wildlife within a farmscape is not new (Baudry et al., 2000), however, the addition of wildflower plantings or saving natural wildflower areas is a specific strategy that can be adopted for its multi-functionality in supporting both pollinators and natural enemies. It is especially valuable in that it can be modified and designed to fit specific cropping systems, landscapes, and support the lifecycles of a community of unmanaged beneficial insects. Here we consider how these variables have been examined in recent pollinator habitat studies, and discuss additional considerations to optimize wildflower plantings to benefit multiple ecosystem services.

Summary for policymakers of the thematic assessment on pollinators, pollination and food production

Values of pollinators and pollination 1. Animal pollination plays a vital role as a regulating ecosystem service in nature. Globally, nearly 90 per cent of wild flowering plant species depend, at least in part, on the transfer of pollen by animals. These plants are critical for the continued functioning of ecosystems as they provide food, form habitats, and provide other resources for a wide range of other species. 2. More than three quarters of the leading types of global food crops rely to some extent on animal pollination for yield and/or quality. Pollinator-dependent crops contribute to 35 per cent of global crop production volume. 3. Given that pollinator-dependent crops rely on animal pollination to varying degrees, it is estimated that 5–8 per cent of current global crop production is directly attributed to animal pollination with an annual market value of $235 billion–$577 billion (in 2015, United States dollars1) worldwide.

Native wildflower plantings support wild bee abundance and diversity in agricultural landscapes across the United States.

Global trends in pollinator-dependent crops have raised awareness of the need to support managed and wild bee populations to ensure sustainable crop production. Provision of sufficient forage resources is a key element for promoting bee populations within human impacted landscapes, particularly those in agricultural lands where demand for pollination service is high and land use and management practices have reduced available flowering resources. Recent government incentives in North America and Europe support the planting of wildflowers to benefit pollinators; surprisingly, in North America there has been almost no rigorous testing of the performance of wildflower mixes, or their ability to support wild bee abundance and diversity. We tested different wildflower mixes in a spatially replicated, multiyear study in three regions of North America where production of pollinator-dependent crops is high: Florida, Michigan, and California. In each region, we quantified flowering among wildflower mixes composed of annual and perennial species, and with high and low relative diversity. We measured the abundance and species richness of wild bees, honey bees, and syrphid flies at each mix over two seasons. In each region, some but not all wildflower mixes provided significantly greater floral display area than unmanaged weedy control plots. Mixes also attracted greater abundance and richness of wild bees, although the identity of best mixes varied among regions. By partitioning floral display size from mix identity we show the importance of display size for attracting abundant and diverse wild bees. Season-long monitoring also revealed that designing mixes to provide continuous bloom throughout the growing season is critical to supporting the greatest pollinator species richness. Contrary to expectation, perennials bloomed in their first season, and complementarity in attraction of pollinators among annuals and perennials suggests that inclusion of functionally diverse species may provide the greatest benefit. Wildflower mixes may be particularly important for providing resources for some taxa, such as bumble bees, which are known to be in decline in several regions of North America. No mix consistently attained the full diversity that was planted. Further study is needed on how to achieve the desired floral display and diversity from seed mixes.

Neonicotinoid pesticide exposure impairs crop pollination services provided by bumblebees.

Recent concern over global pollinator declines has led to considerable research on the effects of pesticides on bees1-5. Although pesticides are typically not encountered at lethal levels in the field, there is growing evidence indicating that exposure to field-realistic levels can have sub-lethal effects on bees affecting their foraging behaviour1,6,7, homing ability8,9 and reproductive success2,5. Bees are essential for the pollination of a wide variety of crops and the majority of wild flowering plants10-12, but until now research on pesticide impacts has been limited to direct effects on bees themselves and not on the pollination services they provide. Here we show the first evidence that pesticide exposure can reduce the pollination services bumblebees deliver to apples, a crop of global economic importance. Colonies exposed to a neonicotinoid pesticide provided lower visitation rates to apple trees and collected pollen less often. Most importantly these pesticide exposed colonies produced apples containing fewer seeds demonstrating a reduced delivery of pollination services. Our results also suggest reduced pollination service delivery is not due to pesticide-induced changes in individual bee behaviour but most likely due to impacts at the colony level. These findings show that pesticide exposure can impair the ability of bees to provide pollination services, with important implications for both the sustained delivery of stable crop yields and the function of natural ecosystems.

