Abstract

While addition of managed honeybees (Apis mellifera) improves pollination of many entomophilous crops, it is unknown if it simultaneously suppresses the densities of wild insects through competition. To investigate this, we added 624 honeybee hives to 23 fields of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) over 2 years and made sure that the areas around 21 other fields were free from honeybee hives. We demonstrate that honeybee addition depresses the densities of wild insects (bumblebees, solitary bees, hoverflies, marchflies, other flies, and other flying and flower-visiting insects) even in a massive flower resource such as oilseed rape. The effect was independent of the complexity of the surrounding landscape, but increased with the size of the crop field, which suggests that the effect was caused by spatial displacement of wild insects. Our results have potential implications both for the pollination of crops (if displacement of wild pollinators offsets benefits achieved by adding honeybees) and for conservation of wild insects (if displacement results in negative fitness consequences).

Published in

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
2016, Volume: 283, number: 1843, article number: 20161641

SLU Authors

• Lindström, Sandra

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • Lund University
  • The Rural Economy and Agricultural Societies

• Bommarco, Riccardo

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Associated SLU-program

SLU Plant Protection Network


UKÄ Subject classification

Agricultural Science
Ecology
Zoology


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1641

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/78334