Moths are the overlooked pollinator.

University College London (UCL), 12th May 2020 - Moths are important pollen transporters in English farmlands and play a significant role in the maintenance of crop yields. Although they may not receive as much media coverage as daytime pollinators but research led by (UCL) showed that nocturnal moths have a larger, more complex pollination network and will often compliment the pollination done by the daytime pollinators. Moths will commonly visit the same flowers already visited and will visit flowers that hasn't been pollinated during the day. They serve as a form of back-up for biodiversity, which in turn supports crop yields.

Lead author, Dr Richard Walton (UCL Geography researcher) had stated that moths have a vital, yet often overlooked pollinators which play vital ecological functions being responsible to a certain degree of floral diversity and abundance. He also makes a bold statement that many species including bats, mammals, birds etc would be put under significant pressure without the moth. 

Moths uniquely pollen with their chest instead of their tongue optimizing the volume of pollen being transported. This essentially means more pollen from a single interaction will be introduced to higher numbers of flower individuals. While feeding, the moth's distinctly hairy body comes into contact with the male floral reproductive parts where higher quantities of pollen will attach to these hairs.  

While investigating the importance of moths, they monitored ponds in agricultural regions in Norfolk where it was noted that 45% of the moths were transporting pollen derived from 47 different floral species. Moths are seen as generalists where they can pollinate/ feed on a wide range of floral species, meanwhile, bumble/ honeybees will target the most prolific nectar and pollen sources.

This study has come at a pivotal period in our climate crisis as moths are suffering from serious decline with a 28% decline in the UK since 1968. Interstingly, the southern portion of England have suffered from a 40% reduction, meanwhile, the northern proportion has displayed no significant decline. This is likely to be due to the higher abundance of urban centers along the south. Street lights have had detrimental effects on nocturnal species which confuses them on when to feed. Some individuals may feed during the day time where they're out competed by diurnal species. Chemical pesticides are also responsible where they reduce floral diversity and will often be toxic to moths when consumed.

Dr Walton (UCL Geography) concluded: “While bumblebees and honeybees are known to be super pollinators they also preferentially target the most prolific nectar and pollen sources.

“Moths may appear to be less effective pollinators by comparison, but their high diversity and abundance may make them critical to pollination in ways that we still need to understand. Our research sheds light on a little known world of nocturnal plant-insect interactions that might be vital to the look and smell of our precious countryside and to the crops that we grow.”

• Walton, R., 2020. Moths Have A Secret But Vital Role As Pollinators In The Night. [online] UCL News. Available at: <https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/may/moths-have-secret-vital-role-pollinators-night> [Accessed 8 August 2020].
• Butterfly-conservation.org. 2020. The State Of Britain's Moths. [online] Available at: <https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/the-state-of-britains-moths> [Accessed 8 August 2020].

Roadside verges a pollinators paradise?

University of Exceter, 9th -August-2020-  Research that had been led by the University of Exceter had discovered that roadside verges can provide suitable refuge for pollinators despite high  levels of pollution and risk of getting hit by oncoming traffic. It has been urged the positives significantly outweigh the negatives. 

It has been said in this study that all verges won't have the exact same benefits as one another. It was found that verges along quieter stretches of road showed the best results. This study states that less cutting throughout the year and leaving it until later in the year to cut will have signifficant benefits to the pollinator population. 

Regular cutting of grass will result in loss of shelter and nectar source and this will be amplified if done in peak summer periods where the pollinators are most active. Wildflowers are most prevalent during this period and the removal of these wildflowers will reduce many pollinator's opportunity for pollination leading to increased risk of starvation  and less flowers pollinated leading to less flowers. 

It has been emphasized that cuttings should be altered from peak flowering periods to Autumn, a period were pollinators are notably less active reducing the impact. The only section that should be considered being cut is the area 2m in from the roadside. This is the case as these sections were recorded to have the lowest abundance in pollinator populations and are the most important zone for visibility for road users. 

These road verges creates a network of corridors providing sufficient food sources to sustain this population. These verges pose many negative aspects including pollution, collision but it has been stressed that the positive effects remarkably outweigh these negative aspects which may somewhat help the 97% decrease of meadow wildflowers since the 1930's. 

Street lights cause great confusion to nocturnal insects and the University of Exceter have stated these verges can be dramatically improved through limiting the amount of street lights used.“This new research shows the potential that road verges have to help to reverse insect declines.

“By making small changes to the management of our road verge network, local authorities and others involved in road verge management can make a significant difference to support nature’s recovery.”

References

• Phillips, B., 2019. Research News - Road Verges Provide Refuge For Pollinators - University Of Exeter. [online] Exeter.ac.uk. Available at: <https://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/research/title_728484_en.html> [Accessed 22 July 2020].

• Phys.org. 2020. Road Verges Could Be Havens For Pollinators. [online] Available at: <https://phys.org/news/2020-07-road-verges-havens-pollinators.html> [Accessed 22 July 2020].