Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, UK.
UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford OX10 8BB, UK.
Proc Biol Sci. 2020 May 27;287(1927):20200508. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0508. Epub 2020 May 20.
Pollinator declines, changes in land use and climate-induced shifts in phenology have the potential to seriously affect ecosystem function and food security by disrupting pollination services provided by insects. Much of the current research focuses on bees, or groups other insects together as 'non-bee pollinators', obscuring the relative contribution of this diverse group of organisms. Prominent among the 'non-bee pollinators' are the hoverflies, known to visit at least 72% of global food crops, which we estimate to be worth around US$300 billion per year, together with over 70% of animal pollinated wildflowers. In addition, hoverflies provide ecosystem functions not seen in bees, such as crop protection from pests, recycling of organic matter and long-distance pollen transfer. Migratory species, in particular, can be hugely abundant and unlike many insect pollinators, do not yet appear to be in serious decline. In this review, we contrast the roles of hoverflies and bees as pollinators, discuss the need for research and monitoring of different pollinator responses to anthropogenic change and examine emerging research into large populations of migratory hoverflies, the threats they face and how they might be used to improve sustainable agriculture.
传粉媒介减少、土地利用变化以及气候引起的物候变化，都有可能通过扰乱昆虫提供的传粉服务，严重影响生态系统功能和粮食安全。目前的研究大多集中在蜜蜂上，或者将其他昆虫归为“非蜜蜂传粉者”，这掩盖了这一多样化生物群体的相对贡献。在“非蜜蜂传粉者”中，尤为突出的是食蚜蝇，据估计，它们至少会访问全球 72%的粮食作物，为全球带来的价值约为每年 3000 亿美元，此外还有超过 70%的动物授粉野花也依赖它们传粉。此外，食蚜蝇还具有蜜蜂所不具备的生态系统功能，例如防治作物虫害、有机物质循环和远距离花粉传播。特别是迁徙物种，数量可能非常庞大，而且与许多昆虫传粉媒介不同，它们似乎还没有严重减少。在这篇综述中，我们对比了食蚜蝇和蜜蜂作为传粉媒介的作用，讨论了研究和监测不同传粉媒介对人为变化的反应的必要性，并探讨了关于迁徙食蚜蝇大量种群的新兴研究，包括它们面临的威胁以及如何利用它们来改善可持续农业。
