By Ginnny, Jackie, Lori, Nicole, Alexa

After our class discussion on native and ornamental plant species, we emBARKed on a mission to identify campus tree species and observe insect relations with different species. Our group headed over to Kirby Hall to utilize Leaf Snap. We mainly found ornamental species and noticed that the ornamental leaves (of the Japanese Zelkova, Katsura, Oriental Cherry, and Japanese Snowbell) and were not eaten nearly as much as the natives. One leaf of a linden was severely infested by parasites – gall mites.

The natives we found were Littleleaf Linden, Sugar Maple, and Oak. The oak leaf particularly had been eaten by more insects. This insect-plant relationship is essential for ecosystem health, as Tallamy discusses, because insect health means more diversity in larger fauna populations. Trees that support insect populations would support other animal life on campus such as bats and birds.