Effects of spatio-temporal resource availability on pollinators and pest-natural enemies in fragmented agricultural landscapes (FRAGMENT III)

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We aim to disentangle the effects of specific floral resources in agricultural landscapes on the abundance and fitness of the red mason bees Osmia bicornis and the European orchard bee Osmia cornuta. These two species of wild bees dominate communities of cavity-nesting solitary bees and contribute to the pollination of a wide range of agricultural crops such as oilseed rape, apple and strawberry. Our specific objectives are:1) To test how the abundance and relative dominance of O. bicornis and O. cornuta is affected by the amount and proximity of preferred flower types.2) To test how the larval diet and fitness of O. bicornis and O. cornuta is affected by the amount and proximity of preferred flower types.3) To test if the timing of floral resource availability determines their effects on O. bicornis and O. cornuta, with early flowering plants having stronger effects than late flowering plants. 4) To test how amount and proximity of woody habitats affect parasitism of O. bicornis and O. cornuta, which may alter the positive effects of floral resource availability studied under objectives (1), (2) and (3).5) To estimate the flight distances of O. bicornis and O. cornuta according to the pollen found in the nests and the minimal distance to the respective resources in the landscape. 6) To determine the spatial scale at which floral resource availability effects on O. bicornis and O. cornuta are strongest.