Urban Pollinators: Opportunities and Challenges for Conservation
In urban settings, plant selection and landscape maintenance play a critical role in pollinator populations and the preservation of essential ecosystem services. A new guide in the open-access Journal of Integrated Pest Management reviews case studies and identifies opportunities for future study and action in urban pollinator conservation.
Why Industrial Agriculture Puts Honey Bees in Peril
A honey bee researcher argues that the biggest threat to honey bees is the industrial agriculture systems they're bred to support, and she urges colleagues to reframe the scope of their research on honey bee health.
Do Pollinators Prefer Dense Flower Patches? Sometimes Yes, Sometimes No
A study looking at floral density and pollinators finds that some types of pollinating insects prefer dense flower patches more than others, but that preference can also vary by flower species, too. The complicated findings offer clues to how multiple pollinator species co-exist and compete for floral resources.
In a New Study, Spring Forest Bees Get Their Due
Wild bees that live primarily in forests are an understudied group, but new research sheds light on the ecology of bee species that do much of the spring pollination work in woodlands.