DOCSLIB.ORG

Body Size and Wing Asymmetry in Bees Along an Urbanization Gradient Weronika Banaszak-Cibicka, Monika Fliszkiewicz, Aleksandra Langowska, Michal Żmihorski

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Body Size and Wing Asymmetry in Bees Along an Urbanization Gradient Weronika Banaszak-Cibicka, Monika Fliszkiewicz, Aleksandra Langowska, Michal Żmihorski Body size and wing asymmetry in bees along an urbanization gradient Weronika Banaszak-Cibicka, Monika Fliszkiewicz, Aleksandra Langowska, Michal Żmihorski To cite this version: Weronika Banaszak-Cibicka, Monika Fliszkiewicz, Aleksandra Langowska, Michal Żmihorski. Body size and wing asymmetry in bees along an urbanization gradient. Apidologie, 2018, 49 (3), pp.297-306. 10.1007/s13592-017-0554-y. hal-02973376 HAL Id: hal-02973376 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02973376 Submitted on 21 Oct 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Apidologie (2018) 49:297–306 Originala rticle * The Author(s), 2017. This article is an open access publication DOI: 10.1007/s13592-017-0554-y Body size and wing asymmetry in bees along an urbanization gradient 1 1 1 Weronika BANASZAK-CIBICKA , Monika FLISZKIEWICZ , Aleksandra LANGOWSKA , 2,3 MichałŻMIHORSKI 1Institute of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71C, 60-625, Poznań, Poland 2Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, al. A. Mickiewicza 33, 31-120, Kraków, Poland 3Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7044, SE 750 07, Uppsala, Sweden Received 11 May 2017 – Revised 8 October 2017 – Accepted 23 October 2017 Abstract – The global loss of bee diversity and abundance is a central issue in conservation biology. There is increasing evidence that cities may play an important role in bee conservation, although urbanization may also have negative impacts. Here, we investigate individual body size variation and wing asymmetry (based on 11 traits) in the solitary bee Anthophora plumipes along a rural-urban gradient in Poland. The body size of captured individuals did not show any changes along the gradient. Directional asymmetry was present, since differences between sides in 10 out of 11 traits deviated significantly from zero, with the right-side wing traits being generally larger. In contrast to our expectations, the forewing was more asymmetric in rural than in suburban and urban areas. Similarly, the absolute asymmetry of 11 wing traits (i.e. pooling differences but ignoring direction) was also significantly greater in rural than in suburban and urban landscapes. Since asymmetry may be attributed to environmental pollution and food shortages, we conclude that the urban landscape provides bees with habitats of higher quality and thus should be considered as an important habitat for bee conservation. hymenoptera / Apoidea / bees / city / directional asymmetry 1. INTRODUCTION 2050 (United Nations 2014). It is predicted that 77,500 km2 of the European landscape will have The urbanization process is an important an- been converted to urban areas between 2000 and thropogenic alteration of the modern landscape. 2030 (EEA 2016). There are over 800 cities in the EU with more than As a consequence, urbanization is considered to 50,000 inhabitants, and Europe annually lost over be the main cause of species extinction and a threat 1100 km2 of natural and semi-natural areas to to the highest number of species (Czech et al. urban or other artificial land (EEA 2016). Over 2000). We believe that, this process must have 73% of the European human population is urban- impacted bees as well. Urbanization is mainly as- ized, and this figure is expected to reach 82% by sociated with a decreasing coverage of natural veg- etation, a high proportion of artificial surfaces (con- Electronic supplementary material The online version of crete, asphalt), air pollution, and an impoverished this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-017-0554-y) vegetation composed mainly of exotic plant species contains supplementary material, which is available to dominating in urban parks and gardens (Blair and authorized users. Launer 1997; Williams et al. 2009). All of these Corresponding author: W. Banaszak-Cibicka, changes appear negative for bees since they impede [email protected] their breeding, foraging and may reduce survival of Manuscript