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Optimizing Monarch Butterfly And Bee Conservation Efforts In The Urban Landscape, Adam M. Baker
Optimizing Monarch Butterfly And Bee Conservation Efforts In The Urban Landscape, Adam M. Baker
Theses and Dissertations--Entomology
The eastern migratory population of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) is in serious decline. Most of the efforts to conserve this iconic insect focus on habitat restoration in the US Midwest. Often overlooked are small butterfly-centric gardens that can act as stepping stones between urban and rural areas. These studies aim to optimize the conservation value of such gardens.
Eight milkweed (Asclepias) species varying in height, form, and leaf shape were compared over two years in a common-garden experiment. I measured milkweed growth, rhizome spread, and bloom periods, conducted bi-weekly counts of monarch eggs and larvae, evaluated …
Enhancing Beneficial Insect Biodiversity And Biological Control In Turf: Mowing Height, Naturalized Roughs, And Operation Pollinator, Emily Dobbs
Theses and Dissertations--Entomology
The goal of this study was to evaluate several sustainable turf maintenance techniques for their potential to increase beneficial insect populations, which could then provide ecosystem services including pest suppression and pollination. The three techniques in question were 1) raising mowing height in commercial and residential lawns, 2) establishing naturalized roughs on golf courses, and 3) creating pollinator refuges on golf courses through the program Operation Pollinator. We found that raising mowing heights did increase populations of some predators such as spiders and staphylinids, but did not increase predation, which was ubiquitously high because ant populations were unaffected by mowing …