scholarly journals Dominance of honey bees is negatively associated with wild bee diversity in commercial apple orchards regardless of management practices

2022 ◽  
Vol 323 ◽  
pp. 107697
Author(s):  
Timothy Weekers ◽  
Leon Marshall ◽  
Nicolas Leclercq ◽  
Thomas James Wood ◽  
Diego Cejas ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panlong Wu ◽  
Piaopiao Dai ◽  
Meina Wang ◽  
Sijie Feng ◽  
Aruhan Olhnuud ◽  
...  

Bees provide key pollination services for a wide range of crops. Accumulating evidence shows the effect of semi-natural habitats at the landscape level and local management practices on bee diversity in fields. However, most of the evidence is derived from studies in North America and Europe. Whether this paradigm is applicable in China, which is characterized by smallholder-dominated agricultural landscapes, has rarely been studied. In this study, we aimed to investigate how bee diversity affected apple production, and how landscape and local variables affected bee diversity and species composition on the Northern China Plain. The results showed that bees significantly increased apple fruit set compared to bagged controls. Wild bee diversity was positively related to apple seed numbers. Higher seed numbers reduced the proportion of deformed apples and thus increased fruit quality. Wild bee abundance was positively correlated with flowering ground cover, and both the abundance and species richness of wild bees were positively affected by the percentage of semi-natural habitats. We conclude that apple quality can benefit from ecological intensification comprising the augmentation of wild bees by semi-natural habitats and flowering ground cover. Future pollination management should therefore reduce the intensification level of management at both the local and landscape scales.


2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (10) ◽  
pp. 2459-2469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie A. Kammerer ◽  
David J. Biddinger ◽  
Neelendra K. Joshi ◽  
Edwin G. Rajotte ◽  
David A. Mortensen

EDIS ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary C. Bammer ◽  
Josh Campbell ◽  
Chase B. Kimmel ◽  
James D.. Ellis ◽  
Jaret C. Daniels

The establishment of native wildflower plantings in Florida can benefit agricultural producers as well as native pollinators and other beneficial insects (predators and parasitoids). The plantings do this by:  providing forage and nesting sites for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, increasing wild bee numbers possibly across the farm, and increasing natural enemies of insect pests (that also depend on forage and nesting sites). This document discusses choosing the right mix of native plant species to benefit many pollinator species, as well as proper site selection, planting practices, and weed control techniques. Wildflower plots should be practical to manage, maximize benefits to wildlife, and fit into the overall management practices of the property. 


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Beyer ◽  
Felix Kirsch ◽  
Doreen Gabriel ◽  
Catrin Westphal

Abstract Context Pollinator declines and functional homogenization of farmland insect communities have been reported. Mass-flowering crops (MFC) can support pollinators by providing floral resources. Knowledge about how MFC with dissimilar flower morphology affect functional groups and functional trait compositions of wild bee communities is scarce. Objective We investigated how two morphologically different MFC, land cover and local flower cover of semi-natural habitats (SNH) and landscape diversity affect wild bees and their functional traits (body size, tongue length, sociality, foraging preferences). Methods We conducted landscape-level wild bee surveys in SNH of 30 paired study landscapes covering an oilseed rape (OSR) (Brassica napus L.) gradient. In 15 study landscapes faba beans (Vicia faba L.) were grown, paired with respective control landscapes without grain legumes. Results Faba bean cultivation promoted bumblebees (Bombus spp. Latreille), whereas non-Bombus densities were only driven by the local flower cover of SNH. High landscape diversity enhanced wild bee species richness. Faba bean cultivation enhanced the proportions of social wild bees, bees foraging on Fabaceae and slightly of long-tongued bumblebees. Solitary bee proportions increased with high covers of OSR. High local SNH flower covers mitigated changes of mean bee sizes caused by faba bean cultivation. Conclusions Our results show that MFC support specific functional bee groups adapted to their flower morphology and can alter pollinators` functional trait composition. We conclude that management practices need to target the cultivation of functionally diverse crops, combined with high local flower covers of diverse SNH to create heterogeneous landscapes, which sustain diverse pollinator communities.


Author(s):  
Muzaffar Ahmad Ganie ◽  
Amit Kumar Pal ◽  
Nazeer Ahmad

It is now clear that over use of pesticides and intensive management of orchards can lead to drastic declines in apple pollinator abundance and crop failures. During the period of study a grower’s survey was conducted to know about knowledge of farmers on native insect pollinators, pollinator management practices, their perceptions of the importance and utility of native pollinators, and their attitudes regarding pesticide application. Despite of having significant knowledge of managed pollination, only few farmers (2%) adopted supplementary methods of pollination (renting honey bee colonies, hand pollination etc.). In Pulwama, 60% of farmers had knowledge about native insect pollinators and 40% did not have any idea of native pollinators and in case of Shopian, the figures were fifty-fifty i.e. 50% had knowledge about native insect pollinators and 50% were unaware. During the period of investigation, native insect pollinators were sampled from different apple orchards under different management systems in early spring during apple flowering. A total of 17 species of insect pollinators belonging to 11 families and 3 orders_ Hymenoptera, Diptera and Lepidoptera registered their occurrence at all the studied apple orchards of the Kashmir Valley. At all the study sites i.e. apple orchards under different management systems, family Halictidae and Empididae registered their presence as dominant groups. The % family contribution of the former at different orchard types decreased with increase in the intensity of the management system and the % family contribution of the later however, showed a direct relationship with the management system found, i.e. the more intense the system, the more abundant was the group. Other groups in general did not show any greater differences in abundances at different sites studied.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaoke Dong ◽  
Mengjing Xia ◽  
Cheng Li ◽  
Baofeng Mu ◽  
Zhiyong Zhang

Sowing plants that provide food resources in orchards is a potential habitat management practice for enhancing biological control. Flowering plants (providing pollen and nectar) and grasses (providing alternative prey) can benefit natural enemies in orchards; however, little is known about their relative importance. We studied the effect of management practices (flower strips, grass strips, and spontaneous grass) on arthropod predators under organic apple management regimes in apple orchards in Beijing, China. Orchards located at two different sites were assessed for 3 years (2017–2019). The cover crops had a significant impact on the abundance and diversity of arthropod predators. The grass treatment consistently supported significantly greater densities of alternative prey resources for predators, and predators were more abundant in the grass than in the other treatments. The Shannon–Wiener diversity was significantly higher for the cover crop treatment than for the control. Community structure was somewhat similar between the grass and control, but it differed between the flower treatment and grass/control. Weak evidence for an increase in mobile predators (ladybirds and lacewings) in the orchard canopy was found. Ladybirds and lacewings were more abundant in the grass treatment than in the other treatments in 2019 only, while the aphid abundance in the grass treatment was lowest. The fact that grass strips promoted higher predator abundance and stronger aphid suppression in comparison to the flower strips suggests that providing alternative prey for predators has great biocontrol service potential. The selection of cover crops and necessary management for conserving natural enemies in orchards are discussed in this paper.


2018 ◽  
Vol 266 ◽  
pp. 142-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Kratschmer ◽  
Bärbel Pachinger ◽  
Martina Schwantzer ◽  
Daniel Paredes ◽  
Muriel Guernion ◽  
...  

2010 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard F. Schwartz ◽  
David H. Gent ◽  
Scott M. Fichtner ◽  
Rajiv Khosla ◽  
Linda A. Mahaffey ◽  
...  

Iris yellow spot virus and its onion thrips vector (Thrips tabaci) are yield limiting pests of onion in the western United States. This two-year project investigated the relationship of iris yellow spot to thrips populations, soil properties, and grower management practices in six onion fields during 2005 and 2006 in Colorado. Thrips density (average number of thrips per plant per day) was negatively associated with soil pH (r = -0.61). The incidence of iris yellow spot at harvest was positively associated with organic matter, zinc, potassium, percent sodium, percent hydrogen, copper, iron, and soil pH. Thrips-days had a clear non-linear association with disease incidence at harvest. Onion plant population was positively associated with levels of iron, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc; and negatively associated with calcium, salts, percent potassium, and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Marketable (medium or larger sized bulbs) yield was negatively associated with phosphorus and percent potassium, and positively associated with salts, calcium, and CEC. Results from this project could contribute to the development of a risk index to predict potential risk from Iris yellow spot virus and its onion thrips vector. Accepted for publication 6 July 2010. Published 20 August 2010.


Ecosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. e02668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara M. Galbraith ◽  
James H. Cane ◽  
Andrew R. Moldenke ◽  
James W. Rivers
Keyword(s):  
Wild Bee ◽  

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