Journal
INSECTS
Volume 9, Issue 3, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/insects9030085
Keywords
bee; pollen; ecology; nutrition; conservation; pollinator; decline; health; stressor; constraint
Categories
Funding
- Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education [DS/WBiNoZ/INoS/DS 761]
- National Science Centre, Poland [2016/21/B/NZ8/00318, UMO-2016/21/B/NZ8/00318]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The observed decline in wild bees may be connected to the decreasing diversity of flowering plants. Changes in floral composition shape nutrient availability in inhabited areas, and bee larvae need food rich in body-building nutrients to develop into adults. Adult food, mainly composed of energy-rich nectar, differs from larval food, mainly composed of pollen, and adult bees forage on different plant species for nectar and pollen. Defining bee-friendly plants based on the quantities of food produced, and on the visitation rates of adult pollinating insects leads to the planting of bee habitats with poor-quality food for larvae, which limits their growth and development, and negatively affects the population. Consequently, failing to understand the nutritional needs of wild bees may lead to unintended negative effects of conservation efforts. Ecological stoichiometry was developed to elucidate the nutritional constraints of organisms and their colonies, populations, and communities. Here, I discuss how applying ecological stoichiometry to the study of the nutritional ecology of wild bees would help fill the gaps in our understanding of bee biology. I present questions that should be answered in future studies to improve our knowledge of the nutritional ecology of wild bees, which could result in better conservation strategies.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available