Entomologists at UC Riverside have documented that a species of native sweat bee widespread throughout North and South America has a daily routine that makes it a promising pollinator. Because the bee can thrive in environments that have been highly modified by humans, such as cities and agricul...
mellifera shows variable preferences: vigorously foraging on pear on the first day of observation but collecting pollen from non-target floral resources on other experimental days. Conversely, A. cerana persists in pear pollen collection, without shifting preference to other competitive flowers. Therefore...
Except for bumblebees and some sweat bees, our native bees are solitary, not social, many with just one annual generation that coincides with bloom by their favorite floral hosts. In contrast, the familiar honeybee is highly social, has perennial colonies, and was brought to North America by...
Our results indicate that floral diversity of field margins had a positive effect on the richness and abundance of native floral visitors in the adjacent crop field. As a consequence, pollination services in these agroecosystems would be promoted by increasing the amount and diversity of these ...
BEE coloniesINSECT diversityBumble bees are important pollinators in both natural and anthropogenic systems. In recent years, some species have suffered declines, including in the American Midwest. While loss of floral resources and grassland habitat may contribute to these declines, little...
How different forms of agriculture support different bee taxa through the provision of different floral and nesting resources is largely unknown. Recent studies have found wild bees that are associated with agriculture tend to nest in soil, rather than vegetation, and so are thought to be adapted ...
Floral preferencesHeathlandNiche overlapThe decline of both managed and wild bee populations has been extensively reported for over a decade now, with growing concerns amongst the scientific community. Also, evidence is growing that both managed and feral honey bees may exacerbate threats to wild ...
Floral preferencesHeathlandNiche overlapThe decline of both managed and wild bee populations has been extensively reported for over a decade now, with growing concerns amongst the scientific community. Also, evidence is growing that both managed and feral honey bees may exacerbate threats to wild ...
There is currently no baseline information on the abundance of honey bees in heathland habitats, what native bee species occur in these heathlands, and the use of floral resources. Here we investigated the bee diversity of these heathlands, as well as the foraging preferences and pollen diets ...
Sampling was performed over two consecutive years in two seasons: winter, when strawberries begin flowering and farmers frequently use colonies, and spring, when there is greater availability of floral resources and wild pollinators thrive. In winter, the density of managed bumblebees in pinewoods ...