Unsung heroes? How hoverflies play key pollination role
TOKYO: That bee you see buzzing from flower to flower might actually be an undercover operator: A hoverfly. And a team of scientists wants you to stop taking them for granted. The decline of bee populations in mass die-offs, sometimes called colony collapse disorder, has made headlines in recent years.
Experts blame mites, viruses and pesticides for the phenomenon, which threatens
the global food supply chain because bees fertilize three out of every four crops grown around the world. Now a team of scientists is hoping the increased attention on the importance of pollination to our natural habitat will cast a light on the often-overlooked role of the hoverfly.
“When people talk about pollinators, they often think of the domesticated honeybee that has been part of our lives for thousands of years,” said Karl Wotton, a senior lecturer at the University of Exeter’s College of Life and Environmental Sciences. “Hoverflies, in contrast, don’t have this history, and bees often get undue credit from the casual observer as many hoverfly species are easily mistaken for bees,” he told AFP.
Writing in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences journal, Wotton and his team argue the insects are sometimes even more effective pollinators
than bumblebees and that their role in fertilizing and protecting crops is often underestimated. “Hoverflies show immense potential as alternative managed pollinators,” the article argues. “In addition, hoverflies provide ecosystem functions not seen in bees, such as crop protection from pests, recycling of organic matter and long-distance pollen transfer.”
The humble hoverfly – frequently confused for a bee or wasp but exhibiting the levitating flight pattern that inspires its name – exists on every continent except Antarctica and a few remote islands. There are around 6,000 species, which tend to range over much larger distances than their pollinator counterparts, carrying pollen much further afield. This means they are capable of fertilizing isolated plants and doing so in climates that are unsuitable for bees and other pollinators. — AFP