In 2009, plots of cotton (22.9 m long by 1.83 m deep) were established along the interface of a peanut-cotton farmscape. Specifically, this work aimed to: (1) document feeding of the monarch butterfly, insect pollinators and stink bug parasitoids on milkweed nectar in the field, (2) determine the impact of strategic placement of milkweed nectar provision on parasitism rates of stink bugs in cotton, and (3) and examine the ability of the milkweed insectary habitat to reduce stink bugs below economic threshold in cotton. Strategic placement, in time and space, of a milkweed habitat at these crop-to-crop interfaces may lead to successfully increasing biocontrol of stink bugs in these agricultural farmscapes. In peanut-cotton farmscapes in Georgia, stink bugs, i.e., Nezara viridula, Euschistus servus, and Chinavia hilaris, develop in peanut and then disperse at the crop-to-crop interface to feed on fruit in cotton. Interpretive Summary: The flowers of milkweed species can produce a rich supply of nectar, and therefore, planting an insecticide-free milkweed habitat in agricultural farmscapes could possibly conserve monarch butterflies, bees and other insect pollinators, as well as enhance parasitism of insect pests. International Symposium on Biological Control of Arthropods. Milkweed: A resource for increasing stink bug parasitism and aiding insect pollinator and monarch butterfly conservation. Submitted to: International Symposium on Biological Control of ArthropodsĬitation: Tillman, P.G., Carpenter, J.E.
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