Protecting urban green spaces and ensuring they are developed beyond protecting bees, supporting diverse wildlife, and making cities and towns healthier, greener places.

Moths are a large group of insects closely related to butterflies and are one of the most common species in the world, as they are found in many different regions and climates, even in snow.

Moths are nocturnal, meaning they emerge only at night or dawn, and are responsible for about one-third of the pollination of flowering plants, crops, and trees.

Despite the importance of its ecological role, studies on the effects of urbanization have not given it the same importance attached to bees.

Environmental challenges

Insect pollinators are declining due to habitat loss and climate change, and cities with limited habitat and floral resources may be particularly affected, however, the effects of urban landscapes on pollinator networks are still not well understood, and there are no comparative studies of species. Different environments.

And inside A new study Published June 5 in Ecology Letters — and simultaneously comparing nocturnal moths and pollen-carrying webs using multiplex DNA sequencing — moths under urbanization pressure are less adaptable than bees because of their complex life cycle and their need for specific plants.

However, moths play an important role in supporting urban plant communities.

Urbanization and its impact on pollinators

The study’s lead author, Dr Emily Ellis, is from the University of Sheffield’s Grantham Institute for Sustainable Futures and the Research Center for Environmental Change (REC) at the University of Helsinki. Press release “Our study found that the diversity of pollen carried by moths and bees decreases in highly urbanized areas, meaning pollinators may have fewer floral resources available to them.”

“Just as moths and bees depend on plants for survival, plant populations also depend on insects for pollination,” says Dr Ellis.

“Protecting urban green spaces and ensuring they are developed to not only protect bees but also support a diverse range of wildlife will ensure that bee and bumblebee populations are resilient and that cities and towns remain healthy, green places.”

Appreciation for moths is growing

Dr. Ellis and the researchers involved in the study showed that bees and moths visit different plant communities, but the study shows that the moths carry more pollen than previously thought, in addition to the typical faded flowers that the moths are used to visiting. , and they are also visiting more species of trees and fruit crops than previously identified.

“People don’t appreciate moths in general, so they’re often overlooked compared to bees when it comes to conservation and safety,” Ellis says. And we know that moth populations have declined dramatically over the past 50 years.”

“When planning green spaces, we must ensure that plantings are diverse, moth-friendly and bee-friendly, to ensure that our plants and insects are resilient to climate change and further loss,” he added.

DNA sequencing

Dr Stuart Campbell, from the University of Sheffield’s School of Biological Sciences, explains: “Most plants depend on insects for pollination, but which insects actually pollinate is a difficult question.”

“There are about 250 species of bees in the UK, some of which we know very little about, but we have over 2,500 moths that visit flowers mostly at night. So, we don’t know much about them.”

“What we were able to do in this study was use DNA sequencing to identify the pollen grains that nocturnal butterflies were attaching to flowers when they visited them. We found that moths pollinate a wide variety of plant species, many of them wild, that are unlikely to be pollinated.” by bees, and vice versa.

He adds, “It is clear from this study that pollination is carried out by complex networks of insects and plants, and that these networks may be delicate and sensitive to urbanization. We can also learn which types of plants are better sources of different foods. Insects, including nocturnal species such as adult moths, and Using this information is in the interest of pollinators.”

Practical implications of the study

In urban areas, there may sometimes be an abundance of non-native plant species or a general decrease in plant species diversity, and this may lead to reduced interactions with less attractive plant species for insects. Adverse effects on both plants and insects.

This study is sure to have implications for wildlife-friendly horticulture initiatives and for urban planners and policymakers responsible for creating urban green spaces for parks or urban gardening.