Honey bees and wild pollinators differ in their preference for and use of introduced floral resources.

ABSTRACT: Introduced plants may be important foraging resources for honey bees and wild pollinators, but how often and why pollinators visit introduced plants across an entire plant community is not well understood. Understanding the importance of introduced plants for pollinators could help guide management of these plants and conservation of pollinator habitat. We assessed how floral abundance and pollinator preference influence pollinator visitation rate and diversity on 30 introduced versus 24 native plants in central New York. Honey bees visited introduced and native plants at similar rates regardless of floral abundance. In contrast, as floral abundance increased, wild pollinator visitation rate decreased more strongly for introduced plants than native plants. Introduced plants as a group and

SUBMITTER: Urbanowicz C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7381584 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature