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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> faba bean
Enhancing Beneficial Insects with Native Plants
Faba bean, Horsebean, Broad bean
Vicia faba L.
Group: Dicot
Family: Fabaceae (legume)
Growth Habit: Vine, forb/herb
Duration: Annual
U.S. Nativity: Introduced
Natural Enemies Attracted: Medium numbers of Empididae, Coccinellidae, and Orius insidiosus. Small numbers of Chalcidoidea, Ichneumonidae, Plagiognathus politus, Dolichopodidae, Chrysopidae and Syrphidae.
Pests Attracted: Large numbers of aphids, leafhoppers, and lygus bugs. Small numbers of root-maggot flies, froghoppers, thrips and tephritid fruit flies.
Bees attracted: Low numbers (less than 1 bee per meter square in a 30 second sample) of sweat bees.
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| Species Notes: This field legume has long white blossoms with black dots on either side. Faba bean grew 1-2 ft tall, was seeded in mid May and bloomed from July-August. This species is used as a field crop for its faba beans. Insects were also seen along the stem at nectar-producing structures called nectaries. The plant declined after flowers were pollinated and large bean pods were produced. This plant was the fourth most attractive to natural enemies of the midseason plants, with more natural enemies than the grass control. Large numbers of natural enemies were likely at this plant to feed on aphids, which infested it, and their honeydew. |
| 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). Faba bean (Vicia faba) 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.
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Habitat: Native origin is unknown, possibly Asia, the Mediterranean, or South America. Cultivated in many locations, including the United States. Does well in full sun. Tolerates almost any soil type but grows best on rich loams. Requires moderate soil moisture.
Cultivation and Management: Faba bean requires a cool season for best development. Growing seasons should have little or no excessive heat, optimum temperatures for production range from 65-85°F. The maturity period ranges from 90-220 days depending upon the cultivar and climatic conditions. Plants flowered in Michigan about eight weeks after sowing for about eight weeks and produced large bean pods with edible beans from about 12 weeks’ age.
Availability: Species is available as seed through some seed catalogs.
For more information: USDA-NRCS PLANTS database
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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. |
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