AGROECOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF ARTHROPODS INVOLVED IN MANGO POLLINATION IN SOUTH FLORIDA By MATTHEW QUENAUDON A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2019 © 2019 Matthew Quenaudon To my parents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to my major professor Dr. Daniel Carrillo, for his guidance, support, and prowess during my time as a graduate student at the University of Florida. Dr. Carrillo was always patient, thoughtful, and provided his insights while allowing me the intellectual freedom to shape my own research. I also want to thank the other members of my committee, Dr. Zachary Brym, Dr. Jonathan Crane, Dr. Rachel Mallinger, and Dr. Catharine Mannion whose expertise and contributions greatly improved this study. I thank Alejandra Canon and Mariane Ruviéri for their contributions to data collecting and analyzing. Thank you to Dr. Gary Steck for his aid in the identification of insects and Dr. Alexandra Revynthi for her statistical help. I am grateful to everyone in the Tropical Fruit Entomology lab, including Jose Alegria, Luisa Cruz, Rita Duncan, and Octavio Menocal who helped and created a positive work environment. Lastly, I am thankful to my family for their support and loving encouragement, providing me the motivation and mental fortitude to complete my study. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 7 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... 8 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 12 Origin, Distribution, and Importance of Mangifera indica ........................................ 12 Reproductive Physiology and Floral Biology ........................................................... 14 Insect Pollinators .................................................................................................... 16 Objectives of Master of Science Thesis Research .................................................. 22 2 MOST FREQUENT ARTHROPOD VISITORS ON ‘KEITT’ MANGO (MANGIFERA INDICA) FLOWERS IN SOUTH FLORIDA ...................................... 23 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 23 Material and Methods ............................................................................................. 25 Results .................................................................................................................... 28 Order Diptera .................................................................................................... 29 Chloropidae ................................................................................................ 30 Drosophilidae ............................................................................................. 30 Sciaridae .................................................................................................... 31 Muscidae.................................................................................................... 31 Syrphidae ................................................................................................... 31 Calliphoridae .............................................................................................. 31 Ceratopogonidae ....................................................................................... 32 Order Coleoptera .............................................................................................. 32 Cryptophagidae .......................................................................................... 32 Coccinellidae .............................................................................................. 32 Curculionidae ............................................................................................. 33 Order Hemiptera ............................................................................................... 33 Miridae ....................................................................................................... 34 Cicadellidae ............................................................................................... 34 Aphididae ................................................................................................... 34 Anthocoridae .............................................................................................. 35 Other Hemiptera ........................................................................................ 35 Order Hymenoptera .......................................................................................... 35 Apidae ........................................................................................................ 36 Formicidae ................................................................................................. 36 5 Eulophidae ................................................................................................. 36 Other Hymenoptera ................................................................................... 37 Order Lepidoptera ............................................................................................ 37 Order Thysanoptera ......................................................................................... 37 Order Araneae .................................................................................................. 38 Insect Dependency on Bloom Period ............................................................... 38 Discussion .............................................................................................................. 39 Pollinator Candidates Based on Population Density ........................................ 39 Differences in Orchards .................................................................................... 42 3 INSECT BEHAVIOR AND POLLEN COLLECTION DURING FLOWER VISITATIONS ......................................................................................................... 60 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 60 Materials and Methods............................................................................................ 62 Results .................................................................................................................... 64 Discussion .............................................................................................................. 68 4 IMPORTANCE OF ARTHROPODS IN POLLINATION AND FRUIT SET AND PRODUCTION OF MANGIFERA INDICA .............................................................. 76 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 76 Material and Methods ............................................................................................. 78 Results .................................................................................................................... 80 Discussion .............................................................................................................. 80 5 CONCLUDING SUMMARY ON PRIMARY INSECTS INVOLVED IN MANGO POLLINATION IN THE SOUTH-FLORIDA REGION .............................................. 94 LIST OF REFERENCES ............................................................................................... 97 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................... 102 6 LIST OF TABLES Table page 2-1 Insect sampling dates and times from Mangifera indica over the entire 8- week blooming period at three orchard sites in Miami-Dade County, Florida. .... 45 2-2 Total number of insects collected throughout the 8-week blooming period ........ 46 2-3 Insects most prevalent throughout the 8-week mango blooming period (Jan. 23 to March 16, 2018) at 3 mango orchards in south Florida. ............................ 47 2-4 The percentage of Diptera collected throughout the 8-week blooming period .... 48 2-5 The percentage of Coleoptera collected throughout the 8-week blooming period ................................................................................................................. 49 2-6 The percentage of Hemiptera collected throughout the 8-week blooming period ................................................................................................................. 50 2-7 The percentage of Hymenoptera collected throughout the 8-week blooming period ................................................................................................................. 51 2-8 The percentage of Thysanoptera collected throughout the 8-week blooming period ................................................................................................................. 52 3-1 Observed insects on ‘Keitt’ mango flowers (Mangifera indica) ........................... 72 3-2 Quantification of mango (Mangifera indica) pollen on insects collected from ‘Keitt’ mango trees .............................................................................................