Attractiveness of flowering plants for natural enemies

Abstract

The set of 7 flowering plant species (Anethum graveolens, Calendula officinalis, Centaurea cyanus, Fagopyrum esculentum, Foeniculum vulgare, Tagetes patula and Vicia faba) was compared for their attractiveness to natural enemies such as ladybeetles (Coccinellidae), hoverflies (Syrphidae), ichneumon wasps (Ichneumonidae) and predatory bugs (Orius spp.) during the years 2008-2010. The trial was held in an organic open field located at the Faculty of Horticulture of Mendel University in Brno, Lednice, Czech Republic. The software Canoco (RDA analysis) was used in order to see the relations between plant and insect communities. Flowering plants A. graveolens, C. cyanus, C. officinalis, F. vulgare and F. esculentum were found to be the most attractive for the evaluated beneficial insects. The most abundant beneficial insects were hoverflies (562008, 1542009, 13242010) and ladybeetles (652008, 1162009, 5112010) followed by predatory bugs (142008, 472009, 1382010) and ichneumon wasps (202008, 142009, 822010).