Floral ‘enhancement’ strips of native and exotic species are being assessed by Western Sydney University (WSU) PhD student Lena Alice Schmidt for differences in their ability to attract and meet the dietary requirements of native bees, flies, wasps and other pollinators.
The work is part of cross-industry and Government-funded Healthy bee populations for sustainable pollination in horticulture project.
Floral strips were established in trials at Richmond, and at Shields Orchard in Bilpin, NSW, to assess visitation rates and the foraging preferences of wild insect pollinators for selected native and exotic plants.
“My research is focussed on understanding how different plant species can support and encourage diverse pollinator communities within orchards with the aim of securing their pollination services now and in to the future,” Lena said.