Pollinator shift to managed honeybees enhances reproductive output in a bumblebee-pollinated plant

Abstract

Introduced honeybees have had a large impact on native ecosystems by disrupting native plant–pollinator interactions. However, little is known of the effect of honeybees on reproduction of bumblebee-pollinated plants. Seasonal displacement of native bumblebees by introduced honeybees (Apis mellifera and A. cerana) was observed in Pedicularis densispica, endemic to Hengduan Mountains, China, providing an opportunity for honeybee presence/absence comparisons. Five-year field surveys were conducted in one frequently disturbed population at Yila Pasture (YP). We compared pollination effectiveness (combinations of visitation rate, efficiency in pollen transfer, and potential geitonogamy) between native and introduced managed bees. The total visitation rate of native bees and subsequent reproductive output decreased progressively, but honeybee introduction resulted in at least twofold increase in visitation and 70 % increase in seed set. In general, native bumblebees, which have larger bodies and longer proboscises and spent more time probing single flowers, were more efficient than honeybees in terms of pollen removal and pollen deposition during first visits to virgin flowers. Compared with bumblebees, honeybees visited markedly fewer flowers in sequence within individual plants, potentially reducing geitonogamous pollination. Our data highlight that introduced honeybees can provide pollination service in terms of both quantity and quality for P. densispica. We suggest honeybee introduction as an effective way to augment pollination of P. densispica at disturbed and isolated sites.