Among numerous elements of the Polish landscape, especially noteworthy are the roadside sacral objects. They are a testimony to national and local identity, and express centuries-old religious values. What is more, roadside crosses and shrines, surrounded by trees and shrubs, accentuate the space with exceptional decorative and cultural value. The presence of vegetation enriches the compositional value of these objects, complements their spatial structure, and highlights the aesthetic value.  This paper presents the results of a study of regarding roadside sacral objects, carried out in the Trzydnik Duży Commune, Lublin Voivodeship. The study was performed as an inventory, enabling us to determine the species composition, health condition, and age of the dendroflora accompanying the roadside sacral objects. Within the studied area 73 roadside sacral objects were inventoried. It was found that 53 of them were surrounded by trees and shrubs that represent 42 species. The most common include limes, lilacs, and white cedars. Health condition of the dendroflora is varied, however 78 % of the examined trees and shrubs are of very good or good health condition.

The study contains the list of invertebrates collected from culinary herbs (Allium schoenoprasum, Anethum graveolens, Anthriscus sp., Petroselinum crispum, Coriandrum sativum, Artemisia dracunculus, Eruca sativa, Melissa officinalis, Mentha arvensis, Mentha xpiperita, Ocimum basilicum, Origanum majorana, Origanum vulgare, Salvia officinalis, Thymus vulgaris, Rosmarinus sp.) in greenhouses, under plastic-film covers, and at mother farms. The study provides information about the times of the year when these invertebrates settle on the herbs, and about the specific character of cultivating such plants. Even a few individual arthropods on culinary herbs cannot be tolerated and eliminating arthropods by using chemicals is unacceptable. For these reasons, those plants on which the arthropods have settled must be removed from greenhouses and destroyed. Biological pest control is also recommended. Some species of the observed invertebrates are encountered in a greenhouse year-round (Myzus persicae, Aphis gossypii, Ovatus mentharius, Aulacorthum solani, Eupteryx sp., Trialeurodes vaporariorun, larvae of Thysanoptera) while others appear only during the periods of spring migrations (Cavariella aegopodi) or autumn migrations (Aphis fabae, Dysaphis crataegii, butterflies from the subfamily Hadeninae). Peppermint had already been inhabited by O. mentharius on mother farms, and O. mentharius probably hibernated on farms as well. Potted peppermint seedlings brought from mother farms to greenhouses had already been inhabited by that aphid species. Some invertebrates were associated with a substrate (Sciaridae) while the appearance of others coincided with the development of algae (Ephydridae: Scatella sp.).

The Ligurian leafhopper (Eupteryx decemnotata Rey 1891) has been recorded for the first time in Poland, in a commercial greenhouse in Warsaw. Individuals were collected from rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.). Intense feeding of this species caused serious damage in the cultivation of rosemary. For this reason, the range extension of this species must be monitored.

We present significant information about damage caused to plants by the feeding of piercing–sucking insects, based on the example of aphids. Research concerning the impact of aphids on their host plants was already being carried out in the 1950s in the 20th century, but it is still being undertaken as it is very important. Aphid feeding causes deformation of plant tissues, disorders in plant metabolism and changes in the amount of various compounds in plant tissues. Plant viruses are transmitted in aphid saliva.

Thrips nigropilosus Uzel is a polyphagous species occurring mainly in temperate climates. Its life cycle de- pends on photoperiodic and temperature conditions. T. nigropilosus feeds on different plant species, but it is considered one of the most serious pests of pyrethrum plants causing serious economic problems. However, several additional agricultural host plants have been affected by T. nigropilosus, including spearmint, cu- cumber, and lettuce, indicating that this insect can significantly widen its habitats and occurs especially frequently in greenhouses. We report that T. nigropilosus massively attacked Mentha × piperita L. cultivated in greenhouses in central Poland and destroyed the entire mint crops within a short time. The study provided insight into the harmful effect of the thrips and showed that the length of the thrips developmental cycle was reduced with temperature increases from 18 to 26.6°C. The lower threshold temperatures were 13.7, 10.2, 5.0, and 10.1 for eggs, larvae, pupae, and total development, respectively, and the thermal constant for the same developmental stages was 65.9, 90, 132.5, and 284.9-degree days. Both parameters were estimated by linear regression analysis. During our experiment, T. nigropilosus developed by thelytokous parthenogenesis. The morphological and anatomical changes in damaged plants were associated with the fact that the insect began feeding on the lower lamina surface close to the leaf midribs, but no damage to vascular bundles and glandular cells was observed.