Pollinator Loss Research Articles

Projected climate change threatens pollinators and crop production in Brazil

Animal pollination can impact food security since many crops depend on pollinators to produce fruits and seeds. However, the effects of projected climate change on crop pollinators and therefore on crop production are still unclear, especially for wild pollinators and aggregate community responses. Using species distributional modeling, we assessed the effects of climate change on the geographic distribution of 95 pollinator species of 13 Brazilian crops, and we estimated their relative impacts on crop production. We described these effects at the municipality level, and we assessed the crops that were grown, the gross production volume of these crops, the total crop production value, and the number of inhabitants. Overall, considering all crop species, we found that the projected climate change will reduce the probability of pollinator occurrence by almost 0.13 by 2050. Our models predict that almost 90% of the municipalities analyzed will face species loss. Decreases in the pollinator occurrence probability varied from 0.08 (persimmon) to 0.25 (tomato) and will potentially affect 9% (mandarin) to 100% (sunflower) of the municipalities that produce each crop. Municipalities in central and southern Brazil will potentially face relatively large impacts on crop production due to pollinator loss. In contrast, some municipalities in northern Brazil, particularly in the northwestern Amazon, could potentially benefit from climate change because pollinators of some crops may increase. The decline in the probability of pollinator occurrence is found in a large number of municipalities with the lowest GDP and will also likely affect some places where crop production is high (20% to 90% of the GDP) and where the number of inhabitants is also high (more than 6 million people). Our study highlights key municipalities where crops are economically important and where pollinators will potentially face the worst conditions due to climate change. However, pollinators may be able to find new suitable areas that have the potential to improve crop production. The results shown here could guide policy decisions for adapting to climate change and for preventing the loss of pollinator species and crop production.

Plant survival and keystone pollinator species in stochastic coextinction models: role of intrinsic dependence on animal-pollination

Coextinction models are useful to understand community robustness to species loss and resilience to disturbances. We simulated pollinator extinctions in pollination networks by using a hybrid model that combined a recently developed stochastic coextinction model (SCM) for plant extinctions and a topological model (TCM) for animal extinctions. Our model accounted for variation in interaction strengths and included empirical estimates of plant dependence on pollinators to set seeds. The stochastic nature of such model allowed us determining plant survival to single (and multiple) extinction events, and identifying which pollinators (keystone species) were more likely to trigger secondary extinctions. Consistently across three different pollinator removal sequences, plant robustness was lower than in a pure TCM, and plant survival was more determined by dependence on the mutualism than by interaction strength. As expected, highly connected and dependent plants were the most sensitive to pollinator loss and collapsed faster in extinction cascades. We predict that the relationship between dependence and plant connectivity is crucial to determine network robustness to interaction loss. Finally, we showed that honeybees and several beetles were keystone species in our communities. This information is of great value to foresee consequences of pollinator losses facing current global change and to identify target species for effective conservation.

Individual perception of bees: Between perceived danger and willingness to protect

The current loss of biodiversity has found its way into the media. Especially the loss of bees as pollinators has recently received much attention aiming to increase public awareness about the consequence of pollinator loss and strategies for protection. However, pollinating insects like bees often prompt considerable anxiety. Negative emotions such as fear and disgust often lead to lack of support for conservation and appropriate initiatives for protection. Our study monitored perceptions of bees in the contexts of conservation and danger bees possibly represent by applying a semantic differential using contrasting adjectives under the heading “I think bees are…”. Additionally, open questions were applied to examine individual perceptions of danger and conservation of bees. Respondents were students from primary school, secondary school and university. We compared these novices (n = 499) to experts (beekeepers, n = 153). An exploratory factor analysis of the semantic differential responses yielded three major oblique factors: Interest, Danger and Conservation & Usefulness. The inter-correlations of these factors were significant. Although all subgroups showed an overall high willingness to protect bees, the perception of danger scored medium. The individual experience of bee stings was the most prevalent reason for expressing fear. Educational programs focusing on pollinator conservation may reduce the perceived danger through removing misinformation, and supporting interest in the species. Based on the overall positive attitude toward bees, we suggest introducing bees (e.g., Apis mellifera) as a flagship species for pollinator conservation.

Pollination success following loss of a frequent pollinator: the role of compensatory visitation by other effective pollinators.