editor: Stan Schneider urban-living bees. One may assume, therefore, that 298 W. Banaszak-Cibicka et al. urbanization causes a decline of bee diversity and In bees, body size is partly affected by food contributes to overall bee reduction in the modern resources available (Bosch and Vicens 2002). Si- landscape (McIntyre and Hostetler 2001). multaneously, body size of imagines determines In contrast to these predictions, several studies the amounts of pollen a bee may collect and is show surprisingly high diversity of Apidae in cities important when it comes to the sex ratio of their (Zapparoli 1997;Cane2005; Banaszak-Cibicka and offspring, since smaller individuals may produce Żmihorski 2012), and urban green areas are be- more sons (Seidelmann et al. 2010). There is also lieved to be important bee reservoirs (Tommasi a positive correlation between body size and flight et al. 2004). On the other hand, high species richness distances (Araújo et al. 2004). Individual variation or abundance confirmed in cities does not necessar- in body size may therefore be an important adap- ily mean that bees are not being impacted by urban- tation of bees to urban habitats. ization. This impact can alter species composition, The pattern of symmetry of body bilateral and change the biology or behaviour of city- structures can also be used as an indicator of dwelling individuals, while leaving overall abun- environmental conditions (Møller and Swaddle dance constant. Urban bees living in a completely 1997) and thus can potentially reflect an urbani- new habitat face different challenges compared to zation effect. Random deviation from bilateral those from natural habitats. Thus, different species symmetry, sometimes called ‘fluctuating asym- traits determining survival in urbanized areas can be metry’ (FA) (Polak and Triners 1994), reflects favoured by natural selection (Chapman et al. 2003; developmental stability and is considered an indi- Slabbekoorn and Peet 2003). Furthermore, since cator of environmentally induced stress in organ- urban habitats provide bees with different resources isms (Palmer and Strobeck 1992). FA is a measure (e.g., exotic plants) and threats (pollution), the biol- of the genome’s ability to successfully buffer de- ogy and ecology of urban bees are probably adapted velopment to achieve a normal phenotype under to these conditions. Thus, to understand the impact stressful environmental conditions (Waddington of urbanization on bees other elements of their 1942). This is why the genetic background of an ecology and biology also need to be examined. individual, population structure and levels of in- Unfortunately, the urbanization impact on bees has breeding may also play roles in susceptibility to not been explored extensively (McIntyre 2000; stress-induced asymmetry. An elevated level of Cane and Tepedino 2001) since most of the existing asymmetry may correlate with the fitness of an studies focused largely on taxonomic composition individual (Møller 1997) and commonly occur- and abundance (Zapparoli 1997;Tommasietal. ring stressors that increase asymmetry include air 2004; Ahrné et al. 2009), thus leaving open the and water pollution, pesticides, temperature, food question of the consequences of urbanization on deficiency and parasitism (De Anna et al. 2013). the ecology of bees. Directional asymmetry is another form of bilateral Our previous research has demonstrated that asymmetry which differs from fluctuating asym- interspecific differences in body size determine metry in that one side is consistently larger than the colonization of an urban environment by bees: the other (Van Valen 1962) and may also be a large-bodied species were more numerous in the potential indicator of developmental stability suburbs while small species dominated in the city (Graham et al. 1993, 1998). It is, therefore, likely centre (Banaszak-Cibicka and Żmihorski 2012). that the level of body asymmetry in bees can be The occurrence of small bee species in city centres shaped by urbanization, although to the best of may be related to a smaller amount of available our knowledge, this issue has not been investigat- food, thus urban areas may act as environmental ed in wild bees so far. filters (Tscharntke et al. 2012) which has been The potential differences in environmental observed for beetles and spiders (Weller and quality between urban and rural habitats may af- Ganzhorn 2004). To the best of our knowledge, fect not only the loss of bee diversity but also the there have been no studies investigating the im- quality of bees. In this study, we investigate body pact of urbanization on the size of bees within one size and wing asymmetry (as a measure of bee species (i.e. individual variation). quality) within one solitary-living wild bee Bee size and asymmetry on a urban gradient 299 species, Anthophora plumipes , in rural, suburban Taraxacum . C. japonica was the only species and urban landscapes. Following our previous among many other co-flowering Rosaceae plants findings that smaller bodied species preferred the that was visited by A. plumipes . Bees were also city centre (Banaszak-Cibicka and Żmihorski attracted to Pulmonaria obscura Dumort and 2012) we hypothesize that smaller individuals Glechoma hederacea L., plants common in some within the species will occur in the city centre rural plots, and some individuals of A. plumipes compared to rural areas. Secondly, we expect were spotted at Salix spp. higher body asymmetry in bees in urbanized land- scapes compared to suburban and rural land- 2.2. Study organism scapes, reflecting unfavourable urban conditions. Anthophora is a large genus of fast-flying, 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS robust bees occurring on all continents except Australia and South America.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Iconic Bees: 12 Reports on UK Bee Species
    Iconic Bees: 12 reports on UK bee species Bees are vital to the ecology of the UK and provide significant social and economic benefits through crop pollination and maintaining the character of the landscape. Recent years have seen substantial declines in many species of bees within the UK. This report takes a closer look at how 12 ‘iconic’ bee species are faring in each English region, as well as Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Authors Rebecca L. Evans and Simon G. Potts, University of Reading. Photo: © Amelia Collins Contents 1 Summary 2 East England Sea-aster Mining Bee 6 East Midlands Large Garden Bumblebee 10 London Buff-tailed Bumblebee 14 North East Bilberry Bumblebee 18 North West Wall Mason Bee 22 Northern Ireland Northern Colletes 26 Scotland Great Yellow Bumblebee 30 South East England Potter Flower Bee 34 South West England Scabious Bee 38 Wales Large Mason Bee 42 West Midlands Long-horned Bee 46 Yorkshire Tormentil Mining Bee Through collating information on the 12 iconic bee species, common themes have Summary emerged on the causes of decline, and the actions that can be taken to help reverse it. The most pervasive causes of bee species decline are to be found in the way our countryside has changed in the past 60 years. Intensification of grazing regimes, an increase in pesticide use, loss of biodiverse field margins and hedgerows, the trend towards sterile monoculture, insensitive development and the sprawl of towns and cities are the main factors in this. I agree with the need for a comprehensive Bee Action Plan led by the UK Government in order to counteract these causes of decline, as called for by Friends of the Earth.
    [Show full text]
  • General-Poster
    XXIV International Congress of Entomology General-Poster > 157 Section 1 Taxonomy August 20-22 (Mon-Wed) Presentation Title Code No. Authors_Presenting author PS1M001 Madagascar’s millipede assassin bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Ectrichodiinae): Taxonomy, phylogenetics and sexual dimorphism Michael Forthman, Christiane Weirauch PS1M002 Phylogenetic reconstruction of the Papilio memnon complex suggests multiple origins of mimetic colour pattern and sexual dimorphism Chia-Hsuan Wei, Matheiu Joron, Shen-HornYen PS1M003 The evolution of host utilization and shelter building behavior in the genus Parapoynx (Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Acentropinae) Ling-Ying Tsai, Chia-Hsuan Wei, Shen-Horn Yen PS1M004 Phylogenetic analysis of the spider mite family Tetranychidae Tomoko Matsuda, Norihide Hinomoto, Maiko Morishita, Yasuki Kitashima, Tetsuo Gotoh PS1M005 A pteromalid (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) parasitizing larvae of Aphidoletes aphidimyza (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) and the