Home sweet home: Evaluation of native versus exotic plants as resources for insects in urban green spaces

Insect decline and loss of biodiversity not only affect large-scale agricultural landscapes but are increasingly recognized in urban environments. It is undisputed that a greater supply of flowers in urban green spaces can provide insects with more food and habitat. However, controversy still surrounds the question of whether native wild plants or non-native ornamental plants and varieties are the right choice. The aim of our study was to investigate the number of insects interacting with different types of plants: twelve ornamental and six related wild perennials. In this context, not only the number of flower visitors was recorded, but also the feeding damage caused by insect herbivores on the leaves and stems of the study plants. We established 18 plant species in ten independent study plots in the city of Darmstadt, Germany. The plants were six native wild plant species, six ornamental plant species related to the wild plants from the same genus or family, and six exotic ornamental ..., Flower visits:
Data were collected between 29 May and 19 September 2021 at the time of peak flowering of each plant species. All flower visitors were surveyed once during a continuous 10-minute survey period per plant species and plot between 9:15 am and 5:00 pm (1550 minutes in total). Insect individuals that could not be clearly identified in the field were collected and later identified in the laboratory. Identification was based on the specific literature for each insect order or family. For example, wild bees were identified using the identification tables of Scheuchl. It was not always possible to identify the species precisely so the taxa designated as species also contained individuals that could only be identified at the family or genus level. These flower visitors were then designated as morphospecies, for example, Andrena 1 and Andrena 2.
Feeding damage:
In addition to recording the flower visitors, the feeding damage was determined on those plants that were suitable for auto..., , # Home sweet home: Evaluation of native versus exotic plants as resources for insects in urban green spaces

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.2ngf1vhz5](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.2ngf1vhz5)

## Description of the data and file structure

### Files and variables

#### File: data\_Home\_sweet\_home.xlsx

**Description:** missing values (blank cells)

Specification of the feeding damage in % of the total leaf area

Plant species / plot-leaf = for example 1-3 means the third leaf of Cen_dea in the plot on

**TABLE 1** Overview of plants used in the study

| **Botanical name** | **Short name** | **Family** |
| :----------------------------------------- | :------------- | :------------- |
| **Wild plants = NATIVE** | | |
| *Achillea millefolium* | Ach\_mil | Asteraceae |
| *Campanula rotundifolia* | Cam\_rot | Campanulaceae |
| *Centaurea jacea* ...