Beneficial Insects and Pollinators Resources
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This publication contains photos and descriptions to help identify pests in Southeastern landscapes. Beneficial and pest insects are both included.
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Blueberries are becoming the state fruit of Georgia with considerable acreage planted. Blueberries have many pest challenges and a current invasive pest challenge from spotted wing drosophilia (SWD). While efforts are underway to release new biocontrol agents for SWD, we still know little about the natural enemies in blueberry systems. Here we provide an overview of common natural enemies and conservation strategies for preserving beneficial species in blueberry systems. The work was funded by the NRCS to provide new information on natural enemies and pollinators and help with design and implementation of habitat management concepts.
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Mosquitoes can transmit a wide variety of pathogens and significantly reduce our quality of life with their aggressive biting behavior. On the other end of the spectrum, pollinators are a critical part of our natural environment, contributing significantly to food production and ecological diversity. Honey bees, along with other pollinators, are susceptible to pesticides, and significant bee kills have occurred because of mistimed or misguided pesticide applications. When conducted properly, an integrated pest management approach does not pose a significant risk to honey bee colonies.
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With over 6,000 species world-wide and 812 in the United States and Canada, hover flies, also known as flower flies or syrphid flies, are a highly diverse, common, and charismatic family of insects which provide a broad diversity of ecosystem services including pollination, biological control, and decomposition that benefit humans. However, they often are overlooked or misidentified because of their tendency to mimic bees and wasps. This resource educates readers about the importance of these magnificent insects and provides a brief guide to common species found in the southeastern United States, specifically the state of Georgia.
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This circular is for property owners who have unwanted honey bee swarms on their lands or colonies nesting inside walls. It explains these natural processes and gives options for dealing with them.
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Esta guía muestra las abejas silvestres más comunes de las plantaciones de arándanos en el sur de Georgia. El material presentado aquí es un resumen visual del muestreo de 2021 y 2022 en campos comerciales de arándanos de los condados productores más importantes: Bacon, Pierce y Ware. En total, se encontraron más de 70 especies de abejas. La contribución de las abejas silvestres a la polinización de los arándanos es cada vez más reconocida. La identificación adecuada de estos insectos en el campo es una parte fundamental de los esfuerzos de conservación.
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Wildflowers not only beautify the landscape but also provide food and shelter for myriad insects, birds, and mammals. Georgia is rich in endemic (belonging in a particular area or environment) species which grow in a wide variety of habitats, from coastal dunes and pine sandhills to savannas, meadows, and forests. Although many species are primarily seen in undisturbed natural habitats, others have adapted to human-created landscapes, such as roadsides and farms, and are frequently seen on road banks and edge habitats. This publication is intended as a visual guide to common herbaceous plants encountered mainly in sunny areas in South Georgia. Although by no means inclusive or extensive, the list contains plants that are easy to recognize and valuable for wildlife.
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This visual guide helps people identify common wild bees encountered in blueberry systems. The contribution of wild bees to blueberry pollination has is becoming widely recognized. Proper identification of these insects in the field is critical part of conservation efforts.
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Monarch butterflies travel on air currents and cross more than 3000 miles in the winter to reach their overwintering sites in Mexico. The loss of this habitat, combined with diseases, pesticide use, and loss of larval hosts (i.e., milkweed), are causing a decline in Monarch populations. The larvae need milkweed to develop, and the adults need nectar for migration and survival day-to-day, so more nectar sources and milkweed plants are needed to sustain their migration patterns. This resource can help you select flowering plants and milkweeds that can help conserve the migrating monarchs, especially when planted along farm-reserved lands and urban gardens.
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