Buzz beyond bees: Perennial agroecosystems support diverse pollinator communities in the Midwestern United States

Bee and non-bee pollinators are vital to global food production, but their populations are declining due to habitat loss, pesticide use, and reduced plant diversity, threatening crop yields and food security. Sustainable land management is essential, as conventional agricultural practices alone cannot support healthy pollinator populations. Agroforestry practices such as silvopasture can offer a mixture of native warm-season grasses, including forbs and legumes, which can provide a natural habitat for pollinators. However, studies assessing pollinator communities in silvopasture and woody perennial systems are lacking in the Midwestern United States. Therefore, a season-long field study was conducted to assess the pollinator abundance, species richness, and diversity in silvopasture and orchards perennial agroecosystems. A total of 31 bees and 50 non-bee pollinator species were collected. Bee abundance did not differ between agroecosystems; however, the number of non-bee insects were significantly higher in orchards compared with silvopasture. Species richness and Shannon-Wiener diversity were not significantly different between treatments for both bees and non-bee insects. Non-bee communities in silvopasture system were more evenly distributed than in orchards, while such even distribution was not observed among bee communities in either agroecosystem. These findings indicate that integrating woody perennial agroecosystems such as silvopasture and fruit orchards into agricultural landscapes can support diverse and stable pollinator communities, including both bees and non-bees. Even distribution of non-bee pollinators in silvopasture may reflect the benefits of native warm-season forages. Both systems offer complementary opportunities to enhance pollinator resilience and may help in mitigating the limitations of conventional agriculture.