fi rst fi nding of the facial pit in Chalcidoidea Kazunori Matsuo, Junichiro Abe, Kanako Atomura, Junichi Yukawa PS1M006 Population genetics of common Palearctic solitary bee Anthophora plumipes (Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae) in whole species areal and result of its recent introduction in the USA Katerina Cerna, Pavel Munclinger, Jakub Straka PS1M007 Multiple nuclear and mitochondrial DNA analyses support a cryptic species complex of the global invasive pest, - Poster General Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Insecta: Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) Chia-Hung Hsieh, Hurng-Yi Wang, Cheng-Han Chung,
    [Show full text]
  • Identification of 37 Microsatellite Loci for Anthophora Plumipes (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Using Next Generation Sequencing and Their Utility in Related Species
    Eur. J. Entomol. 109: 155–160, 2012 http://www.eje.cz/scripts/viewabstract.php?abstract=1692 ISSN 1210-5759 (print), 1802-8829 (online) Identification of 37 microsatellite loci for Anthophora plumipes (Hymenoptera: Apidae) using next generation sequencing and their utility in related species KATEěINA ýERNÁ and JAKUB STRAKA Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viniþná 7, 128 43 Praha 2, Czech Republic; e-mails: [email protected]; [email protected] Key words. Hymenoptera, Apidae, microsatellite development, Anthophora plumipes, 454 sequencing, Anthophorini Abstract. Novel microsatellite markers for the solitary bee, Anthophora plumipes, were identified and characterised using 454 GS-FLX Titanium pyrosequencing technology. Thirty seven loci were tested using fluorescently labelled primers on a sample of 20 females from Prague. The number of alleles ranged from 1 to 10 (with a mean of 4 alleles per locus), resulting in an observed hetero- zygosity ranging from 0.05 to 0.9 and an expected heterozygosity from 0.097 to 0.887. None of the loci showed a significant devia- tion from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and only two loci showed the significant presence of null alleles. No linkage between loci was detected. We further provide information on a single multiplex PCR consisting of 11 of the most polymorphic loci. This multi- plex approach provides an effective analytical tool for analysing genetic structure and carrying out parental analyses on Anthophora populations. Most of the 37 loci tested also showed robust amplification in five other Anthophora species (A. aestivalis, A. crinipes, A. plagiata, A. pubescens and A. quadrimaculata).
    [Show full text]
  • The Foraging Preferences of the Hairy-Footed Flower Bee (Anthophora Plumipes (Pallas 1772) in a Surburban Garden
    THE FORAGING PREFERENCES OF THE HAIRY-FOOTED FLOWER BEE (ANTHOPHORA PLUMIPES (PALLAS 1772) IN A SURBURBAN GARDEN Maggie Frankum, 3 Chapel Lane, Knighton, Leicester LE2 3WF PREAMBLE This paper is based on a project carried out as a requirement of a three-year Diploma in Applied Ecology at the University of Leicester (1997). The original report is extensively illustrated and stretches to 85 pages. This paper attempts to distill the main findings of the research. It is hoped that it will stimulate other entomologists in the county to carry out basic research literally on their own doorstep. INTRODUCTION In springtime, with the onset of warmer weather, the foraging activities of social bumblebees such as Bombus pratorum, B pascuorum, B hortorum, B terrestris and B lapidarius, are fairly commonplace in suburban gardens. The first big queens emerge from hibernation to establish their nests and produce new worker bees. However, there are other species of bees that are less noticeable until some particular behaviour pattern draws attention to them. One such early species is the hairy-footed flower bee, Anthophora plumipes (Pallas, 1772; Figure 1), striking in its sexual dimorphism. The golden-brown male has a distinct yellow face and fans of long bristles on the middle legs (hence its common name). The jet black female has orange pollen brushes on the hind legs. male female Figure 1: Anthophora plumipes They are hairy and look like small bumble bees with a body length of about 14mm (Proctor et al , 1996). However, they do differ as the eyes extend to the jaw without the usual cheek patches found in bumblebees (Chinery, 1972).
