Plant communities foraged by the western honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) and their occurrence along urban road networks in Tokyo and Chiba, Japan

Urbanisation is a primary cause of pollinator biodiversity loss because it depletes floral and nesting resources.
Therefore, it is crucial to promote urban greening to provide pollen and nectar sources for pollinators.
To investigate the floral resources of the urban environment, we used an efficient floral bio-sampler, Apis mellifera L. Pollen was collected from three beehives using pollen traps every 2 weeks from May to September 2018 at four different sites in Tokyo (Yaesu and Kiba) and Chiba prefecture (Kashiwanoha and Nishichiba), Japan.
DNA metabarcoding of pollen samples was used to identify the taxonomic composition of the floral resources.
The results showed that 168 species belonging to 57 taxonomic families were used as pollen sources in total, with a large number of honey-plant species in the Fabaceae (15 spp.), Asteraceae (14 spp.), or Rosaceae (8 spp.) families. 52% of the floral resources were alien species, 20% were cultivar species, 25% were native to Japan, and the remaining 3% were not identified.
We observed that spontaneously colonising plant species and street planting were important sources of foraging for urban honeybees.
We then studied the spatial occurrences of the most foraged species by honeybees around hives.
Sixty floral species on urban roads were targeted, and after 60 transects in May 2019, 24 were identified.
Urban greening programmes based on our findings could enhance biodiversity by creating green spaces suitable for pollinators in urban areas and along urban road network.

VIII International Conference on Landscape and Urban Horticulture

A. Nagase, L. Pouilloux, F. Francis, G. Noël

biodiversity, pollinators, urban greening, pollen analysis, DNA metabarcoding

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2022.1345.40