Diversity of Insect Pollinators in Different Agricultural Crops and Wild Flowering Plants in Korea: Literature Review

Insect pollination is an important ecosystem process for increased agricultural crop yield as well as for enhancing ecosystem production. We analyzed insect pollinators visiting fruits and flowers in different orchards and wild fields across Korea during the last three decades, published in scientific journals in Korea. A total of 368 species in 115 families of 7 orders were recorded to serve as pollinators in 43 different agricultural crops and wild flowers. The most diverse insect pollinators were the species of Hymenoptera followed by Diptera and Coleoptera. The dominant insect pollinator was the honey bee (Apis melliferas) followed by Eristalis cerealis, Tetralonia nipponensis, Xylocopa appendiculata, Eristalis tenax, Helophilus virgatus and Artogeia rapae. Study methods employed for diversity of pollinators were mostly sweep netting, but trapping was mostly employed for bee diversity and direct observation for lepidopteran diversity. Bee diversity was higher in orchards while insect order level diversity was higher in wild plant pollinators, suggesting the important roles of wild flowers for conservation of insect pollinators.

Wildflower plantings enhance the abundance of natural enemies and their services in adjacent blueberry fields

Wildflower plantings can support local abundance of natural enemies, but their influence on biological control of pests in adjacent crop fields is less well documented. To test whether biological control is enhanced by these plantings, we established native, perennial wildflowers in areas adjacent to highbush blueberry fields. Once wildflowers were established we found greater abundance of natural enemies in the fields adjacent to wildflower plantings compared with those adjacent to unenhanced control field perimeters. Predaceous arthropods, including spiders, hoverflies, and lady beetles, were among the most common natural enemies observed and collected in the blueberry fields. Using corn earworm eggs, Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), as sentinel prey, we found a similar pattern of biological control, with higher biological control services index values in fields adjacent to the wildflower plantings than in the unenhanced control fields. Our results provide evidence for the ability of wildflower plantings to support natural enemy populations in agricultural landscapes, and to potentially provide local enhancement of biological control in adjacent crops.

Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.) and Pollination Issues: Current status, impacts and potential drivers of decline

European honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are important pollinators of many fruits, nuts, vegetables and field crops. Honey bees also pollinate different wild flowering plants and help to maintain the ecosystems. Currently, these pollinators are facing a number of threats including habitat destruction, pesticides, mites, parasites and loss of genetic diversity. Because of the decline in their number, there is a great loss of ecological services which impacts the world’s economy. This review of honey bee and pollination issues highlights the need of protection and conservation of these important pollinators. Research is required to quantify the synergistic effects of potential drivers for current colony loss and to identify the ecotypes and native species of honey bees which are more resistant to pests, pathogens and pesticides.

Larger patches of diverse floral resources increase insect pollinator density, diversity, and their pollination of native wildflowers

Native wildflower plantings can be used to provide nutritional resources to support pollinating insects, yet the effects of planting size and bloom richness on the density, diversity, and function of these insects are not well understood. We established stands of twelve native flowering perennial plant species in replicated plots ranging in size from 1 to 100m2. These plots were sampled for insect pollinators, bloom richness, and seed production by three wildflower species. Honeybees, wild bees, and hoverflies all responded positively to increasing flower richness, whereas particular insect pollinator groups responded differently to the size of the flowering plant area. The density of honeybees and hoverflies was not affected by increasing flowering patch size, whereas in general, wild bees were observed at higher density and diversity in the 30 and 100m2 patches. Increasing wildflower patch size, and thus wild bee density, resulted in greater seed set in the sampled wildflowers. These results indicate that wild bees are sensitive to the area and richness of floral resources in patches, even at relatively small scales. Therefore, larger wildflower plantings with more diverse flower species mixes are more suitable for the conservation of wild pollinators and reproduction of sown species.

