The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Lina Herbertsson. Photo.

Lina Herbertsson

Researcher

Lina Herbertsson. Photo.

Evaluating competition for forage plants between honey bees and wild bees in Denmark

Author

  • Claus Rasmussen
  • Yoko L. Dupont
  • Henning Bang Madsen
  • Petr Bogusch
  • Dave Goulson
  • Lina Herbertsson
  • Kate Pereira Maia
  • Anders Nielsen
  • Jens M. Olesen
  • Simon G. Potts
  • Stuart P.M. Roberts
  • Markus Arne Kjær Sydenham
  • Per Kryger

Summary, in English

A recurrent concern in nature conservation is the potential competition for forage plants between wild bees and managed honey bees. Specifically, that the highly sophisticated system of recruitment and large perennial colonies of honey bees quickly exhaust forage resources leading to the local extirpation of wild bees. However, different species of bees show different preferences for forage plants. We here summarize known forage plants for honey bees and wild bee species at national scale in Denmark. Our focus is on floral resources shared by honey bees and wild bees, with an emphasis on both threatened wild bee species and foraging specialist species. Across all 292 known bee species from Denmark, a total of 410 plant genera were recorded as forage plants. These included 294 plant genera visited by honey bees and 292 plant genera visited by different species of wild bees. Honey bees and wild bees share 176 plant genera in Denmark. Comparing the pairwise niche overlap for individual bee species, no significant relationship was found between their overlap and forage specialization or conservation status. Network analysis of the bee-plant interactions placed honey bees aside from most other bee species, specifically the module containing the honey bee had fewer links to any other modules, while the remaining modules were more highly inter-connected. Despite the lack of predictive relationship from the pairwise niche overlap, data for individual species could be summarized. Consequently, we have identified a set of operational parameters that, based on a high foraging overlap (>70%) and unfavorable conservation status (Vulnerable+Endangered+Critically Endangered), can guide both conservation actions and land management decisions in proximity to known or suspected populations of these species.

Department/s

  • Centre for Environmental and Climate Science (CEC)
  • BECC: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate
  • Functional zoology
  • Lund Vision Group

Publishing year

2021-04

Language

English

Publication/Series

PLoS ONE

Volume

16

Issue

4

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Public Library of Science (PLoS)

Topic

  • Ecology

Status

Published

Research group

  • Lund Vision Group

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1932-6203