From the «bees too» department:
Feed: SoylentNews
Title: Saving Moths May be Just as Important as Saving the Bees
Author: requerdanos
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2023 11:38:00 -0400
Link: https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=23/08/28/2314221&from=rss

hubie[1] writes:

Night-time pollinators such as moths need protecting as effectively as bees[2]:

Night-time pollinators such as moths may visit just as many plants as bees,
and should also be the focus of conservation and protection efforts, a new
study from the University of Sheffield suggests.

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.

It also revealed that despite this threat, moths play a crucial role in
supporting urban plant communities, accounting for a third of all pollination
in flowering plants, crops and trees.

[...] "As moths and bees both rely on plants for survival, plant populations
also rely on insects for pollination. Protecting urban green spaces and
ensuring they are developed in such a way that moves beyond bee-only
conservation but also supports a diverse array of wildlife, will ensure both
bee and moth populations remain resilient and our towns and cities remain
healthier, greener places."

[...] [Study author Dr. E.E.] Ellis says the research demonstrates just how
crucial moths are at pollinating plants, including crops, and that the study
has implications for wildlife-friendly gardening initiatives, urban planners
and policy makers responsible for developing urban green spaces for parks or
urban horticulture.

She said: "People don't generally appreciate moths so they can often be
overlooked compared to bees when talking about protection and conservation,
but it's becoming apparent that there needs to be a much more focused effort
to raise awareness of the important role moths play in establishing healthy
environments, especially as we know moth populations have drastically declined
over the past 50 years.

"When planning green spaces, consideration needs to be given to ensure
planting is diverse and moth-friendly as well as bee-friendly, to ensure both
our plants and insects remain resilient in the face of the climate crisis and
further losses."

Journal Reference:
Ellis, E.E., Edmondson, J.L., Maher, K.H., Hipperson, H. Campbell, S.A. (2023)
Negative effects of urbanisation on diurnal and nocturnal pollen-transport
networks [open]. Ecology Letters, 26, 1382–1393. Available from:
https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.14261[3]

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Original Submission[4]

Read more of this story[5] at SoylentNews.

Links:
[1]: https://soylentnews.org/~hubie/ (link)
[2]: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/saving-moths-may-be-just-important-saving-bees (link)
[3]: https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.14261 (link)
[4]: https://soylentnews.org/submit.pl?op=viewsubsubid=60640 (link)
[5]: https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=23/08/28/2314221&from=rss (link)

--
Emojis are for wimps.