This week we are joined by Rebecca Perry and Grace Cope from Dr. Adam Dale’s Landscape Entomology program at the University of Florida. Rebecca is a graduate student whose masters project focused on conserving monarch butterflies on golf course wetlands, and Grace is an undergraduate research intern. Both have been working on research investigating the benefits of flowering patches to native pollinators and beneficial insects on courses with relatively high and low levels of management.
Listen in to learn how golf courses can better serve pollinators and their habitats through curating their plants, flowers, and maintenance schedule.
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“Golf courses are these really unique islands of vegetation within these urban lands.” – Rebecca Perry
Show Notes:
- Why golf courses are so important when thinking about invertebrate biodiversity
- How Rebecca and Grace created and studied their pollinator habitats within golf courses
- What the study showed and how it affected the pollinator population around these habitats
- How different types of golf courses with different styles of maintenance work with these specialized habitats
- How the different habitats affected the predator populations
- What Rebecca is studying in the relationship between fertilized turf, milkweed, and monarch health
“When you are going to establish diversity in terms of wildflowers, understanding the maintenance level of your golf course could determine whether or not it’s most beneficial, or how to write it into your maintenance plans.” – Grace Cope
Links Mentioned:
- Find out more of the University of Florida’s Landscape Entomology
- Rebecca and Grace’s favorite pollinator resources:
- Rebecca’s favorite tool: Pitfall traps (using a Falcon Tube)
- Grace’s favorite tool: Pan traps (link to a great service that provides painted traps)
- Grace’s favorite pollinator: Agopostemon splendens
- Rebecca’s favorite pollinator: Monarch butterly
- Check out our previous episodes on golf courses and pollinator habitats: