Pollen-Derived Fatty Acids and Amino Acids Mediate Variance in Pollinator Visitation.

Pollinators help maintain functional landscapes and are sensitive to floral nutritional quality. Both proteins and lipids influence pollinator foraging, but the role of individual biochemical components in pollen remains unclear. We conducted an experiment comprising common garden plots of six plant species (Asteraceae, Rosaceae, Onagraceae, Boraginaceae, and Plantaginaceae).

Perception, regulation, and effects on longevity of pollen fatty acids in the honey bee, Apis mellifera.

For successful cross-pollination, most flowering plants rely on insects as pollinators and attract them by offering rewards, predominantly nectar and pollen. Bees-a highly important pollinator group-are especially dependent on pollen as their main source of essential nutrients, including proteins, lipids, and sterols. Fatty acids (FAs) in particular play a pivotal role as fundamental energy source, contributing to membrane structure integrity, cellular homeostasis, and cognitive processes.

Bumblebees under stress: Interacting effects of pesticides and heatwaves on colony development and longevity.

Pollinator decline is linked to intensified agricultural practices, pathogens, climate change, and several other factors. We investigated the combined impact of heat and pesticide stress on food consumption, survival, and reproductive fitness of bumble bees. As climate change is expected to intensify heatwaves, we simulated a present-day and a future heatwave scenario (as expected in 50 years).

Strategies of flowering plants to avoid pollen collection by undesirable flower visitors. A commentary on 'High toxin concentration in pollen may deter collection by bees in butterfly-pollinated Rhododendron molle'.

This article comments on: Hui-Hui Feng, Xiao-Wen Lv, Xiao-Chen Yang and Shuang-Quan Huang, High toxin concentration in pollen may deter collection by bees in butterfly-pollinated , Annals of Botany, Volume 134, Issue 4, 1 October 2024, Pages 551–559 https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcae047

Land-use-associated stressors interact to reduce bumblebee health at the individual and colony level.

In agricultural landscapes, bees face a variety of stressors, including insecticides and poor-quality food. Although both stressors individually have been shown to affect bumblebee health negatively, few studies have focused on stressor interactions, a scenario expected in intensively used agricultural landscapes. Using the bumblebee , a key pollinator in agricultural landscapes, we conducted a fully factorial laboratory experiment starting at nest initiation.