Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Ola Lundin, Chloe A. Raderschall
Summary: The study found that bumble bee abundance and legitimate flower visitor abundance were higher in areas with higher landscape complexity. Additionally, although excluding insect pollination in the pollination experiment resulted in fewer beans per pod, the individual bean weight increased, maintaining total bean mass per plant. This suggests that faba bean pollination potential is higher in complex landscapes, and there is not a complete dependency on insect pollination.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Gabriela M. M. Quinlan, Rufus Isaacs, Clint R. V. Otto, Autumn H. H. Smart, Meghan O. O. Milbrath
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the associations between weather, landscape characteristics, and honey bee colony outcomes. Detailed measurements on over 450 honey bee colonies in Michigan, USA revealed that higher than normal precipitation in the preceding spring and fall was negatively correlated with colony size change and with foraged nectar mass. Sites surrounded by less agricultural land and more forested land also had fewer pupae by the end of summer.
Article
Plant Sciences
Gerard X. Smith, Mark T. Swartz, Rachel B. Spigler
Summary: The study found that different species of pollen were widely present on the stigmas of Oenothera fruticosa, but the amount received varied greatly and was unrelated to conspecific pollen receipt. Heterospecific pollen receipt depended on pollinator type, the proportion of nearby conspecific flowers, and flowering date. Naturally occurring levels of heterospecific pollen were sufficient to negatively impact seed set, but large amounts of conspecific pollen counteracted this effect.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Micaela Buteler, Andrea Marina Alma, Teodoro Stadler, Ariane Carnebia Gingold, Maria Celeste Manattini, Mariana Lozada
Summary: The acute toxicity of microplastics on honeybees is low and does not lead to short-term mortality. However, honeybees' foraging behavior does not prevent them from ingesting microplastics, which could potentially have lethal long-term effects on the bees.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
P. Calaca, L. D. de Freitas, C. Schlindwein
Summary: This study investigates the dioecious Myracrodruon urundeuva tree species and finds that male and female flowers offer different quantities and qualities of floral resources. Male trees produce more flowers, and female flowers open in the afternoon with a fruit-set rate of 27%. Besides a few effective pollinators, many bees are only found on male flowers.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Saeed Mohamadzade Namin, Min-Jung Kim, Minwoong Son, Chuleui Jung
Summary: There are differences in floral composition and preference for floral resources between Apis cerana honey and A. mellifera honey, but there is a low level of interspecific competition.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Sabrina Aparecida Lopes, Pedro Joaquim Bergamo, Steffani Najara Pinho Queiroz, Jeff Ollerton, Thiago Santos, Andre Rodrigo Rech
Summary: The study found seasonality in HPD, with greater diversity and frequency of heterospecific pollen on stigmas of species flowering in the dry season compared to the rainy season. Stigmas of ecologically generalized species had more heterospecific pollen, while the relationship for ecologically specialized species depended on floral phenotype.
Article
Plant Sciences
Jose B. Lanuza, Ignasi Bartomeus, Tia-Lynn Ashman, Greg Bible, Romina Rader
Summary: This study demonstrates that specific traits and trait combinations between donor and recipient species are crucial in determining seed production outcomes. Differences in traits between species lead to a competitive structure with clear winners or losers species.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Agnes S. Dellinger, Rocio Perez-Barrales, Fabian A. Michelangeli, Darin S. Penneys, Diana M. Fernandez-Fernandez, Juerg Schoenenberger
Summary: Evolutionary shifts from bee to vertebrate pollination in tropical mountains may be driven by abiotic environmental conditions that reduce the efficiency of ancestral pollinators. These shifts coincide with high elevations and adaptive floral trait changes, indicating a correlation between mountain climate and pollinator efficiency.
Article
Plant Sciences
Rodrigo Taveira, William E. Magnusson, Juliana Hipolito
Summary: This study investigated the transfer and deposition of heterospecific pollen in a Central Amazon forest. It found that plants with larger flowers, more flowers per individual, and solitary flowers were more likely to receive heterospecific pollen. Despite the diversity of floral types in the Adolpho Ducke Reserve, there was a low percentage of heterospecific pollen deposition, likely due to specialized plant-pollinator interactions.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Andres F. Ramirez-Mejia, Silvia Lomascolo, Pedro G. Blendinger
Summary: Wild pollinators contribute to higher yields and larger berries in blueberry crops, and the farm's land cover is related to the abundance of wild pollinators and RPFG. However, these effects are contingent on the blueberry cultivar, highlighting the importance of considering cultivar-specific variation when assessing pollinator benefits.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Daniel Cook, Boyd Tarlinton, James M. McGree, Alethea Blackler, Caroline Hauxwell
Summary: Strength auditing of European honey bee colonies is critical for colony health management. This study evaluates the use of temperature sensing technology in colony strength assessment and identifies key parameters linking temperature to colony strength. The presence of bees in hives significantly affects hive temperature and range, and sensor placement across the width of the hive is important when linking sensor data with colony strength. Statistical models can be used to predict colony strength from temperature sensor data.
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Entomology
M. Cecilia Estravis-Barcala, Agustin Saez, Milagros M. Graziani, Pedro Negri, Matias Viel, Walter M. Farina
Summary: This study examined the foraging behavior of honey bees in different almond cultivars and found that different cultivars have different effects on bee behavior. 'Independence' cultivar is more likely to promote cross-pollination, while 'Nonpareil' cultivar requires higher visitation rates to increase yield.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Lixia Tian, Jun Ren, Ruxu Li, Ning Di, Xi Huang, Su Wang, Xihong Fang, Xilian Xu
Summary: The herbaceous peony has high value as an ornamental and nutritional plant, and its seeds can be used to produce high-quality edible oil. However, the yield of peony seeds is limited, which can be improved by insect pollinators. In this study, we evaluated the pollination services of honeybees in a peony field and found that honeybees provided effective pollination for peonies, resulting in increased seed number and weight. DNA analysis showed that the pollen collected by honeybees was from peony flowers. These findings suggest that honeybees could be a suitable pollinator for peonies and can be applied in cultivation.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Feng Liu, Ge Zhang, Chuanlian Zhang, Weiliang Zhou, Xijian Xu, Qinyi Shou, Fang Yuan, Qian Li, Huijun Huang, Jinghua Hu, Wujun Jiang, Jiamin Qin, Wuguang Ye, Pingli Dai
Summary: This study investigated the impact of rice cropping system on honey bee health and found that high pesticide exposure and forage shortage in monoculture rice systems can stress honey bees. Increasing forest habitat cover did not enhance forage availability or reduce pesticide exposure, and all colonies eventually failed. Therefore, alternative natural habitats should be considered to support bee health.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2023)