2023/08/06 by Pierre W Lau, Pierre Lau, Isaac L. Esquivel +6 · 37 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Agriculture #Agroecosystem #Agroforestry #Bee Products Chemical Analysis #Biology #Cropping #Ecology #Ecosystem #Ecosystem services #Insect and Pesticide Research #Nectar #Plant and animal studies #Pollen #Pollination #Pollinator
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/aesa/saad023
published in Annals of the Entomological Society of America 116(5), 261-275 (Oxford University Press)
openalex publication_date 2023/08/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Abstract Pollinator nutrition is a highly complex subject that we are just starting to unravel, from the multidimensional nature of bee forage (pollen and nectar) to how the abiotic environment can affect the resources available to bees. Doing so is of utmost importance, as improving pollinator resource availability and nutrition is one of the proposed mechanisms to improve populations and pollinator health. However, landscape change has changed the resources naturally available for pollinators. Farmland and cropping systems create a unique nutritional landscape for pollinators, with agroecosystems typically containing few crops dominating a landscape along with natural corridors containing noncrop plants. The types of crops planted and the surrounding landscape will ultimately affect the nutritional landscape bees have access to. Even the management practices in agriculture and how pests are controlled will, directly and indirectly, affect bee health and nutrition. Hence, a better understanding of bee nutrition in agricultural ecosystems is warranted. This review synthesizes research on bee nutritional ecology and the agricultural landscapes to advance our understanding of bee health in agriculture.