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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 9, 2026

Collection and Identification of Pollen from Honey Bee Colonies

Collection and Identification of Pollen from Honey Bee Colonies

Published on: January 19, 2021

Hairiness: the missing link between pollinators and pollination.

Jamie R Stavert¹, Gustavo Liñán-Cembrano², Jacqueline R Beggs¹

¹Centre for Biodiversity and Biosecurity, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland , Auckland , New Zealand.

|December 29, 2016

Summary

A simple measure of insect hairiness accurately predicts pollinator effectiveness. This finding links a key functional trait to pollination, an important ecosystem function, offering a new method for ecological studies.

Keywords:

Ecosystem function Entropy Functional trait Image analysis Pilosity Pollen deposition Pollen load Pollination SVD

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Area of Science:

Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Environmental Science

Background:

Functional traits are crucial for understanding organism impact on ecosystem functions.
Existing animal trait studies often use weakly associated characteristics, lacking predictive power for ecosystem functions.
Pollinator traits are vital for pollination, a key ecosystem service, but simple, predictive traits remain unidentified.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify a simple, measurable trait that accurately predicts pollinator effectiveness.
To develop and validate a novel image analysis method for quantifying pollinator hairiness.
To assess the relationship between pollinator hairiness and pollination success.

Main Methods:

Utilized a novel image analysis technique to quantify insect body surface hairiness via entropy values.
Employed linear models and AIC_C model selection to identify the best predictors of single visit pollen deposition (SVD) and pollen load.
Regressed pollinator hairiness against SVD and pollen loads for key flower species.

Main Results:

Insect hairiness was found to be a robust proxy for SVD.
Hairiness on the face and thorax accurately predicted SVD in Brassica rapa (R²=0.98) and Actinidia deliciosa (R²=0.91).
Facial hairiness was a strong predictor of pollen load in B. rapa (R²=0.81).

Conclusions:

Pollinator hairiness, particularly on specific body regions, strongly predicts pollinator effectiveness.
The study establishes a link between pollinator hairiness and pollination, a critical ecosystem function.
A rigorous, time-efficient method for measuring hairiness is provided, crucial for ecological research amid global change.