Flower preferences and pollen transport networks for cavity-nesting solitary bees: Implications for the design of agri-environment schemes.

ABSTRACT: Floral foraging resources are valuable for pollinator conservation on farmland, and their provision is encouraged by agri-environment schemes in many countries. Across Europe, wildflower seed mixtures are widely sown on farmland to encourage pollinators, but the extent to which key pollinator groups such as solitary bees exploit and benefit from these resources is unclear. We used high-throughput sequencing of 164 pollen samples extracted from the brood cells of six common cavity-nesting solitary bee species (Osmia bicornis, Osmia caerulescens, Megachile versicolor, Megachile ligniseca, Megachile centuncularis and Hylaeus confusus) which are widely distributed across the UK and Europe. We documented their pollen use across 19 farms in southern Engl

SUBMITTER: Gresty CEA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6106195 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature