While an increasing number of studies indicate that the range, diversity and abundance of many wild pollinators has declined, the global area of pollinator-dependent crops has significantly increased over the last few decades. Crop pollination studies to date have mainly focused on either identifying different guilds pollinating various crops, or on factors driving spatial changes and turnover observed in these communities. The mechanisms driving temporal stability for ecosystem functioning and services, however, remain poorly understood. Our study quantifies temporal variability observed in crop pollinators in 21 different crops across multiple years at a global scale. Using data from 43 studies from six continents, we show that (i) higher pollinator diversity confers greater inter-annual stability in pollinator communities, (ii) temporal variation observed in pollinator abundance is primarily driven by the three-most dominant species, and (iii) crops in tropical regions demonstrate higher inter-annual variability in pollinator species richness than crops in temperate regions. We highlight the importance of recognizing wild pollinator diversity in agricultural landscapes to stabilize pollinator persistence across years to protect both biodiversity and crop pollination services. Short-term agricultural management practices aimed at dominant species for stabilizing pollination services need to be considered alongside longer term conservation goals focussed on maintaining and facilitating biodiversity to confer ecological stability.

Highbush blueberry production has expanded worldwide in recent decades. To safeguard future yields, it is essential to understand if insect pollination is limiting current blueberry production and which insects contribute to pollination in different production regions. We present a systematic review including a set of meta‐analyses on insect‐mediated pollination in highbush blueberry. We summarize the geographic distribution of research, the abundance of different pollinator taxa and their relative pollination contributions. Using raw data from 21 studies, totalling 496 site replicates, we determine the degree of pollination service and pollen limitation (i.e. combining open pollination levels with experimental bagged and/or hand pollination treatments), as well as the contribution of honeybees and wild bees to pollination (i.e. observational, open pollination). Most studies originate from North America, focusing on only a few cultivars. Honeybees are the dominant pollinator, and wild bees are occasionally abundant. Wild bees are more efficient pollinators on a single‐visit basis compared to honeybees, which increases their relative pollination contribution compared to their relative abundance. Insect‐mediated pollination services increased blueberry fruit set, berry weight and seed set (R² values: 64.8%, 75.9% and 75.2% respectively). We often detected pollen limitation, indicated by an increase in fruit set, berry weight and seed set (R²: 10.1%, 18.2% and 21.5%, respectively), with additional hand pollination. Increasing visitation of honeybees and wild bees contributed to blueberry pollination by increasing fruit set (R²: 5.4% and 3.5%), berry weight (R²: 6.5% and 2.8%) and seed set (R²: 6.4% and 3.8%) respectively. Bee contributions to fruit set and berry weight were variable across regions. Synthesis and application: A diverse community of insects, primarily bees, contributes to highbush blueberry pollination and yield. However, pollination deficits are common. The finding that both honeybees and wild bees enhance pollination highlights the possibility of adopting different management strategies that utilize honeybees, wild bees or both depending on the specific context and region. This further emphasizes the general importance of conserving pollinator health and diversity. Our synthesis highlights data gaps and areas for future research to better understand the pollination contribution of different pollinators to crops that are expanding globally.

Biodiversity is an essential attribute of sustainable agroecosystems. Diverse arthropod communities deliver multiple ecosystem services, such as biological control, which are the core of integrated pest management programs. The molecular analysis of arthropod diets has emerged as a new tool to monitor and help predict the outcomes of management on the functioning of arthropod communities. Here, we briefly review the recent molecular analysis of predators and parasitoids in agricultural environments. We focus on the developments of molecular gut content analysis (MGCA) implemented to unravel the function of community members, and their roles in biological control. We examine the agricultural systems in which this tool has been applied, and at what ecological scales. Additionally, we review the use of MGCA to uncover vertebrate roles in pest management, which commonly receives less attention. Applying MGCA to understand agricultural food webs is likely to provide an indicator of how management strategies either improve food web properties (i.e., enhanced biological control), or adversely impact them.

A diverse diet in polyphagous insects satisfies changing nutritional needs but the choice of host plant may vary throughout the insect and plant life cycle. The behaviors associated with host choice in the immature stages may differ from the egg laying site chosen by the mother. To evaluate this for an important agricultural pest, we looked at host choice over two growing seasons for the invasive Halyomorpha halys. H. halys has a host breadth of over 170 known species in its invaded range and adults can satisfy nutritional needs through a strong dispersal capacity. Nymphs are more limited in their ability to choose host plants and we investigated if they make a choice that differs from the source plant (to simulate maternal choice) and characterized volatile organic compounds that are present during attraction. In a mark-release-recapture experiment we quantified dispersal and host choice by nymphs to four common vegetable hosts throughout the growing season. Applying an attraction index to quantify host choice we identified that nymphs switch host plants depending on host phenology. Plants with maturing fruits were most attractive. Volatile organic compounds were collected from host plants during the same time period. Multivariate and correlation analyses categorized phenol, undecane, decanal, and caryophyllene as compounds associated with host plants during peak attractive periods. Thus, the availability of suitable food and associated olfactory cues appears to be influencing the spatiotemporal distribution of H. halys within the agroecosystem. Exploiting dispersal behavior and olfactory cues may be used to help increase the effectiveness and efficiency of current management practices for this severe and widespread pest.

The peachtree borer, Synanthedon exitiosa (Say) (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae), is a major pest of stone fruits including the peach Prunus persica (L.) Batsch. The entomopathogenic nematode, Steinernema carpocapsae, was previously shown to be an effective tool for controlling S. exitiosa. In orchards where irrigation is not available, a sprayable gel (Barricade^®) can be used to maintain soil moisture which can facilitate nematode efficacy. However, rates of nematode and Barricade^® application had not been optimized for their maximum economic and biocontrol efficiency. Therefore, our objective was to compare rates of S. carpocapsae and Barricade^® in field trials. Nematodes were tested at per-tree application rates of 1.5 million, 1 million and 0.5 million infective juveniles. The sprayable gel was used at two rates, 4% and 2%. A reduction in the used nematodes from 1.5 million to 0.5 million per tree showed no difference in efficacy. Similarly, using the gel at half rate also did not impact the efficacy, and treatments containing nematodes controlled the S. exitiosa better than the chlorpyrifos control in several of the tests (p < 0.05). As an added benefit, the nematode treatments were also able to reduce the prevalence of weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) populations as secondary pests of the peach trees. The lower rates of grower inputs will reduce costs, making the nematode biocontrol of the peachtree borer more likely to be adopted by commercial growers of peach.