Pollinator abundance is declining worldwide and may lower the quantity and quality of pollination services to flowering plant populations. Loss of an important pollinator is often assumed to reduce the amount of pollen received by stigmas of a focal species (pollination success), yet this assumption has rarely been tested experimentally. The magnitude of the effect, if any, may depend on the relative efficiency of the remaining pollinators, and on whether the loss of one pollinator leads to changes in visitation patterns by other pollinators. To explore how a change in pollinator composition influences pollination of Asclepias verticillata, we excluded bumble bees from plots in large and small populations of this milkweed species. We then quantified pollinator visitation rates, pollen export and pollen receipt for control plots and for plots where bumble bees were experimentally excluded. We found that exclusion of bumble bees did not reduce pollen receipt by A. verticillata flowers. Visitation by Polistes wasps increased markedly following bumble bee exclusion, both in small populations (186 % increase) and in large populations (400 % increase). Because Polistes wasps were as efficient as bumble bees at pollen transfer, increased wasp visitation offset lost bumble bee pollination services. Thus, loss of a frequent pollinator will not necessarily lead to a decline in pollination success. When pollinator loss is followed by a shift in the composition and abundance of remaining pollinators, pollination success will depend on the net change in the quantity and quality of pollination services.

Plant–pollinator networks in semi‐natural grasslands are resistant to the loss of pollinators during blooming of mass‐flowering crops

Mass‐flowering crops lead to spatial redistributions of pollinators and to transient shortages within nearby semi‐natural grasslands, but the impacts on plant–pollinator interactions remain largely unexplored. Here, we characterised which pollinator species are attracted by oilseed rape and how this affected the structure of plant–pollinator networks in nearby grasslands. We surveyed 177 networks from three countries (Germany, Sweden and United Kingdom) in 24 landscapes with high crop cover, and compared them to 24 landscapes with low or no oilseed rape during and after crop blooming. On average 55% of grassland pollinator species were found on the crop, which attracted 8–35% of individuals away from grasslands. However, networks in the grasslands were resistant to these reductions, since mainly abundant and highly mobile species were attracted. Nonetheless, simulations indicated that network structural changes could be triggered if > 50% of individuals were attracted to the crop (a value well‐above that found in our study system), which could affect community stability and resilience to further disturbance.

Forecasting pollination declines through DNA barcoding: the potential contributions of macroecological and macroevolutionary scales of inquiry.

While pollinators are widely acknowledged as important contributors to seed production in plant communities, we do not yet have a good understanding of the importance of pollinator specialists for this ecosystem service. Determination of the prevalence of pollinator specialists is often hindered by the occurrence of cryptic species and the limitations of observational data on pollinator visitation rates, two areas where DNA barcoding of pollinators and pollen can be useful. Further, the demonstrated adequacy of pollen DNA barcoding from historical records offers opportunities to observe the effects of pollinator loss over longer timescales, and phylogenetic approaches can elucidate the historical rates of extinction of specialist lineages. In this Viewpoint article, we review how advances in DNA barcoding and metabarcoding of plants and pollinators have brought important developments to our understanding of specialization in plant-pollinator interactions. We then put forth several lines of inquiry that we feel are especially promising for providing insight on changes in plant-pollinator interactions over space and time. Obtaining estimates of the effects of reductions in specialists will contribute to forecasting the loss of ecosystem services that will accompany the erosion of plant and pollinator diversity.

Intraspecific body size increases with habitat fragmentation in wild bee pollinators

In modern agricultural landscapes, fragmentation of partial habitats is a significant filter for multi-habitat users, reducing local taxonomic and functional diversity. There is compelling evidence that small species are more susceptible than large species. The impact of habitat fragmentation on intraspecific body-size distribution, however, is yet unexplored. We tested habitat fragmentation, a major driver of pollinator loss, for its impact on intraspecific body-size distributions of solitary wild-bee species. Subsequently, we tested individual body size for its impact on pollination services. We sampled 1272 individuals of the four most common Andrena wild bee species in 22 newly established flowering fields (0.21–0.41 ha) in Hessen, Central Germany, over two consecutive years. Study sites were located in a ca. 80 ha landscape context of increasing habitat fragmentation. We analysed the pollen loads of the most abundant species. Body size within local populations of the two medium-sized bees increased with fragmentation, suggesting intraspecific selection for higher dispersal capacity. Pollen analysis carried out for the most common species revealed that larger individuals visited a significantly smaller plant spectrum. Habitat fragmentation may thus alter pollination services without necessarily affecting species richness or composition. Systematic body-size variation at the population level thus explains the considerable variability between simple community measures and ecosystem functioning. Filtering processes at the individual level require increased understanding for targeting pollination services under current and future land-use change.

Bumble bees show trait-dependent vulnerability to landscape simplification

Agricultural intensification has resulted in large-scale loss of bee pollinators, but while some species have been negatively affected others seem to endure changed conditions. It has been suggested that certain morphological, ecological and life-history traits make some species more vulnerable to landscape changes. Information on which traits make species vulnerable and why may aid conservation of declining species. We performed a comprehensive analysis of how multiple traits related to diet breadth, movement and nesting habits moderate vulnerability of bumble bees to landscape simplification. We surveyed bumble bees in flower-rich non-crop habitats in either complex landscapes (with small crop fields bordered by non-crop habitats), or simple landscapes (with larger fields and therefore less non-crop habitats). We analysed if landscape type interacted with colony size, queen emergence date, colony life-cycle length, nesting habitat, thorax width, proboscis length or variability in thorax and proboscis, to explain bumble bee abundances. Workers and males of species with above-ground nests, small sized colonies and long colony cycle were relatively less abundant in simple compared to in complex landscapes. Simple landscapes hosted fewer males of late emerging species and species with highly variable proboscis length. This suggests that both nesting habitat and spatio-temporal availability of food resources act as ecological filters for bumble bees. Colony size correlated with nesting habitat and queen emergence when correcting for phylogenetic correlations, suggesting that landscape simplification acts through effects on combinations of traits. Our results have consequences for conservation by suggesting that declining bumble bee species can be supported by providing adequate nesting habitats and preferred plant species throughout the season and within short distance from nesting habitats, to allow utilisation also by species having colonies with few workers.

Lessons from Red Data Books: Plant Vulnerability Increases with Floral Complexity

The architectural complexity of flower structures (hereafter referred to as floral complexity) may be linked to pollination by specialized pollinators that can increase the probability of successful seed set. As plant—pollinator systems become fragile, a loss of such specialized pollinators could presumably result in an increased likelihood of pollination failure. This is an issue likely to be particularly evident in plants that are currently rare. Using a novel index describing floral complexity we explored whether this aspect of the structure of flowers could be used to predict vulnerability of plant species to extinction. To do this we defined plant vulnerability using the Red Data Book of Rare and Threatened Plants of Greece, a Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot. We also tested whether other intrinsic (e.g. life form, asexual reproduction) or extrinsic (e.g. habitat, altitude, range-restrictedness) factors could affect plant vulnerability. We found that plants with high floral complexity scores were significantly more likely to be vulnerable to extinction. Among all the floral complexity components only floral symmetry was found to have a significant effect, with radial-flower plants appearing to be less vulnerable. Life form was also a predictor of vulnerability, with woody perennial plants having significantly lower risk of extinction. Among the extrinsic factors, both habitat and maximum range were significantly associated with plant vulnerability (coastal plants and narrow-ranged plants are more likely to face higher risk). Although extrinsic and in particular anthropogenic factors determine plant extinction risk, intrinsic traits can indicate a plant’s proneness to vulnerability. This raises the potential threat of declining global pollinator diversity interacting with floral complexity to increase the vulnerability of individual plant species. There is potential scope for using plant—pollinator specializations to identify plant species particularly at risk and so target conservation efforts towards them.

Nosema ceranae alters a highly conserved hormonal stress pathway in honeybees.

Nosema ceranae, an emerging pathogen of the western honeybee (Apis mellifera), is implicated in recent pollinator losses and causes severe energetic stress. However, whether precocious foraging and accelerated behavioural maturation in infected bees are caused by the infection itself or via indirect energetic stress remains unknown. Using a combination of nutritional and infection treatments, we investigated how starvation and infection alters the regulation of adipokinetic hormone (AKH) and octopamine, two highly conserved physiological pathways that respond to energetic stress by mobilizing fat stores and increasing search activity for food. Although there was no response from AKH when bees were experimentally infected with N. ceranae or starved, supporting the notion that honeybees have lost this pathway, there were significant regulatory changes in the octopamine pathway. Significantly, we found no evidence of acute energetic stress being the only cause of symptoms associated with N. ceranae infection. Therefore, the parasite itself appears to alter regulatory components along a highly conserved physiological pathway in an infection-specific manner. This indicates that pathogen-induced behavioural alteration of chronically infected bees should not just be viewed as a coincidental short-term by-product of pathogenesis (acute energetic stress) and may be a result of a generalist manipulation strategy to obtain energy for reproduction.