    [Show full text]
  • The Very Handy Bee Manual
    The Very Handy Manual: How to Catch and Identify Bees and Manage a Collection A Collective and Ongoing Effort by Those Who Love to Study Bees in North America Last Revised: October, 2010 This manual is a compilation of the wisdom and experience of many individuals, some of whom are directly acknowledged here and others not. We thank all of you. The bulk of the text was compiled by Sam Droege at the USGS Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab over several years from 2004-2008. We regularly update the manual with new information, so, if you have a new technique, some additional ideas for sections, corrections or additions, we would like to hear from you. Please email those to Sam Droege ([email protected]). You can also email Sam if you are interested in joining the group’s discussion group on bee monitoring and identification. Many thanks to Dave and Janice Green, Tracy Zarrillo, and Liz Sellers for their many hours of editing this manual. "They've got this steamroller going, and they won't stop until there's nobody fishing. What are they going to do then, save some bees?" - Mike Russo (Massachusetts fisherman who has fished cod for 18 years, on environmentalists)-Provided by Matthew Shepherd Contents Where to Find Bees ...................................................................................................................................... 2 Nets ............................................................................................................................................................. 2 Netting Technique ......................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Endothermy in the Solitary Bee Anthophora Plumipes: Independent Measures of Thermoregulatory Ability, Costs of Warm-Up and the Role of Body Size
    JEB8628.q 26/10/98 5:56 pm Page 299 J. exp. Biol. 174, 299–320 (1993) 299 Printed in Great Britain © The Company of Biologists Limited 1993 ENDOTHERMY IN THE SOLITARY BEE ANTHOPHORA PLUMIPES: INDEPENDENT MEASURES OF THERMOREGULATORY ABILITY, COSTS OF WARM-UP AND THE ROLE OF BODY SIZE BY GRAHAM N. STONE* Oxford University Department of Zoology, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS Accepted 15 September 1992 Summary 1. This study examines variation in thoracic temperatures, rates of pre-flight warm-up and heat loss in the solitary bee Anthophora plumipes (Hymenoptera; Anthophoridae). 2. Thoracic temperatures were measured both during free flight in the field and during tethered flight in the laboratory, over a range of ambient temperatures. These two techniques give independent measures of thermoregulatory ability. In terms of the gradient of thoracic temperature on ambient temperature, thermoregulation by A. plumipes is more effective before flight than during flight. 3. Warm-up rates and body temperatures correlate positively with body mass, while mass-specific rates of heat loss correlate negatively with body mass. Larger bees are significantly more likely to achieve flight temperatures at low ambient temperatures. 4. Simultaneous measurement of thoracic and abdominal temperatures shows that A. plumipes is capable of regulating heat flow between thorax and abdomen. Accelerated thoracic cooling is only demonstrated at high ambient temperatures. 5. Anthophora plumipes is able to fly at low ambient temperatures by tolerating thoracic temperatures as low as 25˚C, reducing the metabolic expense of endothermic activity. 6. Rates of heat generation and loss are used to calculate the thermal power generated by A.
    [Show full text]
  • Do Queens of Bumblebee Species Differ in Their Choice of Flower Colour Morphs of Corydalis Cava (Fumariaceae)?
    Apidologie Original article * INRA, DIB and Springer-Verlag France, 2014. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com DOI: 10.1007/s13592-014-0326-x Do queens of bumblebee species differ in their choice of flower colour morphs of Corydalis cava (Fumariaceae)? Łukasz MYCZKO, Weronika BANASZAK-CIBICKA, Tim H. SPARKS, Piotr TRYJANOWSKI Institute of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71C, 60-625, Poznań, Poland Received 6 June 2014 – Revised 18 September 2014 – Accepted 6 October 2014 Abstract – Bumblebee queens require a continuous supply of flowering food plants from early spring for the successful development of annual colonies. Early in spring, Corydalis cava provides essential nectar and pollen resources and a choice of flower colour. In this paper, we examine flower colour choice (purple or white) in C. cava and verify the hypothesis that bumblebee queens differ in their choice of flower colour. A total of 10,615 observations of flower visits were made in spring 2011 and spring 2014 near Poznań, western Poland. Our results suggest that Bombus lucorum/cryptarum used purple flowers less, while Bombus terrestris used purple flowers more and Bombus hortorum showed no preference. Therefore, the colour morphs of C. cava are probably co- evolutionary adaptations to the development of another part of the insect community which has different colour preferences. Bombus lucorum / Bombus cryptarum / Bombus terrestris / Bombus hortorum / foraging behaviour / colour choice 1. INTRODUCTION (Wilson 1971; Oster and Wilson 1978). A strong selection is evident, partly caused by ergonomic Pollinators are often considered crucial species restrictions due to mismatching functional traits of in ecosystems (Williams and Osborne 2009; plants and insects (Wilson 1983).
