Data on the diet and nutrition of urban and rural bumblebees

Scientific Data, Год журнала: 2025, Номер 12(1)

Опубликована: Фев. 17, 2025

Язык: Английский

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Quantifying the production of plant pollen at the farm scale

New Phytologist, Год журнала: 2024, Номер 242(6), С. 2888 - 2899

Опубликована: Апрель 15, 2024

Plant pollen is rich in protein, sterols and lipids, providing crucial nutrition for many pollinators. However, we know very little about the quantity, quality timing of availability real landscapes, limiting our ability to improve food supply We quantify floral longevity production a whole plant community first time, enabling us calculate daily availability. combine these data with abundance nectar measures from UK farmland at landscape scale throughout year. Pollen were significantly correlated unit, level. The species highest quantity on Salix spp. (38%), Filipendula ulmaria (14%), Rubus fruticosus (10%) Taraxacum officinale (9%). Hedgerows most pollen-rich habitats, but permanent pasture provided majority scale, because its large area. closely associated their phenology, both peaking late April, before declining steeply June remaining low Our provide starting point including resource assessments ensuring nutritional requirements pollinators are met landscapes.

Язык: Английский

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Plants other than animal-pollinated herbs provide wild bees with vital nutrients

Global Ecology and Conservation, Год журнала: 2024, Номер 52, С. e02984 - e02984

Опубликована: Май 10, 2024

Adult pollinators that forage primarily for energy have traditionally guided our understanding of plant–pollinator interactions, leading to assumptions about the importance different plants pollinators. Consequently, pollinator conservation strategies potentially overlook balance juvenile diets. I studied a representative bee, Osmia bicornis, explore contributions various nutritional quality diet. Using ecological stoichiometry and micronutrient ecology, investigated proportions vital body-building chemical elements (C, N, P, S, K, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn Cu; henceforth "nutrients") in larval pollen loads. considered botanical origin, location sexual dimorphism niche as factors influencing nutrient Redundancy analysis indicated main factor determining proportion was which accounted 70.17% variation; contributed 20.21%, sex 8.43%. Among 30 taxa composing loads, determinants content were oak, maple, chestnut, cabbage family, buttercup, grasses. Trees wind-pollinated provided important nutrients. Oak maple contributors nutrients essential growth body development (N, Cu, Zn). Grasses buttercups is bees. Complex habitat management schemes extending beyond traditional seed mixes are conservation, non-obvious plant species provide should be included efforts create complex landscape enabling balanced

Язык: Английский

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Dietary foundations for pollinators: nutritional profiling of plants for bee health

Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, Год журнала: 2024, Номер 8

Опубликована: Июнь 26, 2024

Human activities, including urban expansion, intensive farming practices, and the application of pesticides have significantly reshaped bee habitats. Understanding nutritional content pollen, primary source bees’ proteins lipids, is important for maintaining their diet health. In this study, we set out to determine composition pollen from various plant families genera. Our objectives were analyze levels non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs), amino (AAs), protein-to-lipid (P:L) ratios, omega-6:3 ratios 57 species native North America. These data suggest a potential trade-off between NEFA AA within suggesting that diverse floral may benefit bees more than single source. The profiles showed considerable diversity, with all providing essential (EAAs) required health, except methionine which was lacking in Rhus glabra pollen. family Asteraceae especially abundant EAAs. P:L varied widely further emphasizing need access array profiles. There no overall differences introduced species. This study highlights significance resources meet comprehensive needs bees, contributing support pollinator populations broader ecological system.

Язык: Английский

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A novel insecticide impairs bumblebee memory and sucrose responsiveness across high and low nutrition

Royal Society Open Science, Год журнала: 2024, Номер 11(5)

Опубликована: Май 1, 2024

Wild bees are important pollinators of crops and wildflowers but exposed to a myriad different anthropogenic stressors, such as pesticides poor nutrition, consequence intensive agriculture. These stressors do not act in isolation, interact, may exacerbate one another. Here, we assessed whether field-realistic concentration flupyradifurone, novel pesticide that has been labelled 'bee safe' by regulators, influenced bumblebee sucrose responsiveness long-term memory. In fully crossed experimental design, individual bumblebees (

Язык: Английский

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Bringing population ecology back to wild bees

Ecosphere, Год журнала: 2024, Номер 15(9)

Опубликована: Сен. 1, 2024

Abstract In recent years, motivated by widespread declines in wild bees, ecologists have prioritized learning about patterns of bee communities across the landscape at expense population‐level mechanisms driving those patterns. this essay, we seek to revitalize tradition studying populations a way that both contributes key knowledge for conservation and builds strong conceptual understanding processes underpinning populations. We address two concerns investing research. First, studies are too conceptually narrow provide broad inference. If couched general ecological theory, then findings from single species can be generalized many. highlight how bees would make excellent candidates exploring five areas ideas population ecology, including nutritional drivers vital rates, phenology voltinism, habitat selection, movement. Second, concern methods level difficult implement. Methods conducting bees—specifically, identifying living field individuals throughout their life cycles—are feasible implement scales appropriate answering questions, example, few sites. To facilitate adoption these ideas, developed an online guide ( www.watchingbees.com ) detailed manual. More generally, emphasize value linking data‐rich pattern‐oriented approaches ecology with basic biology generate

