Pollen species carried by wild bees in wooded and herbaceous semi-natural habitats

The aim was to assess the pollens carried by wild bees hunted in three types of semi-naturel habitats :permanent grasslands,forest edges and hedgerows. The bees were netted in each of these habitats,in 30 landscapes selected according to a gradient of % woodland. Pollen grains were collected on female bee’s body with a fine tweezer and a moistened brush and were deposited directly into a droplet of water placed on a microscope slide. Pollen grains from each individual bee were observed under a x400 optical microscope and identified to genera or species level based on the pollen reference collection of the INRAe du Magneraud.