Wild insects ‘enhance crop yields’
Domesticated honey bees are not as good at pollinating crops as their wild cousins, research has shown.
Scientists warned that the continuing loss of wild insects may have a harmful effect on crop harvests.
The team analysed data from 41 major crops around the world, including fruits, nuts, seeds and coffee. They found that production was considerably lower at sites with fewer wild insects visiting crop flowers.
Compared with managed honeybees, wild bees and other insects doubled the number of flowers with the potential to develop into mature fruit or seeds.
A linked study focusing on Illinois in the US found that both the quality and quantity of pollination fell between the 1800s and 2010. One reason for the decline was the loss of half the original bee species in the area.
Lead scientist Professor Lawrence Harder, from the University of Calgary in Canada, said: “Our study demonstrates that production of many fruit and seed crops that make diets interesting, such as tomatoes, coffee and watermelon, is limited because their flowers are not adequately pollinated.
“We also show that adding more honey bees often does not fix this problem, but that increased service by wild insects would help.”
The research was published in the journal Science.
Wild pollinators include bees, flies, butterflies and beetles, that usually live in natural or semi-natural habitats, such as the edges of forests, hedgerows or grasslands. As these habitats are lost, mainly due to conversion to farmland, their numbers and diversity are reduced.
The researchers suggested strategies for encouraging wild insects that could enhance global crop yields. These included the conservation or restoration of natural or semi-natural areas within croplands, promotion of a variety of land use, the addition of diverse floral and nesting resources, and more responsible use of insecticides.
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