Source Texts
Text
In subtropical Asia, Apis dorsata (giant honeybee) plays an essential role in pollinating a wide variety of crops and wild plants. To study how different agricultural land covers affect the species, Rika Raffiudin and colleagues monitored the foraging activity of the bees as well as the pollen content of the honey from A. dorsata colonies at two sites in Indonesia: Kampar, characterized by its surrounding monoculture farms (growing a single crop), and Kerinci, a forest-agriculture site where multiple crops, including hot peppers and coffee, are grown nearby. The researchers concluded that a lack of crop variety may reduce total pollen collection by A. dorsata.