Insect Pollinators

Many insects drink nectar and collect pollen from flowers, and in the process they help plants reproduce. Readers will investigate how bees, butterflies, ants, and other insects assist in pollination. Simple text and supportive photos and diagrams help readers understand key ideas and details about this important science concept.

The second edition of this text on the significance of insect pollination of crops has been expanded to include new information on many crops, particularly tropical ones, and on the use of managed populations of bees, both colonial and solitary.

Take a detailed look at the lives of insect pollinators, their methods, and how their activities affect humans. This title supports NGSS standards for Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics.

Pollinators-insects, birds, bats, and other animals that carry pollen from the male to the female parts of flowers for plant reproduction-are an essential part of natural and agricultural ecosystems throughout North America. For example, most fruit, vegetable, and seed crops and some crops that provide fiber, drugs, and fuel depend on animals for pollination. This report provides evidence for the decline of some pollinator species in North America, including America's most important managed pollinator, the honey bee, as well as some butterflies, bats, and hummingbirds. For most managed and wild pollinator species, however, population trends have not been assessed because populations have not been monitored over time. In addition, for wild species with demonstrated declines, it is often difficult to determine the causes or consequences of their decline. This report outlines priorities for research and monitoring that are needed to improve information on the status of pollinators and establishes a framework for conservation and restoration of pollinator species and communities.

"This comprehensive, essential book profiles over 65 perennial native plant species of the Midwest, Great Lakes region, Northeast and southern Canada plus the pollinators, beneficial insects and flower visitors the plants attract ... Readers learn to attract and identify pollinators and beneficial insects as well as customize their landscape planting for a particular type of pollinator with native plants. The book includes information on pollination, types of pollinators, pollinator conservation as well as pollinator landscape plans."--

There is consensus that loss of biodiversity is a defining feature of the Anthropocene, with potentially severe consequences for human food security and well-being. Of particular concern are global declines in insect pollinators, such as bees, flies, beetles and butterflies, as their roles in sustaining ecosystem functions and ensuring food production are indispensable. A wide array of abiotic and biotic stressors likely govern the observed insect declines and losses of wild and managed insect pollinators, respectively. For instance, habitat destruction and fragmentation can not only lead to smaller and isolated populations that are vulnerable to environmental stochasticity or inbreeding depression, but also lead to poor nutrition as floral abundance and diversity are reduced. Further key stressors are pests and pathogens, climate change, intensified agriculture and environmental pollution (e.g., pesticides). These environmental stressors may interact with one another and generate complex effects that amplify the direct consequences of a single given stressor. Unfortunately, there is a lack of knowledge concerning how even the most important environmental stressors may interact to affect insect pollinators. The goal of this effort is to develop a platform that brings together the latest information on how abiotic and biotic stressors interact to impact insect pollinator health. Only by bringing together different lines of evidence will we be able to better predict how these environmental stressors will affect insect pollinators. An improved understanding will also facilitate the development of more effective and sustainable management strategies that will enable stakeholders to implement adequate and sustainable measures to safeguard insect pollinators. This Research Topic welcomes both Original Research and Reviews, as well as Commentary or Opinion articles that address the topic of environmental stressor interactions, and their impact on insect pollinator health. Submissions should be based on, but not limited to: - How combined environmental stressors affect insect pollinators using molecular, physiological, behavioral, ecological or evolutionary approaches - Experimental or survey work conducted under laboratory, semi-field, or field conditions - Unravelling the mechanisms underlying combined stressor interactions - What can be done to limit the impact of combined environmental exposure in the field

We should thank a pollinator at every meal. These diminutive creatures fertilize a third of the crops we eat. Yet half of the 200,000 species of pollinators are threatened. Birds, bats, insects, and many other pollinators are disappearing, putting our entire food supply in jeopardy. Protecting Pollinators breaks down the latest science on environmental threats and takes readers inside the most promising conservation efforts. Efforts range from cities creating butterfly highways to citizen scientists monitoring migration. Along with inspiring stories of revival and lessons from failed projects, readers will find practical tips to get involved. And they will be reminded of the magic of pollinators--the iconic monarchs, dainty hummingbirds, and homely bats alike who bring food to our tables.