Hover fly (Diptera: Syrphidae) diversity and seasonality in North Georgia apple and peach orchards.

ABSTRACT: Crop pollination and natural biological control provided by beneficial insects have an economic worth of hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Apple and peach production in North Georgia are economically important industries that benefit from these ecological services. Hover flies are dual ecosystem service providers that have been relatively understudied in orchard ecosystems. We investigated the diversity and seasonal activity of hover flies in apple and peach orchards at 2 sites in North Georgia from March to October 2020 and 2021. Bowl traps were used to sample hover flies in orchard edge and interior habitats. The aphidophagous species Toxomerus geminatus (Say) (Diptera: Syrphidae) and Toxomerus marginatus (Say) (Diptera: Syrphidae) comprised 86.6% of the total hover flies collect

SUBMITTER: McCravy KW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11318625 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature