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A study by Queen's researchers highlights the hoverfly's importance in pollination and warns of human-induced pressures threatening their populations, which could impact food production and ecosystems.
Human-induced pressures, including pesticide exposure and climate change, pose significant threats to the hoverfly, an integral component of pollination for food production. This insect, belonging to the true fly family Syrphidae, is harmless and plays a crucial role in pollination.
A research team from Queen's conducted a study to understand how the hoverfly behaviour affects pollination success. They recorded marmalade hoverflies during single visits to strawberry flowers and measured the weight and fertilised seed count of the resulting fruit. The study found that the marmalade hoverfly is an important pollinator of strawberries and various other plants with similar flowers, including valuable crops like apples and wildflowers that support ecosystems.
The researchers discovered that the hoverfly's behaviour during a flower visit is the driver of their pollination efficiency, making them excellent pollinators despite lacking specialized features. However, human-induced pressures threaten their populations and may alter their behaviour, potentially jeopardizing pollination and food production. The study suggests that understanding how pollinator behaviour influences pollination success can help explain differences between species and support efforts to protect ecosystems and maintain pollination in a changing environment
Hoverfly Pollination Food Production Pesticide Exposure Climate Change
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