Changes in plant life‐form, pollination syndrome and breeding system at a regional scale promoted by land use intensity

AbstractAimParallel declines in plant and insect pollinator diversity under land use intensification may occur as a result of both taxonomic groups responding similarly, but independently, to habitat change or as a consequence of interdependence as insect‐pollinated plants decline due to pollinator loss. Here, we explore the relative roles of independent and interdependent declines by comparing correlations of species richness and land use intensity for different functional groups of plants.LocationAustria.MethodsGeneralized linear and generalized linear mixed models were used to analyse trends in species richness of plant functional groups sampled along a land use intensity gradient across 100 agricultural landscapes (=625 × 625 m each). Plants were classified according to their pollination syndrome, breeding system and life span. Species numbers were related to the site‐specific proportional area of semi‐natural habitats as an indicator of land use intensity.ResultsOverall, as the level of agricultural intensification increased the proportion of outcrossing plants declined and the proportion of self‐pollinating plants increased. However, while perennial plant species richness decreased under more intensive land use independently of pollination syndrome or breeding system, the richness of annuals only declined for outcrossing species requiring specialized insect pollinators but not for those pollinated by wind‐ or unspecialized insect pollinators.Main conclusionFrom these patterns we infer that land use intensification mainly drives plant species loss by excluding perennial species which suffer from the conversion of land to annually harvested crop fields. Hence, parallel declines in plant and insect richness largely result from a common response of perennials and pollinators to habitat change. Nevertheless, for annual plants with specialized pollinator requirements our data support a cascading effect of pollinator decline on species richness.

Can Ornithophilous Hawaiian Lobeliads Produce Seeds in the Absence of Pollinators? A Test UsingClermontia kakeanaandCyanea angustifolia(Campanulaceae)

The native Hawaiian bird-pollinated flora is primarily composed of five ornithophilous lobeliad genera, collectively containing approximately 140 species. Historically, these genera were believed to have been pollinated by at least some of the 10 specialist nectarivorous bird species endemic to Hawai‘i. However, since human colonization, both bird and ornithophilous native plant species have undergone wide-scale declines and extinctions, resulting in the potential loss of pollination for this component of the native flora. In an attempt to assess if lobeliad species can produce viable seeds in the absence of pollinators, two pollination treatments (open control and pollinator exclusion) were applied to two Hawaiian lobeliad species [Clermontia kakeana Meyen and Cyanea angustifolia (Cham.) Hillebr.] in single populations of each species on O'ahu. In each lobeliad species, mean seed counts were not significantly different in fruits resulting from open-pollinated and pollinator-excluded flowers. This suggests that both species are capable of autogamy and can produce seeds in the absence of pollinators.

The Robustness of Plant-Pollinator Assemblages: Linking Plant Interaction Patterns and Sensitivity to Pollinator Loss

Most flowering plants depend on pollinators to reproduce. Thus, evaluating the robustness of plant-pollinator assemblages to species loss is a major concern. How species interaction patterns are related to species sensitivity to partner loss may influence the robustness of plant-pollinator assemblages. In plants, both reproductive dependence on pollinators (breeding system) and dispersal ability may modulate plant sensitivity to pollinator loss. For instance, species with strong dependence (e.g. dioecious species) and low dispersal (e.g. seeds dispersed by gravity) may be the most sensitive to pollinator loss. We compared the interaction patterns of plants differing in dependence on pollinators and dispersal ability in a meta-dataset comprising 192 plant species from 13 plant-pollinator networks. In addition, network robustness was compared under different scenarios representing sequences of plant extinctions associated with plant sensitivity to pollinator loss. Species with different dependence on pollinators and dispersal ability showed similar levels of generalization. Although plants with low dispersal ability interacted with more generalized pollinators, low-dispersal plants with strong dependence on pollinators (i.e. the most sensitive to pollinator loss) interacted with more particular sets of pollinators (i.e. shared a low proportion of pollinators with other plants). Only two assemblages showed lower robustness under the scenario considering plant generalization, dependence on pollinators and dispersal ability than under the scenario where extinction sequences only depended on plant generalization (i.e. where higher generalization level was associated with lower probability of extinction). Overall, our results support the idea that species generalization and network topology may be good predictors of assemblage robustness to species loss, independently of plant dispersal ability and breeding system. In contrast, since ecological specialization among partners may increase the probability of disruption of interactions, the fact that the plants most sensitive to pollinator loss interacted with more particular pollinator assemblages suggest that the persistence of these plants and their pollinators might be highly compromised.