    [Show full text]
  • The Bees and Wasps of Marsland Nature Reserve
    The Bees and Wasps of Marsland Nature Reserve Mason wasp Invertebrate survey and habitat evaluation Patrick Saunders [email protected] http://kernowecology.co.uk 1 Introduction This document consists of habitat evaluation and management recommendations for Bees and Wasps (Aculeate hymenoptera) for the Devon Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve Marsland mouth. The survey and report was commissioned by DWT Reserve warden. Marsland Nature reserve description (Pilkington & Threlkeld 2012) • The reserve comprises 212 hectares, of which 186 hectares occurs in the Marsland Valley and 26 hectares in the Welcombe Valley. The site was designated a SSSI in 1952. In addition the reserve includes an unknown acreage of foreshore north of Welcombe Mouth for 4 kilometres, extending beyond South Hole Farm (SS219201). The boundary of the reserve is approximately 18 miles long and is very complex, mainly through following the seven separate tributary streams. The reserve is freehold owned by Devon Wildlife Trust • The primary interest of the reserve is as an example of a north Devon/Cornwall coombe valley with a variety of slopes, soil types and aspects and coastal area that gives rise to a similar diversity of habitats. The most important of these are the extensive areas of relatively pure oak woodland and oak coppice, the maritime grassland and grass heath and the alder woodland and wet flushes in the valley bottoms. • There is approximately 36h of grassland, 130h of woodland, 43h of coastal habitat and 1h of open water. • The reserve also lies within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with the Marsland Valley being highly representative of an unspoilt coastal coombe habitat.
    [Show full text]
  • Pennsylvania Pollinator Protection Plan
    INTRODUCTION PENNSYLVANIA POLLINATOR PROTECTION PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS The Importance of Pollinators The Importance of Pollinators to Pennsylvania Agriculture The Pollinators of Pennsylvania Pollinator Declines Causes of Pollinators Decline Managing Challenges to Pollinators in Pennsylvania Task Force, Pennsylvania Pollinator Protection Plan Advisory Board, Pennsylvania Pollinator Protection Plan References Introduction 1 THE IMPORTANCE OF POLLINATORS Animal-mediated pollination is a fundamental process that forms the basis for much of our terrestrial biodiversity. Pollination – the transfer of pollen from one flower to another - is critical for flowering plants to cross-fertilize, pro- duce seed, and produce fruit. While wind and water can disperse pollen of some plant species, animals pollinate 78% of all flowering plants in temper- ate regions such as Pennsylvania (Ollerton 2011). Moreover, nearly 75% of all food crops benefit from animal pollination, and 35% of them exclusively rely on pollinators for crop production (Klein et al 2007). Pollinators thus play a vital role in our natural, agricultural and urban ecosys- tems. In addition to being essential for crop production, pollinators support diverse plant communities and the animals that depend on them. Healthy plant communities also support critical ecosystem functions, such as main- taining a balance of clean air and clean water by converting carbon dioxide into oxygen and preventing soil erosion (Marinelli 2005). Land cover across Pennsylvania. Map of major land cover classes and their spa- tial distribution across the state. This land cover map of Pennsylvania was created using the 2016 USDA Cropland Data Layer. Mapping was performed with QGIS software. Figure generated by D. Sponsler, Penn State University.
