Article
Entomology
Simone Flaminio, Rosa Ranalli, Laura Zavatta, Marta Galloni, Laura Bortolotti
Summary: Beewatching is a citizen science project aiming to collect information on wild bee species in Italy, raise awareness of bee diversity among citizens, and monitor the distribution of alien bee species. With 269 users contributing 1086 reports during the first two years, the increasing number of accurate reports demonstrates the success of the project.
Article
Entomology
Zeus Mateos-Fierro, Michael P. D. Garratt, Michelle T. Fountain, Kate Ashbrook, Duncan B. Westbury
Summary: This study observed the abundance, diversity, and foraging behavior of different insect pollinator groups in commercial sweet cherry orchards. The results showed that while managed pollinators visited cherry blossoms more frequently, wild solitary bees and queen bumblebees were more effective at enhancing pollination in sweet cherry orchards.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
James Wolfin, Eric Watkins, Ian Lane, Zachary M. Portman, Marla Spivak
Summary: Introducing low-growing flowers to turfgrass lawns promoted bee diversity and reduced inputs. Florally-enhanced lawns supported more diverse bee communities compared to lawns with just white clover. This research highlights the potential importance of flowering species in supporting bee pollinators in urban and suburban areas.
Article
Ecology
Maureen L. Page, Neal M. Williams
Summary: Human-mediated species introductions provide real-time experiments in studying how communities respond to interspecific competition. This study investigates the impact of introduced honey bees on native bees' visitation patterns, pollen diets, and floral resource availability. The results show that honey bee competition leads to decreased floral resources and alters native bees' visitation behavior, highlighting the importance of floral resource preservation in mitigating negative impacts of honey bee competition.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Tristan Eckerter, Jorn Buse, Jurgen Bauhus, Marc I. Foerschler, Alexandra M. Klein
Summary: A restoration experiment in secondary spruce forests in the Black Forest National Park in Germany showed that creating deadwood can increase the number of aboveground-nesting, solitary, and cuckoo bees. Additionally, increased bilberry cover and nearby meadow areas were found to enhance the abundance and richness of the bee community. These results indicate that structural complexity enhancement combined with habitat elements like deadwood and floral resources can promote wild bee diversity in temperate forests.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Scott R. Mitchel, Sandra J. DeBano, Mary M. Rowland, Skyler Burrows
Summary: This study conducted over two years in a riparian restoration project in the Pacific Northwest revealed the importance of shrubs, particularly willow, wax currant, and black hawthorn, for the diversity of bees in spring. Planting bee-friendly shrubs can not only provide forage for a diverse community of pollinators but also improve stream health by shading and stabilizing banks, achieving multiple restoration goals with limited funding.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Dawid Moron, Emilia Marjanska, Piotr Skorka, Magdalena Lenda, Michal Woyciechowski
Summary: This study found that invasive goldenrods did not suffer from pollinator shortage and ineffective pollination, especially in habitats densely covered by the invader, due to the presence of large-bodied pollinators, which affected the composition of pollinators and pollination effectiveness.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2021)
Article
Biology
Agustin Saez, Ramiro Aguilar, Lorena Ashworth, Gabriela Gleiser, Carolina L. Morales, Anna Traveset, Marcelo A. Aizen
Summary: Modern agriculture relies heavily on pollinators, but the availability of honeybees is not able to meet the demand, and wild bees are declining. This can lead to reduced crop yield due to pollination limitation. A meta-analysis of published studies found that pollen supplementation increased crop yield by approximately 34%, indicating significant pollination limitation. Managed honeybees and self-compatibility were associated with lower pollination limitation. The findings suggest that current pollination management practices are inadequate and need to be transformed.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Alina Twerski, Harald Albrecht, Jochen Frund, Michaela Moosner, Christina Fischer
Summary: Rare arable plants positively impact wild bees by providing additional flower resources, increasing their abundance and species richness. Sowing of rare arable plants can enhance resource availability for wild bees in agricultural landscapes and aid in conserving plant diversity.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Joana P. Haedo, Lucia C. Martinez, Sofia Graffigna, Hugo J. Marrero, Juan P. Torretta
Summary: The study finds that managed alfalfa leafcutting bees (ALCBs) are highly effective pollinators in alfalfa seed production regions, while honey bees (HBs) show variable effects on pollination service depending on the site. Despite their low abundance, wild bees have a significant impact on reducing pollen limitation.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Andrew H. Aldercotte, Dylan T. Simpson, Rachael Winfree
Summary: Despite the recognized need for long-term monitoring of pollinator abundances and pollination service provision, such studies are rare. In this study, the researchers assessed changes in bee visitation and net capture rates for 73 species visiting watermelon crop flowers at 19 farms in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States from 2005 to 2012. They found a significant decline in wild bee visitation to crop flowers, but no change in honey bee visitation rate. The trends in pollination services followed the trends in visitation and net capture rates.
