Evaluating the effect of tillage on ground nesting Aculeate wasps in the southeastern United States

Society derives great benefit from populations of beneficial insects. Aculeate wasps (Order Hymenoptera) are often disregarded, and feared by the public; however, wasps act as pollinators to flowering plants, and natural enemies to insects often considered “pests”. Many species of wasps in North America rear their offspring below ground. When residing in agroecosystems, physical manipulations of the soil associated with tillage in row crop systems may pose a serious threat. Tillage methods vary but are generalized as belonging to either a conventional or conservation tillage regime. Conventional tillage is associated with high intensities of soil disturbance compared to the latter; however, conservation tillage also differs by purposefully manipulating ground cover through the buildup of surface residues. Here, we investigated the effect that common tillage practices employed in the Southeastern United States on ground nesting wasps by intensively sampling with soil emergence traps. Emergence traps were deployed within plots representative of four treatment groups: (1) Conventional tillage, (2) Conservation tillage, (3) Reduced tillage, and (4) Field Edge. Soil emergence traps were deployed weekly from spring to early fall in 2021 and 2022 for a total of 48 sampling rounds and 4,608 individual trap deployments. Results from emergence trap collections will reveal differences in the incidence, abundance, and diversity of ground nesting wasp assemblages resulting from the choice of tillage regime. The implications of these results will inform management decisions applicable to landscapes dominated by agricultural production therefore furthering efforts to conserve the biodiversity of beneficial insects within these systems.