Abstract Providing nectar and pollen through the establishment of insectary plants is one approach to conserving natural enemies and enhancing biological control of arthropod pests. Recent studies show that natural enemy performance may be influenced by the diversity of insectary plant species and the resources they provide. We conducted laboratory assays to investigate the influence of buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench.) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) alone and in a mixture on the performance of the insidious flower bug, Orius insidiosus (Say, 1832). We measured performance as longevity, fecundity and predation of O. insidiosus reared on a laboratory diet of Ephestia kuehniella or its field prey, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner). O. insidiosus survived on average 20–25% longer and oviposited 67–88% more eggs when provided with either insectary species compared to a water only control. However, when provided with a biculture of cowpea and buckwheat, O. insidiosus survived 35% longer and laid 111% more eggs compared to the water only control, with a strong preference for cowpea as an oviposition host. This study provides novel empirical evidence that cowpea, a plant anecdotally cited for its insectary properties, functions as a preferred oviposition sites compared to buckwheat and laboratory standard green beans. The presence of insectary resources, however, did not significantly influence predation on O. nubilalis sentinel prey by O. insidiosus as we anticipated. These results indicate that the performance of beneficial insects like O. insidious may be differentially influenced by the resources provided by insectary species and should be screened for potential benefits before establishing in field settings. Further implications of plant diversification for conservation biological control are discussed.

中文翻译：

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多样化的花卉供应提高了多面手捕食者的表现，Orius insidiosus（半翅目：Anthocoridae）

摘要 通过建立昆虫植物提供花蜜和花粉是保护天敌和加强节肢动物害虫生物防治的一种途径。最近的研究表明，天敌的表现可能受到昆虫植物物种多样性及其提供的资源的影响。我们进行了实验室检测，以研究荞麦 (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench.) 和豇豆 (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) 单独和混合使用对阴险花蝽 Orius insidiosus (Say, 1832) 性能的影响。我们测量了在 Ephestia kuehniella 或其野外猎物 Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner) 的实验室饮食中饲养的 O. insidiosus 的寿命、繁殖力和捕食性能。哦。与仅用水对照相比，当提供任何一种昆虫物种时，insidiosus 的存活时间平均延长 20-25%，产卵量增加 67-88%。然而，当提供豇豆和荞麦双养时，O. insidiosus 与仅用水的对照相比，存活时间延长了 35%，产卵量增加了 111%，并且强烈偏好豇豆作为产卵宿主。这项研究提供了新的经验证据，表明豇豆是一种因其昆虫特性而被轶事引用的植物，与荞麦和实验室标准青豆相比，它是首选的产卵地点。然而，正如我们预期的那样，昆虫资源的存在并没有显着影响 O. insidiosus 对 O. nubilalis 哨兵猎物的捕食。这些结果表明益虫如 O. 隐匿性可能会受到昆虫物种提供的资源的不同影响，应在田间环境中建立之前对其潜在利益进行筛选。讨论了植物多样化对保护生物控制的进一步影响。