INSECT CONSERVATION AND DIVERSITY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Nicholas N. Dorian, Max W. McCarthy, Elizabeth E. Crone
Summary: Warming temperatures lead to changes in the timing of life-history events. This study analyzed the phenological change in 70 species of solitary bees and found that seasonality and nesting location were drivers of variation in phenological trends. The study suggests that bees have a longer flight period and can provide pollination services for a longer time.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Timothy Weekers, Leon Marshall, Nicolas Leclercq, Thomas James Wood, Diego Cejas, Bianca Drepper, Louise Hutchinson, Denis Michez, Jean-Marc Molenberg, Guy Smagghe, Peter Vandamme, Nicolas J. Vereecken
Summary: The study found that the dominance of honey bees is significantly and negatively associated with wild bee diversity, regardless of local management practices. Semi-natural habitats have a positive impact on functional diversity of wild bees, while urbanization and crop cover around orchards have no effect on diversity metrics. In locations with high honey bee dominance, a greater number of bee species exhibit less common combinations of functional traits, especially larger bee species with longer tongues.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Rachel A. Nalepa, Graham Epstein, Jeremy Pittman, Sheila R. Colla
Summary: Policies and programs focusing on raising grower awareness of wild bees, increasing grower perception of their benefits, and reducing the perceived costs of implementing pollinator-supporting practices may positively affect their uptake. Growers are more likely to adopt pollinator-friendly practices when they are aware of the importance of wild bees and perceive the threats facing them. However, they are less likely to adopt these practices as the fraction of rented land increases and when the costs of implementation rise.
RENEWABLE AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SYSTEMS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
James Desaegher, Annie Ouin, David Sheeren
Summary: This study aimed to determine the upper limit of the scale of effect for wild bee species. The results showed a significant positive relationship between bee foraging distance and their scale of effect. An index lambda was introduced to estimate the distance beyond which landscape composition has negligible effects on bee abundances. The lambda index can be used to determine the minimum distance between sampling sites before setting up an experiment and the maximum buffer size required in multi-scale analysis to detect the scale of effect.
Editorial Material
Entomology
Beatrice R. Barletti, Ana Asensio, Carlo Polidori, Marino Quaranta, Pilar De la Rua
Summary: In this study, we rediscovered the presence of Lasioglossum marginatum in Eastern Sicily after 45 years without records, and its existence was confirmed by DNA barcoding. This species is the only known eusocial sweat bee with perennial colonies, suggesting its rarity in Sicily.
JOURNAL OF APICULTURAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Natasha de Manincor, Alessandro Fisogni, Nicole E. Rafferty
Summary: Climate change disrupts plant-pollinator mutualisms by causing phenological asynchronies and altering interaction traits. Warming advances flowering onset, peak, and end in plant communities, but has no effect on bee emergence. Warmed plants produce fewer and smaller flowers with less nectar concentration, reducing attractiveness, while warmed bees become more generalized in foraging, reducing effectiveness. Plant-bee interactions decrease in frequency, duration, and peak under warming, resulting in fewer and lighter seeds and pollinator-mediated fitness costs. Climate change diminishes ecosystem services by perturbing plant-pollinator mutualisms.
Review
Plant Sciences
Marta Barberis, Daniele Calabrese, Marta Galloni, Massimo Nepi
Summary: In recent years, there has been an increased understanding of the complex chemistry of floral nectar and its ecological implications for plant-pollinator relationships. Nectar is now seen as more than just a reward for pollinators, but rather a platform for complex interactions with insects and other organisms. This review aims to provide an overview of our current knowledge of nectar secondary compounds (NSCs), including recently highlighted aspects such as non-protein amino acids and biogenic amines. It also discusses the implications of these NSCs in the pollination scenario, hypotheses regarding the evolution of complex nectar profiles, and potential cues for future research on plant-pollinator relationships.
