Goulson D, Hughes W, Derwent L, Stout J
Biodiversity and Ecology Division, School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Biomedical Sciences Building, Bassett Crescent East, Southampton, SO16 7PX, UK.
Oecologia. 2002 Jan;130(2):267-273. doi: 10.1007/s004420100803. Epub 2002 Jan 1.
Many bumblebee species are declining at a rapid rate in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. This is commonly attributed to the decline in floral resources that has resulted from an intensification in farming practices. Here we assess growth of nests of the bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, in habitats providing different levels of floral resources. Experimental nests were placed out in conventional farmland, in farmland with flower-rich conservation measures and in suburban areas. Nests gained weight more quickly and attained a larger final size in suburban areas compared to elsewhere. The diversity of pollens gathered by bees was highest in suburban areas, and lowest in conventional farmland. Nests in suburban areas were also more prone to attack by the specialist bumblebee parasite Aphomia sociella, suggesting that this moth is more abundant in suburban areas than elsewhere. Overall, our results demonstrate that gardens provide a greater density and diversity of floral resources than farmland, and probably support larger populations of B. terrestris. Contrary to expectation, schemes deployed to enhance farmland biodiversity appear to have little measurable impact on nest growth of this bumblebee species. We argue that B. terrestris probably forage over a larger scale than that on which farms are managed, so that nest growth is determined by the management of a large number of neighbouring farms, not just that in which the nest is located.
在英国及其他地区，许多大黄蜂物种正以极快的速度减少。这通常归因于集约化农业生产方式导致的花卉资源减少。在此，我们评估了在提供不同水平花卉资源的栖息地中，地熊蜂（Bombus terrestris）巢穴的生长情况。实验巢穴被放置在传统农田、实施了丰富花卉保护措施的农田以及郊区。与其他地方相比，郊区的巢穴增重更快，最终尺寸也更大。蜜蜂采集的花粉多样性在郊区最高，在传统农田最低。郊区的巢穴也更容易受到大黄蜂专性寄生虫——社会食蜂蛾（Aphomia sociella）的攻击，这表明这种蛾子在郊区比其他地方更为常见。总体而言，我们的结果表明，花园比农田提供了更高密度和更多样化的花卉资源，可能也支持着更大数量的地熊蜂种群。与预期相反，为增强农田生物多样性而实施的方案似乎对这种大黄蜂物种的巢穴生长几乎没有可衡量的影响。我们认为，地熊蜂的觅食范围可能比农场的管理范围更大，因此巢穴的生长取决于大量相邻农场的管理情况，而不仅仅是巢穴所在农场的管理情况。
