Rare and endangered pollinators hiding in bio-belts
Bio-belt monitoring has shown that these areas host a third of Slovak bumblebee species, which are extremely important for our ecosystem. Wild pollinators are an irreplaceable part of nature, but in recent years, scientists have noticed their decline, primarily in connection with the intensification of agriculture.
"We have a new agricultural policy in Slovakia since last year, which includes voluntary eco-schemes. Their goal is to reverse or at least stop the unfavourable trend of biodiversity. Wild pollinators are often underappreciated, though according to the latest study, they are responsible for half of all visits to the flowers of cultivated crops," says Marek Semelbauer from the Institute of Zoology SAS.
Scientists from the Institute of Zoology SAS and the Department of Biology of the Faculty of Education of the University of Trnava conducted insect monitoring on bio-belts this year. The research took place between April and September on 15 bio-belts within 7 farms in western Slovakia, however, the total length of the monitored bio-belts exceeded 10 kilometres. The researchers investigated each bio-belt and adjacent fields.
"Out of more than 13,000 individuals, only 6% were recorded in the fields. The biggest differences in insect occurrence were recorded in May and June when the number of insects in the bio-belts exceeded the fields by up to 40 times. As expected, the experts recorded the highest abundance and species diversity in the blooming bio-belts," adds the zoologist.
Observations of several endangered insect species were particularly interesting. Zoologists recorded up to 11 species of bumblebees, which is almost a third of the Slovak fauna. The rarest one is the moss carder bee (Bombus muscorum), which is tied to lowland wet meadows. It is an endangered species at the European level, and critically endangered in the neighbouring Czech Republic and Hungary.
"The fact that bio-belts attract not only pollinators but also pest predators such as aphids can be a significant benefit for farmers. The most represented predators were marmalade hoverflies, common green lacewings, dragonflies, grasshoppers and wasps," concludes Semelbauer.
Edited by Monika Tináková
Foto: Marek Semelbauer, ÚZ SAV, v. v. i.