The use of wildflower strips to provide carbohydrate resource for parasitoids and enhance pest regulation is widely recommended in agriculture. However, how the management of wildflower strips affects resource availability and utilisation by parasitoids has never been studied. Using orange orchards as a model system, three experimental alleyway management treatments were investigated: a control treatment where naturally occurring vegetation in the alleyways between rows of trees was managed under standard farm practice; a standard management wildflower treatment in which sown wildflower strips in alleyways were managed by cutting once a year; and an active management wildflower treatment, in which the wildflower strips in alleyways was managed by cutting three times a year. Wildflower strips under standard management prevented the seasonal decline of nectar, supporting fructose feeding in parasitoids across all three seasons. The abundance of floral and hemipteran honeydew carbohydrate resources in the orchard alleyways and citrus canopy was consistently greater with the standard management treatment than the control or the active management treatments. In turn, this treatment was associated with twice the abundance of primary parasitoids than with the control and active management treatments in both summer and autumn. In addition, in autumn, parasitoids were more likely to have recently fed on carbohydrate in the standard management treatment than in the other two alleyway treatments. Finally, greater carbohydrate feeding in parasitoids was associated with increased structural heterogeneity of vegetation within the orchard alleyways. This study demonstrates that the nutritional status of parasitoids in a perennial cropping system can be improved using wildflower strips, which could enhance pest regulation, and emphasises the importance of studying the management of wildflower strips when targeting specific resource requirements.

在农业中广泛推荐使用野花带为寄生蜂提供碳水化合物资源并加强害虫防治。然而，从未研究过野花带的管理如何影响寄生蜂的资源可用性和利用。使用橘子园作为模型系统，研究了三种实验性的小巷管理处理：对照处理，在标准农场实践下管理成排树木之间小巷中的天然植被；一种标准的管理野花处理，其中在小巷中播种的野花条通过每年切割一次的方式进行管理；以及积极管理野花处理，其中小巷的野花带每年修剪三次。标准管理下的野花条防止了花蜜的季节性下降，支持所有三个季节寄生蜂的果糖摄食。标准管理处理的果园小巷和柑橘树冠中的花卉和半翅目蜜露碳水化合物资源的丰度始终高于对照或积极管理处理。反过来，这种处理与夏季和秋季的控制和积极管理处理相比，原发性寄生蜂的丰度增加了一倍。此外，在秋季，与其他两种巷道处理相比，在标准管理处理中，寄生蜂最近更有可能以碳水化合物为食。最后，寄生蜂中更多的碳水化合物摄食与果园小巷内植被结构异质性的增加有关。本研究表明，使用野花条可以改善多年生种植系统中寄生蜂的营养状况，从而加强害虫调控，并强调在针对特定资源需求时研究野花条管理的重要性。