28 February, 2018

Aphid-eating flies are effective pollinators of strawberry



by Dylan Hodgkiss, Mark J.F. Brown, Michelle T. Fountain


A female aphid-eating hoverfly visiting a strawberry flower for pollen and nectar © 2017 Dylan Hodgkiss

There is growing concern about declines in the numbers of wild insects. These losses are particularly troubling for fruit growers who rely on insects to visit and fertilise, or pollinate, their crops. At the same time, aphids are a serious pest of strawberry, causing significant losses in fruit production. Many flies in the hoverfly family not only visit strawberry flowers as adults, but they also offer the added bonus of eating aphids during their larval stage. However, whether aphid-eating hoverflies are able to effectively pollinate strawberry flowers remains largely unknown.
  



Read the whole summary in: English!
Read the scientific publication in JPE.