(a) Study site in the Calanda region of the Swiss Alps (photo credit: EI). (b) Time-lapse camera image, noon, 20 July 2021. (c) Probable visit by Bombus lapidarius. (d) Visit Noctua pronuba. (e) Visitation frequency of Trifolium pratense by moths (dark blue), bumblebees (blue) and other visitors (light blue), as well as T. pratense cover (pink line) recorded by cameras during the summer of 2021. Credit: Biology cards (2022). DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0187
A team of researchers from Aarhus University and the Institute for Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, has discovered that moths are the main pollinators of clover. In his article published in the magazine Biology cardsthe group describes how they studied images from time-lapse cameras they installed in the Swiss Alps and what they learned by studying the images captured by the cameras at night.
Clover is an important crop because it is widely used in livestock feed, which is why manufacturers of these products have been concerned about global reductions in bee populations; researchers have assumed for many years that bees are the main, if not the only, plant pollinators. In this new effort, researchers have found evidence of another clover pollinator: yellow underwing moths.
The researchers were studying the adaptations of plants and their pollinators to global warming; some anecdotal evidence had suggested that some plants tend to move upwards, when possible, to find more favorable conditions. To find out if this might be the case, they set up 15 time-lapse cameras in clover fields in various areas of the Swiss Alps and ran them for three months during the summer of 2021. The cameras were set to record the 24 hours a day. which, of course, included the night hours.
By studying the images captured by the cameras, the researchers realized that the moths pollinated the plants at night, a completely unexpected finding. Intrigued by the finding, the researchers began counting how often the moths visited the clover plants along with visits from bees and other insects. They found that, as expected, bees accounted for the largest number of visits: 61%. But moths, which were not known to pollinate clover, accounted for 34% of visits. The other 5% of visits were made up of various butterflies and wasps.
Moths are known to pollinate other plants, but their work on clover pollination appears to have been missed by others who study the plants, the researchers note. They suggest that future research efforts focused on the pollination of other crops must involve a closer look at what happens at night.
Field study shows pollinators prefer saltier nectar. More information: Jamie Alison et al, Moths complement bumblebee pollination of red clover: a case for day and night insect surveillance, Biology cards (2022). DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0187
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