ABSTRACT - Although its natural distribution is limited to forests primarily from the coastal plains of North Carolina to eastern Texas, Magnolia grandiflora is widely used as an outdoor ornamental tree from New York to southern California and is sought after by furniture makers for its finely grained wood. Because of its high market value as both a lumber species and as a popular nursery tree, information on the pollinators of this host tree may contribute to enhancing the reproduction and development of M. grandiflora. The objective of this study was to assess the insect fauna associated with M. grandiflora in forest and urban habitats. Insects were collected from six mature trees in forest and urban settings in eastern Tennessee from November of 2000 through November of 2001 using three collecting methods (pit fall traps, malaise/pan traps in the upper and lower canopy, and canopy fogging). Also, insects were collected from the flowers of two randomly selected trees for a thirty-minute period on three days per week with a sweep net, and by placing a 12-inch sticky trap on each of ten flowers on the two trees. From 236 specimens processed, five orders representing fourteen families have been determined. The most frequent visitors to the flowers were: Apis mellifera L. (19.9%), Chauliognathus marginatus (Fabricius) (19.5%), and Popillia japonica Newman (34.3%).
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA