Preference of Pollinators over Various Forage Mixtures and Microelement Treatments

Low plant species richness and abundance, as well as contamination, can lead to a lack of nutrients in the diets of pollinators. This can cause increased oxidative stress, low resistance to disease and reduced detoxification ability. We proposed three forage mixtures with different botanical compositions, all of which should provide continuous forage for a wide range of pollinators. The monitored mixtures were treated by foliar application with selenium and zinc. Both elements should increase the quality of pollen and nectar. The effect of meadow mixtures and microelements on pollinator abundance, richness, and preference was evaluated using data obtained via the line transect method. Furthermore, the amount of selenium and zinc in the flowers was determined. It was found that the microelement treatment did not have any effect on the abundance and richness of the main pollinator taxa, which were affected only by a botanical composition of meadow mixtures. However, a preference for zinc-treated forage was observed in Apis mellifera, and a preference for selenium-treated forage was observed in Bombus spp. These two eusocial taxa appear to respond to an increased amount of microelements in the treated meadow mixtures. On the contrary, Lepidoptera was tied to untreated forage, where they were probably pushed by social bee species due to the competition.

Automated summary

The study found that low plant species richness and abundance, as well as contamination, can affect the quality of pollinator diets. Different forage mixtures with selenium and zinc treatments did not directly impact the abundance and richness of pollinators, but did influence the preferences of different pollinator species.