Factors influencing occurrence of urban pollinator, beneficial insect, and butterfly populations

Insects provide ecosystem services such as pollination, biological control, and decomposition. Positive perception of beneficial arthropods is essential to public acceptance. Survey responses indicate amount of entomology education and demographics influence attitudes toward arthropods. Insect visitation was surveyed through visual observations and multiple trapping methods indicating occurrences of long-legged flies (F: Dolichopodidae), small bees, parasitic Hymenoptera, and predatory plant bugs (F: Miridae) in the Butterfly and Conservation Garden on the UGA Griffin Campus. Favored floral resources included Anise Hyssop Black Adder (Agastache (Pursh) Kuntze Black Adder), Coleus Fuseables (Solenostemon scutellariodes L.), and Gaura Passionate Blush (Gaura lindheimeri Engelm Passionate Blush). Lantana lace bug (Teleonemia scrupulosa Stl) may cause damage and influence beneficial insect visitation. Successful control of Teleonemia scrupulosa with limited effects on pollinating Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera such as Junonia coenia Hbner may be achieved through the use of alternative insecticides.