Article
Ecology
M. Barberis, G. Bogo, L. Bortolotti, M. Guarnieri, M. Nepi, A. Felicioli, M. Galloni
Summary: Several studies have shown that floral nectar chemistry influences the behavior of pollinators. Biogenic amines, which act as neurotransmitters in invertebrates, were recently found in the nectar of 15 plant species. However, their presence in nectar and their effects on bee behavior have not been well established. This study investigated the composition of biogenic amines in the nectar of Echium vulgare and examined the impact of an artificial solution with nectar-like concentrations of tyramine on bumblebee foraging behavior. The results suggest that tyramine-enriched solution affected bee behavior, leading to more dynamic visitation patterns. Further research on these nectar compounds is important for understanding insect cognition and behavior.
ARTHROPOD-PLANT INTERACTIONS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Celeste Azpiazu, Pilar Medina, Fabio Sgolastra, Ana Moreno-Delafuente, Elisa Vinuela
Summary: Pollen and nectar samples from melon flowers were analyzed for pesticide residues, revealing contamination in melon agroecosystems. Risk assessment for bees should consider long-term exposure effects of pesticides in both pollen and nectar, and the potential synergies among pesticide formulations. Acetamiprid, chlorpyrifos, and oxamyl at residue level concentration did not show adverse effects on bumblebees in terms of worker mortality, drone production, and drone size in the micro-colony bioassay.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2023)
Editorial Material
Entomology
Julia Lanner, Orlando Yanez, Giovanni Cilia, Laura Bortolotti, Harald Meimberg, Peter Neumann
Summary: Insect wing deformities can be caused by various factors, including DWV. However, in this study, neither DWV-A nor DWV-B were found in any of the tested samples, including symptomatic individuals, suggesting that other stressors were responsible for the observed deformities. This highlights the importance of conducting differential diagnostics.
JOURNAL OF APICULTURAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Entomology
Roberto Catania, Maria Augusta Pereira Lima, Michele Potrich, Fabio Sgolastra, Lucia Zappala, Gaetana Mazzeo
Summary: This paper reviews studies on the lethal and sublethal effects of botanical biopesticides on social and solitary bees, and finds that these products can cause lethal and sublethal effects on bees, but the toxicity is lower compared to synthetic pesticides.
Article
Ecology
M. Barberis, G. Bogo, L. Bortolotti, S. Flaminio, E. Giordano, M. Nepi, M. Galloni
Summary: Previous studies have shown that secondary metabolites in floral nectar can affect the behavior of floral visitors. However, little is known about the temporal variations in nectar chemistry over extended flowering seasons. This study compared the nectar chemistry and duration of pollinator visits in the early and late summer periods of the long-flowering plant Echium vulgare L. The results indicated that certain compounds in nectar increased as the season progressed, and these changes may be responsible for the longer visits by bumblebees to flowers at the end of the flowering season.
ACTA OECOLOGICA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Sergio Albacete, Gonzalo Sancho, Celeste Azpiazu, Anselm Rodrigo, Roberto Molowny-Horas, Fabio Sgolastra, Jordi Bosch
Summary: This study analyzes the combined effects of climate warming and sublethal insecticide exposure on Osmia cornuta bees. The results show that warm wintering temperatures cause weight loss, lipid consumption, and fat body depletion in bees, making them more sensitive to pesticides. Additionally, high doses of insecticide impair the bees' ability to respond to light, reduce syrup consumption, and shorten their lifespan.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Elena Tafi, Simona Sagona, Francesca Coppola, Valentina Meucci, Marta Galloni, Laura Bortolotti, Gherardo Bogo, Massimo Nepi, Antonio Felicioli
Summary: This study investigated the effects of a 10 mM proline-enriched diet on feed consumption, survival, behavior, and haemolymph amino acid composition of O. cornuta bees. The proline diet resulted in higher feed intake, but did not affect survival rate. The behavior was only affected in the senescence of the bees, with a reduction in locomotor activity induced by proline intake. The proline diet also affected the haemolymph amino acid composition.
PHYSIOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Manuela Giovanetti, Laura Bortolotti
Summary: Pollinators play a crucial role in maintaining environmental biodiversity and crop production. In temperate areas, bees are the most active and important group of pollinators. While there is growing public concern about their decline and its impact on agriculture, this issue has been neglected by important stakeholders like farmers. Recent policies, including the new Common Agricultural Policies (CAPs) in Europe, indicate a shift toward prioritizing healthier environments. Italy has taken the lead by including pollinators in a dedicated eco-scheme. Will this finally lead to greater acknowledgement and protection of pollinators?
RENEWABLE AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SYSTEMS
(2023)