Flower plantings increase wild bee abundance and the pollination services provided to a pollination‐dependent crop

Summary Pollination services from wild insects contribute to crop productivity around the world, but are at risk of decline in agricultural landscapes. Using highbush blueberry as a model system, we tested whether wildflower plantings established adjacent to crop fields would increase the abundance of wild pollinators during crop bloom and enhance pollination and yield. Plantings were seeded in 2009 with a mix of 15 perennial wildflower species that provided season‐long bloom and increased plant density and floral area during the subsequent 3 years. Honeybees visiting blueberry flowers had similar abundance in enhanced and control fields in all 4 years of this study, whereas wild bee and syrphid abundance increased annually in the fields adjacent to wildflower plantings. Crop pollination parameters including percentage fruit set, berry weight and mature seeds per berry were significantly greater in fields adjacent to wildflower plantings 3 and 4 years after seeding, leading to higher crop yields and with the associated revenue exceeding the cost of wildflower establishment and maintenance. Synthesis and applications. We suggest that provision of forage habitat for bees adjacent to pollinator‐dependent crops can conserve wild pollinators in otherwise resource‐poor agricultural landscapes. Over time, these plantings can support higher crop yields and bring a return on the initial investment in wildflower seed and planting establishment, also insuring against loss of managed pollinators. Further understanding of the importance of planting size, location and landscape context will be required to effectively implement this practice to support crop pollination.

English

Wild flowering plants in Tafila Province (South of Jordan) in terms of floristic features, with regards to its wild vascular plants were studied. A list of wild flowering plants was prepared. Field trips were made to the study area. A total number of 383 species belong to 198 genera and 48 families were recorded. Wild trees like Cupressus sempervirens, Ceratonia siliqua, Quercus sp. (Oak) and Juniperus phoenica were reported. Some recorded species such as Anthemis maris- mortui, or the medicinal rare species such as Iris petrana and Iris nigricans, Salvadora persica, Osyris alba, Datura stramonium, Globularia Arabica and Amygdalus communis are considered as endemic to the area. A number of historical economic trees have been recorded in the study area like Pistacia atlantica; some edible species are reported like Malva sp., Allium sp., Gundelia tournefortii, etc. Some exotic plant species were reported like Iris species and Lupinus varius. Some endemic species were reported, e.g Iris petrana, rare plant species were also recorded, e.g, Globularia arabica, I. nigricans, Iris edomensis and Limonium sp. Plant examples are listed and some selected photos for some plant species from the study area are included.   Key words: Plant diversity, Jordan, Tafila, conservation.

Identification of Plant Species for Crop Pollinator Habitat Enhancement in the Northern Prairies

Wild pollinators have a positive impact on the productivity of insect-pollinated crops. Consequently, landowners are being encouraged to maintain and grow wildflower patches to provide habitat for important pollinators. Research on plant-pollinator interaction matrices indicates that a small number of “core” plants provide a disproportionately high amount of pollen and nectar to insects. This matrix data can be used to help design wildflower plantings that provide optimal resources for desirable pollinators. Existing interaction matrices from three tall grass prairie preserves in the northern prairies were used to identify core plant species that are visited by wild pollinators of a common insect-pollinated crop, namely canola (Brassica napus L.). The wildflower preferences of each insect taxon were determined using quantitative insect visitation and floral abundance data. Phenology data were used to calculate the degree of floral synchrony between the wildflowers and canola. Using this information I ranked the 41 wildflowers that share insect visitors with canola according to how useful they are for providing pollinators with forage before and after canola flowers. The top five species were smooth blue aster (Symphyotrichum laeve (L.) A. & D. Löve), stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida L.), wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa L.), purple prairie-clover (Dalea purpurea Vent.) and Lindley’s aster (Symphyotrichum ciliolatum (Lindl.) A. & D. Löve). By identifying the most important wild insects for crop pollination, and determining when there will be “pollen and nectar gaps”, appropriate plant species can be selected for companion plantings to increase pollinator populations and crop production.

