Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, 413 Biological Sciences Building, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
Department of Biological Sciences, Western Illinois University, 1 University Circle, Macomb, IL 61455, USA.
J Econ Entomol. 2024 Aug 12;117(4):1572-1581. doi: 10.1093/jee/toae103.
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 collected. Apple orchards yielded the greatest hover fly presence, species richness, and Toxomerus spp. abundance. Hover fly richness and diversity were greatest during postbloom, but Toxomerus spp. abundance was greatest during the bloom period. No differences in presence, richness, diversity, or Toxomerus spp. abundance were found between edge and interior habitats. Toxomerus geminatus and T. marginatus were dominant from March through August, with T. geminatus being more abundant than T. marginatus in March, early April, and August. October sampling produced the greatest hover fly richness. Our results suggest that hover flies are abundant in North Georgia orchards and exhibit substantial spatial and temporal variation in richness and diversity. Expanded studies incorporating additional sampling efforts and methods are needed to further characterize the hover fly fauna and their impact on North Georgia apple and peach orchards.
农作物传粉和有益昆虫提供的自然生物防治每年具有数千亿美元的经济价值。佐治亚州北部的苹果和桃生产是经济上重要的产业，受益于这些生态服务。食蚜蝇是双重生态系统服务提供者，在果园生态系统中相对研究较少。我们调查了 2020 年和 2021 年佐治亚州北部两个地点的苹果和桃园中食蚜蝇的多样性和季节性活动。碗状陷阱用于在果园边缘和内部栖息地中取样食蚜蝇。食蚜性物种 Toxomerus geminatus (Say)（双翅目：食蚜蝇科）和 Toxomerus marginatus (Say)（双翅目：食蚜蝇科）占收集到的总食蚜蝇的 86.6%。苹果园的食蚜蝇存在率、物种丰富度和 Toxomerus spp. 丰度最高。食蚜蝇丰富度和多样性在开花后期最高，但 Toxomerus spp. 丰度在开花期最高。边缘和内部栖息地之间不存在存在率、丰富度、多样性或 Toxomerus spp. 丰度的差异。Toxomerus geminatus 和 T. marginatus 从 3 月到 8 月占主导地位，T. geminatus 在 3 月、4 月初和 8 月比 T. marginatus 更丰富。10 月采样产生了最高的食蚜蝇丰富度。我们的结果表明，食蚜蝇在佐治亚州北部的果园中很丰富，并且在丰富度和多样性方面表现出显著的空间和时间变化。需要进行更多的研究，包括额外的采样工作和方法，以进一步描述食蚜蝇区系及其对佐治亚州北部苹果和桃果园的影响。
