Diversified Farming in a Monoculture Landscape: Effects on Honey Bee Health and Wild Bee Communities.

ABSTRACT: In the last century, a global transformation of Earth's surface has occurred due to human activity with extensive agriculture replacing natural ecosystems. Concomitant declines in wild and managed bees are occurring, largely due to a lack of floral resources and inadequate nutrition, caused by conversion to monoculture-based farming. Diversified fruit and vegetable farms may provide an enhanced variety of resources through crops and weedy plants, which have potential to sustain human and bee nutrition. We hypothesized fruit and vegetable farms can enhance honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Apis mellifera Linnaeus) colony growth and nutritional state over a soybean monoculture, as well as support a more diverse wild bee community. We tracked honey bee colony growth, nutritional state, and wild

SUBMITTER: St Clair AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7371362 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature