Bee Preference for Native versus Exotic Plants in Restored Agricultural Hedgerows
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Citations
Land-use change reduces habitat suitability for supporting managed honey bee colonies in the Northern Great Plains.
Habitat restoration promotes pollinator persistence and colonization in intensively managed agriculture
Conserving pollinators in North American forests: A review
Landscape composition influences pollinators and pollination services in perennial biofuel plantings
The influence of hedgerow structural condition on wildlife habitat provision in farmed landscapes
References
Floral odor learning within the hive affects honeybees’ foraging decisions
Understanding the role of species richness for crop pollination services
Hedgerows enhance beneficial insects on farms in California’s Central Valley - eScholarship
Hedgerows enhance beneficial insects on farms in California’s Central Valley
Establishing Hedgerows on Farms in California
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Frequently Asked Questions (15)
Q2. How much of the leading food crops are dependent on pollinators?
Seventy-five percent of the leading food crops and 35% of global food production is dependent on pollinators (Klein et al. 2007).
Q3. Why are native plants essential to maintaining bee diversity?
Because a quarter of native bee species that had greater than two individuals collected at these sites were found on only one native plant species, and each on a different native plantspecies, their data suggest that a diversity of native plants is essential to maintaining native bee diversity.
Q4. How many bee species were found on one species of native plant?
Of the native bee species that were represented by greater than two individuals (17 species), four bee species were found on only one species of native plant in this subset of samples.
Q5. What was the funding for this research?
The research was funded by an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship to L.A.M., a Conservation Innovation Grant, a National Science Foundation grant, and a National Geographic Society Research and6 Restoration EcologyExploration grant.
Q6. What is the role of native plants in honey bee colony health?
In light of the recent serious declines of honey bees and suspected role of poor nutrition in agricultural settings (vanEngelsdorp et al. 2009), creation of native plant hedgerows in intense agricultural areas may benefit honey bee colony health.
Q7. What is the effect of a greater bee diversity on native plants?
Recent studies suggest that habitats with greater bee diversity can result in greater or more stabilized crop production (Klein et al.
Q8. Why did the composition of the hedgerows differ between sites?
Composition varied among sites in native plants due to differences in service focus (pollination enhancement at new hedgerows, pest control at mature hedgerows), differencesin species choices made by the land owner, and differential survival among sites.
Q9. How many species of bees were observed at mature hedgerow sites?
Bee Abundance, Richness, and DiversityOf the 23 species of native bees netted on flowers at the new hedgerow sites, 7 species were observed only on exotic plants and 7 species were observed only on native plants.
Q10. What are the important resources for enhancing native bee abundance and diversity in degraded?
Native plants within these small, linear habitat elements are the most important resource for enhancing native bee abundance and diversity in degraded landscapes.
Q11. What did the researchers find to be the important resource for honey bees?
Honey bees in new hedgerow sites did not prefer native plants but rather used native and exotic plants in proportion to their abundance.
Q12. What is the significance of native plant hedgerows?
native plant hedgerows, by enhancing bee diversity over exotic weedy edges, may help to stabilize or enhance crop production.
Q13. What is the effect of native plants on bees?
In addition, these data indicate that hedgerows of mature native plants will attract or promote a more species rich and diverse community of native bees than field edges where exotic plants dominate, possibly aiding stability of pollination function.
Q14. What is the preference of native bees at mature hedgerow sites?
Native bees preferred native plants over exotic plants at mature hedgerow sites at all cover amounts (F[1,13] = 39.08, p < 0.0001) (Fig. 3).
Q15. How many bee species were found on native plants?
The authors found significantly more native bees on native plants than exotic plants (t[17] = −3.32, p = 0.004; Fig. 1) and p < 0.05 for all floral cover values greater than 15.