    [Show full text]
  • Design and Testing of a National Pollinator and Pollination Monitoring Framework
    Design and Testing of a National Pollinator and Pollination Monitoring Framework A report to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Scottish Government and Welsh Government. April 2016. Authors: Claire Carvell1, Nick Isaac1, Mark Jitlal1, Jodey Peyton1, Gary Powney1, David Roy1, Adam Vanbergen1, Rory O’Connor2, Catherine Jones2, Bill Kunin2, Tom Breeze3, Mike Garratt3, Simon Potts3, Martin Harvey4, Janice Ansine4, Richard Comont5, Paul Lee6, Mike Edwards6, Stuart Roberts7, Roger Morris8, Andy Musgrove9, Tom Brereton10, Cathy Hawes11 and Helen Roy1. 1 NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology 2 University of Leeds 3 University of Reading 4 The Open University 5 Bumblebee Conservation Trust (BBCT) 6 Hymettus Ltd. and 7 on sub-contract with Hymettus 8 Bright Angel Coastal Consultants Ltd 9 British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) 10 Butterfly Conservation (BC) 11 James Hutton Institute (JHI) Defra project WC1101: Design and Testing of a National Pollinator and Pollination Monitoring Framework FINAL REPORT Project details Project title: Design and testing of a National Pollinator and Pollination Monitoring Framework Defra Project Officer: Mark Stevenson Name and address of Contractor: Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxon OX10 8BB, UK Contractor’s Project Manager: Dr Claire Carvell Project start date: 1st May 2014 End date: 31st December 2015 This report should be cited as: Carvell, C., Isaac, N. J. B., Jitlal, M., Peyton, J., Powney, G. D., Roy, D. B., Vanbergen, A. J., O’Connor, R. S., Jones, C. M., Kunin, W. E., Breeze, T. D., Garratt, M. P. D., Potts, S. G., Harvey, M., Ansine, J., Comont, R.
    [Show full text]
  • The Best Wildflowers for Wild Bees
    Journal of Insect Conservation (2019) 23:819–830 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-019-00180-8 ORIGINAL PAPER The best wildfowers for wild bees Rachel N. Nichols1 · Dave Goulson1 · John M. Holland2 Received: 31 January 2019 / Accepted: 23 September 2019 / Published online: 28 September 2019 © The Author(s) 2019 Abstract Governmental agri-environment schemes (AES) aim to improve pollinator abundance and diversity on farmland by sowing wildfower seed mixes. These often contain high proportions of Fabaceae, particularly Trifolium (clovers), which are attrac- tive to some bumblebee species, but not to most of the ~ 240 solitary bee species in the UK. Here we identify wildfowers that are attractive to a greater range of wild bee species. Forty-fve wildfower species being farmed for commercial seed production on a single farm were surveyed for native bees. Bee walks were conducted through discrete wildfower areas from April until August in 2018. The results indicate that including a range of Apiaceae, Asteraceae, and Geraniaceae in seed mixes would cater for a wide diversity of bee species. A total of 14 wildfower species across nine families attracted 37 out of the 40 bee species recorded on the farm, and accounted for 99.7% of all visitations. Only two of these 14 species are included in current AES pollinator mixes. Unexpectedly, few visits were made by bumblebees to Trifolium spp. (0.5%), despite their being considered an important food source for bumblebees, while Anthyllis vulneraria and Geranium pratense were highly attractive. For solitary bees, Crepis capillaris, Sinapsis arvensis, Convolvulus arvensis and Chaerophyllum temulum were amongst the best performing species, none of which are usually included in sown fower mixes.
    [Show full text]
  • The Best Wildflowers for Wild Bees
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Sussex Research Online The best wildflowers for wild bees Article (Published Version) Nichols, Rachel N, Goulson, Dave and Holland, John M (2019) The best wildflowers for wild bees. Journal of Insect Conservation. ISSN 1366-638X This version is available from Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/86615/ This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies and may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher’s version. Please see the URL above for details on accessing the published version. Copyright and reuse: Sussex Research Online is a digital repository of the research output of the University. Copyright and all moral rights to the version of the paper presented here belong to the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. To the extent reasonable and practicable, the material made available in SRO has been checked for eligibility before being made available. Copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk Journal of Insect Conservation https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-019-00180-8 ORIGINAL PAPER The best wildfowers for wild bees Rachel N.
    [Show full text]