A Survey of the Arthropod Fauna Associated with Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Grown in Eastern Colorado

ABSTRACT: Industrial hemp was found to support a diverse complex of arthropods in surveys of fields in eastern Colorado. In 2016-2018, surveys of industrial hemp in eight eastern Colorado counties, eighty families of arthropods were collected, primary taxa in the orders Diptera, Coleoptera, and Hemiptera. The arthropods collected from hemp included herbivores, natural enemies, pollen feeders, and incidental species. Hemp cultivars grown for seed and fiber had higher insect species richness compared to hemp grown for cannabidiol (CBD). Species that were observed to cause economic damage included: corn earworm, (Helicoverpa zea Boddie), hemp russet mite (Aculops cannibicola Farkas), cannabis aphid (Phorodon cannabis Passerini), and Eurasian hemp borer (Grapholita delineana Walker). In addition, serious damage to hemp plants was observed by grasshoppers, particularly the twostriped grasshopper, Melanoplus bivittatus Say, and the differential grasshopper, M. differentialis Thomas. This survey serves as the first checklist of arthropods associated with industrial hemp in any area of North America.