Wheelock M J, O'Neal M E
Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2016 Jul 26;11(7):e0143479. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143479. eCollection 2016.
Availability of mass flowering plants in landscapes dominated by agriculture can have a strong positive impact on the density of generalist, native pollinators. Row-crop production in Iowa accounts for 75% of the arable acres, with corn, Zea mays, representing the majority of hectares planted. To date, there has been no description of the insect pollinator community found within Iowa cornfields. We report a field study to determine the optimal sampling methodology to characterize the community of insect pollinators within cornfields. During 2012 and 2013, 3,616 insect pollinators representing 51 species were captured using bee bowls, and 945 individuals representing 10 species were captured using sticky cards. We examined the effects of trap type, height, and bowl color on the described community. Bee bowls captured a more abundant and species rich community than sticky cards with all species captured on sticky cards also present in bee bowls. Traps deployed at the height of the tassels describe a more abundant and species rich community of pollinators than traps at ear height (2x as many individuals) or ground height (4x as many individuals). Blue bowls captured more bees than white (2.75x as many individuals) or yellow bowls (3.5x as many individuals); and yellow bowls captured more flies than white (2x as many individuals) or blue (2.3x as many individuals). To provide the most complete description of the community of insect pollinators using cornfields as a resource, we suggest sampling-using bee bowls at the height of the tassels using all three bee bowl colors.
在以农业为主的景观中，大量开花植物的存在会对本地多食性传粉昆虫的密度产生强烈的积极影响。爱荷华州的行栽作物生产占耕地面积的75%，其中玉米（Zea mays）占种植公顷数的大部分。迄今为止，尚未有关于爱荷华州玉米田中昆虫传粉者群落的描述。我们报告了一项田间研究，以确定用于描述玉米田中昆虫传粉者群落的最佳采样方法。在2012年和2013年期间，使用诱虫碗捕获了代表51个物种的3616只昆虫传粉者，使用粘虫板捕获了代表10个物种的945只个体。我们研究了诱捕器类型、高度和诱虫碗颜色对所描述群落的影响。与粘虫板相比，诱虫碗捕获的群落数量更多、物种更丰富，粘虫板上捕获的所有物种在诱虫碗中也都有出现。在雄穗高度设置的诱捕器所描述的传粉者群落比在穗高度（个体数量多2倍）或地面高度（个体数量多4倍）设置的诱捕器更丰富、物种更多。蓝色诱虫碗捕获的蜜蜂比白色（个体数量多2.75倍）或黄色诱虫碗（个体数量多3.5倍）多；黄色诱虫碗捕获的苍蝇比白色（个体数量多2倍）或蓝色诱虫碗（个体数量多2.3倍）多。为了最全面地描述以玉米田为资源的昆虫传粉者群落，我们建议使用所有三种颜色的诱虫碗在雄穗高度进行采样。
