[en] In the last 10 years, the interest in nature-based solutions and ecosystem services like pollination has increased profoundly and with it the need to gather knowledge about wild bees and apoid wasp community dynamics, especially in urban ecosystems. Research on how the urban environment impacts the conditions of nesting sites is relatively scarce. Recent observations in the Brussels-Capital Region (BCR; Belgium) show that urban pavements can provide alternative nesting opportunities for ground-nesting Hymenoptera, such as wild bees and apoid wasps. Here, using a citizen science approach, we investigated the richness of ground-nesting species living under urban pavements, as well as their preferences for sidewalk characteristics. A total of 22 species belonging to 10 families of wild bees, digger wasps and their associated cleptoparasites were identified at 89 sites in the BCR (Belgium). Sandstone setts or concrete slabs, with an unbound joint size of around 10 mm, were found to be the best suitable urban pavements for the ground-nesting species. The soil texture under the pavement contained mainly sandy particles. We propose management guidelines to support bee and wasp species nesting under urban pavement in highly urbanised areas. Our observations pave the way for further research in the field of urban ecology and highlight the potential of multifunctional pavement designs that promote not only climate adaptation but also biodiversity.
Disciplines :
Zoology
Author, co-author :
Noël, Grégoire ✱; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Gestion durable des bio-agresseurs
Smets, Sylvie; Belgian Road Research Centre (BRRC), Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Belgium
Van Damme, Olivier; Belgian Road Research Centre (BRRC), Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Belgium
Colinet, Gilles ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre > Echanges Eau - Sol - Plantes
Lokatis, Sophie ; Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany ; Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Berlin, Germany
Ruelle, Julien; Département Développement Nature et Agriculture, Bruxelles Environnement (BE), Bruxelles, Belgium
Francis, Frédéric ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre > Gestion durable des bio-agresseurs
✱ These authors have contributed equally to this work.
Language :
English
Title :
Nest aggregations of wild bees and apoid wasps in urban pavements: A ‘street life’ to be promoted in urban planning
Publication date :
25 September 2023
Journal title :
Insect Conservation and Diversity
ISSN :
1752-458X
eISSN :
1752-4598
Publisher :
John Wiley and Sons Inc
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Funding text :
We thank Julie Bonnet (ULiège, Functional and Evolutionary Entomology) for the preparation of insects and assistance in insect identifications. We thank Brussels Environment Regional Institution for their financial support. We are very grateful to the reviewing of Prof. Laurence Packer, Dr. Tilly Collins and the two anonymous reviewers who helped us make significant improvement to the manuscript. We also thank BCR municipalities and the participation of anonymous BCR citizens who helped us locate the study sites.This study was made possible with the financial support from Bruxelles Environnement (BE) through the STREETBEES project 2019G0250. Grégoire Noël and Frédéric Francis have received research support from BE.
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