Succession Influences Wild Bees in a Temperate Forest Landscape: The Value of Early Successional Stages in Naturally Regenerated and Planted Forests

In many temperate terrestrial forest ecosystems, both natural human disturbances drive the reestablishment of forests. Succession in plant communities, in addition to reforestation following the creation of open sites through harvesting or natural disturbances, can affect forest faunal assemblages. Wild bees perform an important ecosystem function in human-altered and natural or seminatural ecosystems, as they are essential pollinators for both crops and wild flowering plants. To maintain high abundance and species richness for pollination services, it is important to conserve and create seminatural and natural land cover with optimal successional stages for wild bees. We examined the effects of forest succession on wild bees. In particular, we evaluated the importance of early successional stages for bees, which has been suspected but not previously demonstrated. A range of successional stages, between 1 and 178 years old, were examined in naturally regenerated and planted forests. In total 4465 wild bee individuals, representing 113 species, were captured. Results for total bees, solitary bees, and cleptoparasitic bees in both naturally regenerated and planted conifer forests indicated a higher abundance and species richness in the early successional stages. However, higher abundance and species richness of social bees in naturally regenerated forest were observed as the successional stages progressed, whereas the abundance of social bees in conifer planted forest showed a concave-shaped relationship when plotted. The results suggest that early successional stages of both naturally regenerated and conifer planted forest maintain a high abundance and species richness of solitary bees and their cleptoparasitic bees, although social bees respond differently in the early successional stages. This may imply that, in some cases, active forest stand management policies, such as the clear-cutting of planted forests for timber production, would create early successional habitats, leading to significant positive effects for bees in general.

Larger wildflower plantings increase natural enemy density, diversity, and biological control of sentinel prey, without increasing herbivore density

1. An important means of conserving beneficial insects in resource‐limited habitats is to meet their ecological requirements, which may be achieved by providing areas containing flowering plants that bloom throughout the season, but little is known about the importance of wildflower plot size for supporting natural enemies or the biological control they provide.2. Wildflowers were established in plots of sizes ranging from 1 to 100 m2, and found that natural enemy density, group richness, and diversity of natural enemy groups increased with plot size.3. The density of insect herbivores was lower in all flower plots than in the control samples, whereas the diversity of herbivore groups was significantly higher in flower plots.4. Comparing population growth of sentinel soybean aphids (Aphis glycines Matsumura) among plot sizes, aphid colonies were smaller as plot size increased.5. Providing beneficial insects with flowering resources resulted in significantly more natural enemies and greater pest control than in smaller flower plots or mown grass areas.6. These results indicate that the density, diversity, and function of natural enemies are sensitive to the size of wildflower plantings, even at relatively small scales. Therefore, larger wildflower plots are more suitable for the conservation of beneficial insects and their provision of natural pest control.

Pollinator-Mediated Selection on Flower Color Allele Drives Reinforcement

Reinforcement is the process by which reduced hybrid fitness generates selection favoring the evolution of stronger prezygotic reproductive barriers between emerging species. Using common-garden field experiments, we quantified the strength of reinforcing selection in nature by demonstrating strong selection favoring an allele conferring increased pigment intensity in the plant Phlox drummondii in areas of sympatry with the closely related species Phlox cuspidata. Incomplete hybrid sterility between the two species generates selection for traits that decrease interspecies hybridization. In contrast, selection on this locus is undetectable in the absence of P. cuspidata. We demonstrate that reinforcing selection is generated by nonrandom pollinator movement, in which pollinators move less frequently between intensely pigmented P. drummondii and P. cuspidata than between lightly pigmented P. drummondii and P. cuspidata.

Sweat Bees, Halictid Bees, Halictidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Halictidae)

Sweat bees are very important pollinators for many wildflowers and crops, including stone fruits, pomme fruits, alfalfa and sunflower. Sweat bee populations can be encouraged with wildflower plantings and by providing nesting areas. Halictids typically nest in bare soil located in a sunny location. Minimum tillage and insecticide use will help to increase populations of Halictidae and other soil nesting bees. Learn more about this diverse family of bees in this 5-page fact sheet was written by Katie Buckley, Catherine Zettel Nalen, and Jamie Ellis, and published by the UF Department of Entomology and Nematology, August 2011.
 https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in897

Wild edible flowering plants of the Lllam Hills (Eastern Nepal) and their mode of Use by the Local community

The Illam district, situated in the extreme North Eastern part (Latitude 26.58N and 87.58E Longitude) of Nepal, is a hot spot for floral diversity. The study of wild edible plants of this region was an attempt to highlight the types of wild flowering plants found there and mode of use by the people of the Illam hills. In this respect, a survey of natural resources of some of the representative regions of the district was undertaken and more than 74 major varieties of plant species were found to be used frequently by the people of the hills. The rich diversity occurring in Dioscoriaceae, Moraceae, Rosaceae, Myrtaceae, Poaceae, Urticaceae and Arecaceae provided the wild angiospermic species commonly used by the people of the hills.