Язык: Английский

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Ten‐a‐day: Bumblebee pollen loads reveal high consistency in foraging breadth among species, sites and seasons

Ecological Solutions and Evidence, Год журнала: 2024, Номер 5(3)

Опубликована: Июль 1, 2024

Abstract Pollen and nectar are crucial resources for bees but vary greatly among plant species in their quantity, nutritional quality timing of availability. This makes it challenging to identify an appropriate range plants meet the needs throughout year, though this information is important design pollinator conservation schemes. Using DNA metabarcoding pollen loads, we record floral resource use UK farmland bumblebees at different stages colony lifecycle, compare with null models ‘expected’ based on landscape‐scale availability (pollen nectar), foraging priorities preferences. We approach ask three main questions: (i) what breadth individual bumblebees?; (ii) do utilise a greater or lesser diversity than expected if they foraged proportion availability?; (iii) which preferentially utilise? Individual from highly consistent number taxa (mean: 10 ± 0.37 SE per bee), regardless species, sampling site time year. high consistency breadth, despite large changes identity availability, implies strong behavioural tendency towards fixed resources. effect was most striking April when maintained very low landscape‐level diversity. Bumblebees used some significantly more predicted abundance, supply, implying certain desirable characteristics beyond mere quantity resource. These included Allium spp. Vicia April; Trifolium repens Lotus corniculatus July Cardueae (thistles) Taraxacum officinale September. Practical implication : Our results strongly indicate that not only factor driving bumblebee patterns also factors. Thus, addition providing quantities resources, recommend schemes focus sufficient preferred enabling pollinators self‐select diverse nutritious diet.

Язык: Английский

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Global change aggravates drought, with consequences for plant reproduction

Annals of Botany, Год журнала: 2024, Номер unknown

Опубликована: Дек. 18, 2024

Abstract Background The frequency and intensity of droughts are expected to increase under global change, driven by anthropogenic climate change water diversion. Precipitation is become more episodic with longer warmer dry spells, although some areas might wetter. Diversion freshwater from lakes rivers groundwater pumping for irrigation agricultural fields lowering availability wild plant populations, increasing the drought. Given importance seasonal changes extremes in soil moisture influence reproduction, because majority plants flowering most them depend on pollinators seed production, this review focuses consequences drought different aspects reproduction animal-pollinated angiosperms, emphasizing interactions among drought, pollination. Scope Visual olfactory traits play crucial roles attracting pollinators. Drought-induced floral can pollinator attraction visitation, together networks phenology, subsequent effects reproduction. Here, we how influences these We identify knowledge gaps highlight that would benefit additional research. Conclusions affected but their phenotypic responses vary sex, population species. Ample plasticity exists traits, providing an ability a rapid response engendered change. impact drought-induced attraction, pollen deposition reproductive success does not show clear pattern. Drought affects structure plant–pollinator modify phenology. always negative, need characteristics associated positive responses.

Язык: Английский

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Foraging bee species differentially prioritize quantity and quality of floral rewards

PNAS Nexus, Год журнала: 2024, Номер 3(10)

Опубликована: Окт. 1, 2024

Pollinator-plant interactions represent a core mutualism that underpins biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems, and the loss of flowering plants is major driver pollinator declines. Bee attraction to flowers mediated by both quantity resources (the number available for exploration) quality (pollen nutritional value), but whether how bees prioritize these factors not well understood. Here, we leveraged unique plant system investigate floral influencing bee foraging decisions. Recombinant inbred lines were generated crossing self-fertilizing

Язык: Английский

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The effects of diet enhancement on the health of commercial bumblebee colonies

Apidologie, Год журнала: 2025, Номер 56(1)

Опубликована: Янв. 2, 2025

Abstract Commercially reared bees provide economically important pollination services for a diversity of crops. Improving their health is both to maximise and avoid possible pathogen spillover or spillback with wild pollinators. Diet quality may directly indirectly affect diverse aspects bumblebee health, including colony development, individual size immune but the impact this remains unclear. Here we investigate experimentally effect diet during development using three diets: (1) standard pollen used in commercial rearing colonies sale, (2) an enhanced comprised wildflower mix that was expected be nutritionally superior (including by having elevated protein content) (3) substitute mixed poorer. The on quantified colony-level measures (colony weight, [number live workers] number dead individuals), individual-level (body size, fat body [proportion weight], total haemocyte count phenoloxidase enzyme activity). significantly affected growth, fed growing larger producing more reproductives than those either poor diet. also resulted were had better health. results show can have effects commercially bumblebees suggest enhancement standard-rearing diets improve

Язык: Английский

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