Kelly A Gill

The Xerces Society / USDA-NRCS

Soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merrill, flowers can be a source of nectar and pollen for honey bees, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), wild social and solitary bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea), and flower-visiting flies (Diptera). Our objectives were to describe the pollinator community in soybean fields, determine which sampling method is most approp...

Native plants attractive to beneficial insects may improve the value of buffer strips by increasing biodiversity and enhancing the delivery of insect-derived ecosystem services. In a 2-yr field experiment, we measured the response of insect communities across nine buffers that varied in plant diversity. We constructed buffers with plants commonly f...

Describing the flower-visiting insect community in soybean (Glycine max) fields is important for informing conservation decisions and assessing non-target risks to nectar and pollen feeding insects. Our objectives are to: 1) describe the pollinator community within soybean fields; 2) compare sampling methods for characterizing their abundance and d...

Plant diversity is an important factor when determining diversity at higher trophic levels, including insects that mediate ecosystem services. Organic farms are required to establish vegetative buffer strips to mitigate pesticide and genetically-modified pollen drift from neighboring farms; however, few guidelines exist regarding plant species comp...