Invasive plants as potential food resource for native pollinators: A case study with two invasive species and a generalist bumble bee.

ABSTRACT: It is now well established that invasive plants may induce drifts in the quantity and/or quality of floral resources. They are then often pointed out as a potential driver of bee decline. However, their impact on bee population remains quite unclear and still controversial, as bee responses are highly variable among species. Here, we compared the amino acid composition of pollen from three native and two invasive plant species included in diets of common pollinators in NW Europe. Moreover, the nutritional intake (i.e., pollen and amino acid intakes) of Bombus terrestris colonies and the pollen foraging behaviour of workers (i.e., visiting rate, number of foraging trips, weight of pollen loads) were considered. We found significant differences in pollen nutrients among the studied species a

SUBMITTER: Drossart M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5701216 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature