ENCOUNTER EVENING PRIMROSE

Common Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) is a native, disturbance-adapted wildflower that can grow up to 6 feet tall. Its yellow flowers, which open in the evening, are pollinated by insects such as Hawk Moths (Sphingidae), Primrose Moth, who's pattern matches the bloom and the pinkish hue of old, dying blooms, and the Evening Primrose Sweat Bee (Lasioglossum oneotherae), a native bee which is oliogolectic, and only pollinates Oenothera biennis. The nectar of this plant is also preferred by hummingbirds and many other pollinators. Because these interactions occur in the evening, they are under-observed on iNaturalist.

Common Evening Primrose is an ethnobotanically significant plant. The First Nations People, especially the Potawatomi, Cherokee, Iroquois, and Ojibwas, have historically used Oenothera biennis as a food and medicine source. Most of the plant parts are edible. The roots can be cooked like potatoes, the leaves cooked and eaten like greens, the shoots eaten raw, and the flowers can be used as edible ornamentals. The seeds can also be used for their oils and are readily eaten by birds and other wildlife.

Can you observe Evening Primrose flowers opening or being visited by pollinators? Can you find any exceptionally tall plants?

You can browse past observations of Common Evening Primrose here

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This month's seminar features Dr. Emily Meineke and her work exploring the interactions between human disturbance and insect communities.

Insects have eaten plants for around 400 million years. These interactions have given rise to most of terrestrial biodiversity. Over the past 12,000 years, humans have disrupted plant-herbivore relationships by building cities, domesticating crops, and changing the global climate. Dr. Meineke investigates these disruptions, focusing on species that are of cultural importance, such as street trees, crops, crop wild relatives, and plants that support rare insect species. Her work combines experiments, observations, citizen science, and biological collections to address key hypotheses in ecology. This presentation will focus on the effects of urbanization on insect herbivores and their associated predators.

A Bit About Dr. Meineke

Dr. Emily Meineke earned her doctoral degree at North Carolina State University in the Department of Entomology where she pioneered research characterizing the effects of urban heat islands on insect herbivores. As a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Harvard University Herbaria, she studied how urbanization and climate change have affected plant-insect relationships worldwide over the past 100+ years. Emily is joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor of Urban Landscape Entomology in the Department of Entomology and Nematology at University of California, Davis in 2020. She likes to be outside with her dogs, run, and do crossfit (badly).

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This month's seminar features Dr. Mary Gardiner and her work with The Cleveland Pocket Prairie Project. This was city-wide study that examined the value of urban vacant lots as insect habitat. Vacant lots across Cleveland, Ohio were transformed into pocket prairies of native wildflowers. In her presentation, Dr. Gardiner will discuss how her team established and maintained these habitats, their value as bee forage, and how the pocket prairies were viewed by the local community.

A Bit About Dr. Gardiner

Mary Gardiner is a Professor of Entomology and the Co-Director of The Ohio State University Environmental Sciences Graduate Program. Her research focuses on the ecology of vacant land and its potential to provide insect habitat and contribute to ecosystem services such as local food production, stormwater management and climate resilience. Gardiner advises MS and PhD students and teaches courses in public speaking and grant writing.

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