A multilevel analysis on pollination-related policies

The paper explores pollination from a multilevel policy perspective and analyses the institutional fit and interplay of multi-faceted pollination-related policies. First, it asks what the major policies are that frame pollination at the EU level. Second, it explores the relationship between the EU policies and localised ways of understanding pollination. Addressed third is how the concept of ecosystem services can aid in understanding the various ways of framing and governing the situation. The results show that the policy systems affecting pollination are abundant and that these systems create different kinds of pressure on stakeholders, at several levels of society. The local-level concerns are more about the loss of pollination services than about loss of pollinators. This points to the problem of fit between local activity driven by economic reasoning and biodiversity-driven EU policies. Here we see the concept of ecosystem services having some potential, since its operationalisation can combine economic and environmental considerations. Furthermore, the analysis shows how, instead of formal institutions, it seems that social norms, habits, and motivation are the key to understanding and developing effective and attractive governance measures.

Do pollinators contribute to nutritional health?

Despite suggestions that animal pollinators are crucial for human nutritional health, no studies have actually tested this claim. Here, we combined data on crop pollination requirements, food nutrient densities, and actual human diets to predict the effects of pollinator losses on the risk of nutrient deficiency. In four developing countries and across five nutrients, we found that 0 to 56% of populations would become newly at risk if pollinators were removed. Increases in risk were most pronounced for vitamin A in populations with moderate levels of total nutrient intake. Overall, the effects of pollinator decline varied widely among populations and nutrients. We conclude that the importance of pollinators to human nutrition depends critically on the composition of local diets, and cannot be reliably predicted from global commodity analyses. We identify conditions under which severe health effects of pollinator loss are most likely to occur.

Pollination mitigates cucumber yield gaps more than pesticide and fertilizer use in tropical smallholder gardens

Summary Pollination can be an essential but often neglected ecosystem service to mitigate crop yield gaps. Pollination services are usually studied in isolation, and their relative role and possible interactions with other factors, such as major management practices, is little understood. We tested how pollination (insect vs. wind‐ and self‐pollination) interacts with weed control, fertilization and insect herbivore control and how these factors as well as flower‐visiting bees influence fruit set and yield of cucumber Cucumis sativus L. in 13 traditional Indonesian home gardens. Although insect pollination, fertilization and weed control additively increased crop yield, fertilization and weed control alone could not compensate for pollination loss. Pollination individually accounted for 75% of the yield and was, hence, the most important driver of yield. In contrast, herbivore control through insecticides at commonly applied levels did not increase yield. Yield strongly increased with higher number of flower‐visiting bee individuals, while the number of bee individuals in turn was not influenced by weed control, fertilization or herbivore control, but increased with higher number of cucumber flowers. Synthesis and applications. Although multiple management practices influence yield, they cannot compensate yield gaps from pollinator loss in cucumber smallholder production in Indonesia. Our results also show that the widespread use of insecticides without considering the impacts on pest reduction is uneconomical. Here, reducing insecticides caused no income loss and, at the same time, reduces potential risks to important pollinators, which needs to be acknowledged by policy‐driven regulations for pesticide application in tropical agroecosystems. Our results stress the importance of enhancing bee populations to facilitate pollination services. Bee management practices, such as sustaining additional food resources for pollinators, need to be established.

Pesticide-induced oxidative stress in laboratory and field populations of native honey bees along intensive agricultural landscapes in two Eastern Indian states

Pesticides have been cited as one of the major drivers of pollinator loss. However, little is known about pesticide impacts on natural populations of native honey bee species. This study looked into the effect of pesticides with respect to oxidative stress in the laboratory and in field populations of two native Indian honey bee species (Apis dorsata and A. cerana) by examining a combination of biomarkers, e.g., superoxide dismutase, catalase and xanthine oxidase. A significant upregulation of all three biomarkers was observed in both treated individuals in laboratory experiments and field populations sampled from a pesticide use gradient. This study reports, for the first time, an increase in expression of xanthine oxidase in an invertebrate system (honey bees) exposed to pesticides.

