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Food production is highly dependent on pollination services provided by insects; 75% of the leading global food crops need animals for successful production. Pollinators, including managed and wild bees, are declining in many parts of the world. The loss of natural habitats providing nesting sites is considered as one of the main factors driving the decline of crop-visiting wild bees. The researchers had hypothesized that providing bee hotels in cherry orchards may be a useful strategy to support visitors of cherry flowers (Prunus avium). To test this hypothesis, observation was made on the attractiveness of bee hotels to wild bees in cherry orchards in Sefrou Province (Morocco). Bee hotels were installed at the border of two cherry orchards. Surrounding landscapes were described and pollinator communities were observed and sampled within bee hotels, cherry flowers, and also within the surrounding landscape. Bumblebees (Bombus spp.), Mason bees (Osmia spp.), sand bees (Andrena spp.), and sweat bees (Lasioglossum spp.) are the most abundant genera representing almost two-thirds of all wild bee visitors of cherry trees. Mason bees (Osmia spp.) are the most abundant bees nesting in bee hotels with almost three-quarters of all insects recorded. Bee hotels could therefore be used to sustain or even increase cavity-nesting bees visiting cherry orchards in Morocco. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of pollinating insects in crop fields is an essential factor for agricultural production and pollinator conservation. Agricultural intensification has been identified as a driver of pollinator decline over the last decades and challenges the efficiency of pollination. Several approaches are used to support pollinators and their ecosystem services, notably reward-based wildflower strips. 'Farming with Alternative Pollinators' (FAP) aims to attract and sustain pollinators using marketable habitat enhancement plants (MHEP) in the field borders instead of wildflowers. These MHEP are selected in conjunction with farmers. We tested here whether the FAP approach increases diversity and abundance of flower visitors in melon fields in a semi-arid landscape in Morocco. Moreover, we examined whether MHEP increase flower-visitor abundance in melon flowers. We recorded a total of 1330 insect specimens including 573 specimens of wild bees. Lasioglossum malachurum was the major flower visitor in melon and several MHEP. As flower-visitor abundance and diversity in FAP fields were higher than in control fields, we conclude that FAP can be a valuable approach for pollinator protection in agro-ecosystems; 16.5% of wild bees and wasps showed spillover from the field borders to the melon fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]