No abstract

Neonicotinoid pesticides have been linked to global declines of beneficial insects such as bumblebees. Exposure to trace levels of these chemicals causes sub-lethal effects, such as reduced learning and foraging efficiency. Complex behaviours may be particularly vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of neonicotinoids. Such behaviours may include buzz pollination (sonication), in which pollinators, usually bees, use innate and learned behaviours to generate high-frequency vibrations to release pollen from flowers with specialised anther morphologies. This study assesses the effect of field-realistic, chronic exposure to the widely-used neonicotinoid thiamethoxam on the development of sonication buzz characteristics over time, as well as the collection of pollen from buzz-pollinated flowers. We found that the pollen collection of exposed bees improved less with increasing experience than that of unexposed bees, with exposed bees collecting between 47% and 56% less pollen by the end of 10 trials. We also found evidence of two distinct strategies for maximising pollen collection: (1) extensions to the duration of individual buzzes and (2) extensions of the overall time spent buzzing. We find new complexities in buzz pollination, and conclude that the impacts of field-realistic exposure to a neonicotinoid pesticide may seriously compromise this important ecosystem service.

To tackle pollinator declines, there is a major need to increase the quantity of flower‐rich habitats. Road verges offer one such opportunity but are exposed to diverse forms of pollution from roads and road traffic. We carried out a broad initial assessment to establish if and how pollution affects the quality of road verges as pollinator foraging environments. We assessed the spatial distribution of pollution, flowers and pollinators in road verges, then used field experiments to simulate and measure the impacts of four ubiquitous and little studied forms of road pollution (noise, turbulence, dust and metals) on pollinator densities and foraging behaviour. We found that pollinators in road verges were exposed to noise, turbulence, dust and metal pollution, which decreased with distance from the road edge but, with the exception of turbulence, extended more than 8 m into road verges. Pollinator densities were lower closer to the road edge—particularly within first 2 m (55% lower than at 7–9 m)—where pollution is greatest. This was despite a similar density and species richness of flowers. Simulated turbulence deterred pollinators by causing intermittent disturbance (reducing visit duration by up to 54%), and some pollinator taxa preferentially avoided concentrations of metals that were more frequently found in flowers within 2 m of roads (resulting in up to 75% fewer visits), while noise and dust had no apparent effect. Synthesis and applications. Pollinators in road verges are exposed to many forms of pollution, and we found impacts of roadside‐realistic levels of turbulence and metals on pollinator densities and foraging behaviour. Although the findings suggest that road verges are largely suitable for pollinator conservation, management enhancements should prioritise areas more than 2 m from the road edge, and verges along roads with relatively lower traffic densities.

During the main COVID-19 global pandemic lockdown period of 2020 an impromptu set of pollination ecologists came together via social media and personal contacts to carry out standardised surveys of the flower visits and plants in gardens. The surveys involved 67 rural, suburban and urban gardens, of various sizes, ranging from 61.18° North in Norway to 37.96° South in Australia, resulting in a data set of 25,174 rows, with each row being a unique interaction record for that date/site/plant species, and comprising almost 47,000 visits to flowers, as well as records of flowers that were not visited by pollinators, for over 1,000 species and varieties belonging to more than 460 genera and 96 plant families. The more than 650 species of flower visitors belong to 12 orders of invertebrates and four of vertebrates. In this first publication from the project, we present a brief description of the data and make it freely available for any researchers to use in the future, the only restriction being that they cite this paper in the first instance. The data generated from these global surveys will provide scientific evidence to help us understand the role that private gardens (in urban, rural and suburban areas) can play in conserving insect pollinators and identify management actions to enhance their potential.

Why are wildflowers and pollinating insects so important? Well, much of the food we grow depends upon pollinators many of which are in serious decline. The huge drop in insect numbers is also a major factor in once-common species like hedgehogs and starlings becoming endangered. But there are simple ways that we can address this and make our road verges more wildflower and pollinator-friendly. In this presentation, Claire summarizes the findings of her literature review to assess evidence for the benefits of road verges for pollinators, the potential negative impacts of roads on pollinators and how to enhance road verges for pollinators through management.