Last week, Temple Community Garden had a talk on beneficial insects and garden pests. Dan presented the research he has been doing in the iEcoLab at the meeting. Members and officers of the organization were in attendance.
Dan, Dr. Behm, and other undergraduates from the iEcoLab piloted the research, which is part of the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services project, at the Temple Community Garden. At the meeting, Dan shared preliminary findings from arthropod surveys from urban and rural farms, and shared general practices to promote native beneficial arthropod biodiversity on farms. They brainstormed how Temple Community Garden can fill their space with habitat for beneficial insects. Dan plans on meeting with Temple Community Garden in the future to go over different habitats that can be cultivated for arthropods like beetles and spiders. Nice job, Dan!