Article via https://www.eurekalert.org
The study found that moths under pressure from urbanisation may also be less resilient than bees, due to their more complex life cycle and more specific plant requirements.
The researchers suggest that when planning or redeveloping urban areas, supporting the introduction of plant species that are beneficial for moths, as well as bees, will become increasingly important for the health of urban ecosystems.
“As moths and bees both rely on plants for survival, plant populations also rely on insects for pollination.
In urbanised areas, there can sometimes be an overabundance of non-native plant species, or just an overall reduction in the diversity of plant species; this may result in lower insect interactions for less attractive plant species, having negative effects on both plant and insect populations.
We found that moths are probably pollinating a range of plant species, many of them wild, that are unlikely to be pollinated by bees – and vice versa.