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Data from: Local habitat, not landscape diversity, drives richness and reproduction of cavity-nesting bees and wasps in agricultural landscapes

Tassoni, Sara1; Kasten, Marit Kinga1; Hiller, Thomas1; Staab, Michael2; Schurr, Frank M.1; Grass, Ingo1

Published Mar 03, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.2fqz61348

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Abstract

Studying insect decline in human-dominated landscapes, especially in intensively managed agricultural areas, requires understanding its drivers. Studies of cavity-nesting bees and wasps with trap nests provide information on the number of locally reproducing species and their potential offspring, and how this relates to local resources and landscape diversity. We investigated insect communities across all major habitat types in agricultural landscapes using a grid-based design to evenly and proportionally cover the major habitats of the landscape plots. The landscape plots covered a gradient from complex landscapes with a variety of habitats to simple landscapes dominated by arable land. At the local scale, we found that bee species richness was highest in grasslands and orchard meadows and lowest in forests, mirroring the pattern of local floral resources. However, it was unaffected by local hedgerow cover. Wasp species richness was highest in forests, followed by orchards, and lowest in grasslands and arable land, and it also responded positively to hedgerows. Bee brood cell abundance was highest in orchards and lowest in forests, whereas wasp brood cell abundance showed the opposite pattern. Neither group was affected by hedgerows. At the landscape scale, landscape diversity neither affected species richness nor the number of brood cells of bees and wasps. Our results highlight the importance of local habitat diversity in agricultural landscapes for supporting diverse cavity-nesting bee and wasp communities, as bees benefit from flower-rich grasslands and orchards, while wasps rely on forest resources. To counteract insect decline, conservation efforts should target both seminatural and cultivated habitats.