Entomology Commons^™

Flies Associated With Floral Canopies Of The New Oilseed Crop, Pennycress, In The Midwestern U.S.A., Frank Forcella, Matt Petersen, William L. Perry, Samantha S. Wells, Alex Hard, Russ W. Gesch, Yesuf Mohammed, Cody Hoerning, Tad L. Wesley, Emma Ambrosi, Winthrop B. Phippen

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Flies are frequent visitors to flowers of many species of plants within the mustard family (Brassicaceae). They derive nutrition from these flowers, and some fly species are pollinators. Field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense) is a mustard species that is being developed as a new “cash cover crop,” i.e., an autumn-sown cover crop whose oil-rich seeds can be harvested profitably in spring. Although pennycress is largely wind- and self-pollinated, its flowers also attract insect visitors. However, the extent of visitation to pennycress flowers by flies remains largely unknown, especially the identities of those flies. Thus, we examined flies associated with …