Do Patches of Flowering Plants Enhance Insect Pollinators in Apple Orchards?

Area of Science:

• Agroecology
• Entomology
• Conservation Biology

Background:

• Intensified agriculture threatens insect pollination services in agroecosystems.
• There is growing interest in agricultural practices that support wild pollinators due to reliance on honey bees for crop pollination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of floral resource provision in apple orchards for enhancing wild pollinator conservation.
• To assess the potential impact of floral resources on pollination services for apple crops.

Main Methods:

• Comparison of pollinator communities on sown flowering plant mixtures versus existing wild plant patches within apple orchards.
• Recording and identification of pollinator taxa, including honey bees, wild bees, syrphids, and bee flies, visiting both types of plant patches.

Main Results:

• Sown mixtures attracted a greater diversity and number of pollinators than wild plant patches.
• Specific wild bee genera (e.g., Bombus, Xylocopa) and other pollinators were more abundant on sown mixtures.
• The sown floral resource provision did not significantly affect the abundance of pollinators visiting apple blossoms.

Conclusions:

• Groundcover management with flowering plant mixtures can effectively enhance pollinator conservation within apple orchards.
• While beneficial for overall pollinator diversity, sown mixtures may not directly increase pollination services for the apple crop itself.