生态学报2026，Vol.46Issue(8)：4315-4325,11.DOI:10.20103/j.stxb.202507251935
蜜蜂取食偏好及其对典型蜜源植物群落传粉网络的潜在影响
Foraging preferences of managed honeybees and their potential impacts on pollination networks of typical nectar-plant communities
摘要
Abstract
In plant-pollinator communities,simultaneous flowering of multiple plant species often leads to extensive resource sharing,which may in turn generate potential competition among plants and between pollinators.During mass flowering events of major nectar plants,densely managed colonies of the Western honeybee(Apis mellifera)can dominate floral resources and alter the dynamics of local pollination systems,thereby influencing the structure and stability of interaction networks.In this study,we integrated large-scale honey pollen analysis,identification of pollen grains carried on bee bodies,and the construction of pollen-load-based plant-pollinator networks to evaluate honeybee foraging preferences,resource use diversity,and the potential ecological consequences across multiple spatial scales.A total of 46 honey samples collected from 13 provinces and 13 major nectar plant species across China were analyzed using an AI-assisted pollen identification model.Results showed that although honeybees exhibited clear preference for focal nectar plants,on average 35%of pollen grains in honey originated from non-nectar co-flowering species,indicating extensive exploitation of surrounding floral resources.In two representative nectar systems,the early-spring farmland dominated by Brassica rapa and the late-spring forest edge dominated by Robinia pseudoacacia in Henan Province,we compared honey and body pollen compositions from managed colonies.The proportion of target nectar pollen in honey was positively correlated with that in bee body pollen,confirming that body pollen can serve as a reliable proxy for resource collection patterns.Pollen-load-based quantitative interaction networks further revealed that honeybees formed the strong links with nectar plants and occupied central network positions,indicating their dominant role in resource acquisition.In both communities,perceived apparent competition(PAC)indices were significantly higher for nectar plants and honeybees than for wild components,suggesting that intensive foraging of managed bees may suppress wild pollinators and reduce visitation to wild plants.Overall,our findings highlight that the combination of honey and body pollen analysis provides an effective framework to trace foraging behavior and evaluate potential competitive effects in pollination networks.The high dominance of managed honeybees and large-scale cultivation of nectar plants may generate structural competition and functional homogenization in pollinator communities,potentially weakening ecosystem resilience.This study provides new evidence and methodological tools for quantifying resource overlap,optimizing hive density,and promoting coexistence between managed and wild pollinators in agricultural and semi-natural landscapes.关键词
蜜蜂/蜂蜜/植物-传粉者互作/生态网络/花粉/传粉者Key words
honeybee/honey/plant-pollinator interaction/ecological network/pollen/pollinator引用本文复制引用
刘媛,邱登辉,董超铭,方强..蜜蜂取食偏好及其对典型蜜源植物群落传粉网络的潜在影响[J].生态学报,2026,46(8):4315-4325,11.基金项目
国家自然科学基金面上项目(32371602) （32371602）
河南省杰出青年科学基金项目(252300421034) （252300421034）
河南省高等学校重点科研项目计划基础研究专项(24ZX001) （24ZX001）