Especies de plantas visitadas por abejas pecoreadoras durante la inducción de polinización en melón.

El objetivo de la investigación fue determinar, a través de la identificación del polen corbicular, las diferentes especies de plantas que son visitadas por las abejas (Apis mellifera L.) durante la polinización inducida del melón (Cucumis melo L.). El trabajo se llevó a cabo en La Laguna ocalizada en los estados de Coahuila y Durango, México en la primavera del 2003. Durante los primeros 31 días de la floración del melón, un campo de seis hectáreas fue polinizada por 18 colmenas, nueve de las cuales tenía una trampa para captura de polen. El polen fue colectado dos veces por semana, pesado y congelado. Durante el año se colectaron anteras de plantas silvestres y cultivadas en floración alrededor del cultivo y en la región para preservarlas e identificar su polen usando la técnica de acetolisis. El polen corbicular, muestreado los días 5°, 9°, 12°, 20°, 24° y 31° contados a partir del inicio de la aparición de las flores estaminadas, fue procesado y contado en el microscopio óptico. El tamaño del polen fue calculado mediante la fórmula: volumen V=?a2b donde a es el eje mayor y b el eje menor y multiplicado por el número de granos de polen se obtuvo el volumen total. El polen de melón fue el 8.7 %, 9.8%, 17.6 %, 9.3 %, 28.1% y 83.5% del colectado (en base al número de granos) respectivamente en las fechas de muestreo. El porcentaje del polen de melón en base al volumen fue: 51.6%, 85.0%, 66.6 %, 84.4 %, 68.9% y 95.0% respectivamente. Se concluye que el melón fue la principal planta visitada por las abejas como fuente de polen y que las especies de plantas con mayor número de granos de polen presentes en las muestras como mezquite (Prosopis juliflora (Swartz) DC.), alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), gobernadora (Larrea tridentata (DC) Cov.), pepino (Cucumis sativus L.), mostacilla (Sysimbrium irio L.) y sorgo (Sorghum vulgare L.) fueron especies visitadas como fuentes suplementarias de polen.

LOCAL NAMES OF SOME USEFUL PLANTS FROM IĞDIR PROVINCE (EAST ANATOLIA)

An ethnobotanical survey was carried out in Igdir province (East Anatolia) between May 2007 and October 2008. During this survey, besides to the usage of the wild flowering plants, their local names were also determined. This paper presents a list of the local names of wild useful plants growing in Igdir province.

LOCAL NAMES OF SOME PLANTS FROM THE SOUTH PART OF İZMİT (NORTHWEST TURKEY)

An ethnobotanical survey was carried out in the south part of Izmit between April 2006 and September 2007. This survey has an aim to identify the traditional usage of the plants in the south part of Izmit, which is the centre county of Kocaeli. During this survey, besides to the usage of the wild flowering plants, their local names are also determined. This paper presents a list of the local names of wild useful plants that grow in the south part of Izmit.

Influence of Commercially Available Wildflower Mixes on Beneficial Arthropod Abundance and Predation in Turfgrass

Abstract Conservation and augmentation of indigenous natural enemies are promising strategies for biologically based pest management in outdoor urban environments. This research sought to determine whether the addition of wildflower plantings would enhance the occurrence, abundance and impact of beneficial arthropods in the landscape, and to determine the potential compatibility of pest-resistant turfgrass and natural control of Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica Newman, and fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith). A bermudagrass cultivar (susceptible to fall armyworm), a zoysiagrass cultivar (resistant to fall armyworm), and two different commercially available wildflower mixes all harbored a diverse array of beneficial arthropods in both large and small plot evaluations. A wildflower mix containing 15 species of flowers provided significant, season-long increases in foliar-dwelling spiders and bigeyed bugs during 1-yr of a 2-yr study in large (1,512 m2) plots. Ground-dwelling spiders were more...