Provisioning Australian Seed Carrot Agroecosystems with Non-Floral Habitat Provides Oviposition Sites for Crop-Pollinating Diptera.

ABSTRACT: The addition of floral resources is a common intervention to support the adult life stages of key crop pollinators. Fly (Diptera) crop pollinators, however, typically do not require floral resources in their immature life stages and are likely not supported by this management intervention. Here, we deployed portable pools filled with habitat (decaying plant materials, soil, water) in seed carrot agroecosystems with the intention of providing reproduction sites for beneficial syrphid (tribe Eristalini) fly pollinators. Within 12 to 21 days after the pools were deployed, we found that the habitat pools supported the oviposition and larval development of two species of eristaline syrphid flies, Eristalis tenax (Linnaeus, 1758) and Eristalinus punctulatus (Macquart, 1847).

SUBMITTER: Davis AE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10231055 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature