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 What do "small," "medium" and "large" numbers mean?
They refer to how many insects were collected per meter square in a 30 second sample. Small means less than 2 insects; medium indicates 2 to 10 insects, and large suggests greater than 10 insects.

home> native plant fact sheets> hairy bush-clover

Enhancing Beneficial Insects with Native Plants
Hairy bush-clover
 Lespedeza hirta (L.) Hornem.

Group: Dicot
Family: Fabaceae (legume)
Growth Habit: Forb/herb
Duration: Perennial
U.S. Nativity: Native, much of eastern U.S.

Natural Enemies Attracted: Medium numbers of Coccinellidae. Small numbers of Orius insidiosus, Chalcidoidea, Thomisidae, Salticidae and Plagiognathus politus.

Pests Attracted: Small numbers of Japanese beetles, leafhoppers, lygus bugs, thrips and leaf beetles.

Bees attracted: Low numbers (less than 1 bee per meter square in a 30 second sample) of bumble bees.
Species Notes: Small white, pea-like flower spikes bloom on small-statured plants. Plants grow 2-3 ft tall. This species did not flower until its third year of growth, and bloomed in the end of August and early September. This species was the third least attractive to natural enemies in the late season, with similar numbers of natural enemies as in the grass control.
About the Plant Species Graph: Average number of beneficial insects collected at each plant species the week before, during, and after peak bloom, for plant species blooming from mid-August through early October (+ standard error). Hairy bush-clover (Lespedeza hirta) boxed in red. Bars for natural enemies are in green, bars for bees are in yellow. Bars for native plants are solid and nonnative plants are striped. The black line on the top graph shows the number of natural enemies in grass with no flowering plants (grass control). Plants are listed in order of peak bloom. graph
Habitat: Includes full sun and very dry soils. Naturally occurring in dry open areas, often with sandy ground, such as along roadways, river banks, and fields. Sometimes associated with oak and oak-hickory woods.

Cultivation and Management: Can be grown from seed (flowers in fourth year) or plug material (flowers in third year). This plant is nitrogen-fixing and will grow on dry, infertile sites.

Availability: Species is available as seed, plug or container grown material from native plant nurseries; available but not widely so. Michigan Native Plant Producers Association

For more information: USDA-NRCS PLANTS database
This fact sheet prepared by: Doug Landis, Anna Fiedler, Department of Entomology, Michigan State University. Please note: The information presented at this web site should be considered a guideline to be adapted for your situation. MSU makes no warranty about the use of the information presented here. Read disclaimer.
Web site information prepared by: Doug Landis, Anna Fiedler, Rufus Isaacs and Julianna Tuell, Department of Entomology, Michigan State University. Funding support: USDA SARE with Project GREEEN, the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, MSU Extension, and the MSU IPM Program.
Web developer: J.N. Landis, MSU IPM Program. Updated: 11/21/06