Enhancing arthropod-mediated ecosystem services using plants native to dry sandy soils in Michigan

Once disregarded in favor of non-native annuals, native perennial plants are beginning to be recognized as practical alternatives for conservation biological control in agricultural contexts.  These native plants may provide multiple benefits to natural enemies of agricultural pests, such as nectar and pollen supply, alternative hosts, and undisturbed nesting and overwintering sites.  Plants native to dry soils have been underrepresented in earlier surveys studying attractiveness to natural enemies and herbivores. This study is examining the attractiveness of 54 perennials native to dry sandy soils in Michigan and 2 non-native plants commonly recommended for beneficial insect plantings.  Plants were established as single-species plantings in common gardens at 3 sites in Michigan.  We sampled arthropod community composition during peak bloom of each species, collecting over 2300 samples in the summer of 2015.  We will present preliminary results of a subset of these data, focusing on the relative attractiveness to natural enemies of the 2 non-native plant species, spotted knapweed (Lotus corniculatus L.) and birdsfoot trefoil (Centaurea stoebe micranthos), to that of the more attractive native species in the sample pool.  Finally, we will discuss how these results can be integrated with attractiveness to pollinators and ease of plant establishment to construct evidence-based insectary plant lists for conservation biological control in the fruit and vegetable growing region of western Michigan. Future projects can use similar methodologies to develop native insectary planting lists for agricultural contexts across the globe.