Experimental reduction of pollinator visitation modifies plant–plant interactions for pollination

The strength of interactions between plants for pollination depends on the abundance of plants and pollinators in the community. The abundance of pollinators may influence plant associations and densities at which individual fitness is maximized. Reduced pollinator visitation may therefore affect the way plant species interact for pollination. We experimentally reduced pollinator visitation to six pollinator‐dependent species (three from an alpine and three from a lowland community in Norway) to study how interactions for pollination were modified by reduced pollinator availability. We related flower visitation, pollen limitation and seed set to density of conspecifics and pollinator‐sharing heterospecifics inside 30 dome‐shaped cages partially covered with fishnet (experimental plots) and in 30 control plots. We expected to find stronger interactions between plants in experimental compared to controls plots. The experiment modified plant–plant interactions for pollination in all the six species; although for two of them neighbourhood interactions did not affect seed set. The pollen limitation and seed set data showed that reduction of pollinator visits most frequently resulted in novel and/or stronger interactions between plants in the experimental plots that did not occur in the controls. Although the responses were species‐specific, there was a tendency for increasing facilitative interactions with conspecific neighbours in experimental plots where pollinator availability was reduced. Heterospecifics only influenced pollination and fecundity in species from the alpine community and in the experimental plots, where they competed with the focal species for pollination. The patterns observed for visitation rates differed from those for fecundity, with more significant interactions between plants in the controls in both communities. This study warns against the exclusive use of visitation data to interpret plant–plant interactions for pollination, and helps to understand how plant aggregations may buffer or intensify the effects of a pollinator loss on plant fitness.

Contribution of insect pollinators to crop yield and quality varies with agricultural intensification

Background. Up to 75% of crop species benefit at least to some degree from animal pollination for fruit or seed set and yield. However, basic information on the level of pollinator dependence and pollinator contribution to yield is lacking for many crops. Even less is known about how insect pollination affects crop quality. Given that habitat loss and agricultural intensification are known to decrease pollinator richness and abundance, there is a need to assess the consequences for different components of crop production.Methods. We used pollination exclusion on flowers or inflorescences on a whole plant basis to assess the contribution of insect pollination to crop yield and quality in four flowering crops (spring oilseed rape, field bean, strawberry, and buckwheat) located in four regions of Europe. For each crop, we recorded abundance and species richness of flower visiting insects in ten fields located along a gradient from simple to heterogeneous landscapes.Results. Insect pollination enhanced average crop yield between 18 and 71% depending on the crop. Yield quality was also enhanced in most crops. For instance, oilseed rape had higher oil and lower chlorophyll contents when adequately pollinated, the proportion of empty seeds decreased in buckwheat, and strawberries’ commercial grade improved; however, we did not find higher nitrogen content in open pollinated field beans. Complex landscapes had a higher overall species richness of wild pollinators across crops, but visitation rates were only higher in complex landscapes for some crops. On the contrary, the overall yield was consistently enhanced by higher visitation rates, but not by higher pollinator richness.Discussion. For the four crops in this study, there is clear benefit delivered by pollinators on yield quantity and/or quality, but it is not maximized under current agricultural intensification. Honeybees, the most abundant pollinator, might partially compensate the loss of wild pollinators in some areas, but our results suggest the need of landscape-scale actions to enhance wild pollinator populations.

Economic and ecological implications of geographic bias in pollinator ecology in the light of pollinator declines

Understanding the causes and consequences of pollinator declines is a priority in ecological research. However, across much of the globe we have a poor understanding of pollinator assemblages, population trends and the ecological and economic importance of particular pollinators, due to a marked geographic bias in research effort. Here, we show that almost half the data cited in thirteen recent meta‐analyses, which ask important and diverse questions in pollination ecology, were collected in just five countries: Australia, Brazil, Germany, Spain and the USA. In contrast, the entire continent of Africa contributed only 4% of the data. We believe that the consequences of this geographic bias are severe. Foremost, pollinator assemblages (and possibly their sensitivity to ecological drivers) can greatly vary among these regions. In addition, many communities that rely on pollinators, bees in particular, for food security and wealth generation are in geographic regions where our understanding of pollination is poor. Collecting accurate information on pollinator populations in data deficient areas will allow us to identify vulnerable populations and species and so better target conservation measures. Moreover, it will help us to determine if our current understanding of pollinator losses, based on data collected in a few locations and on the species that predominate in those regions, is representative of the wide diversity of ecosystems. We propose means of collecting such data given socioeconomic constraints.