Irish faba beans (Fabales: Fabaceae) depend on wild bumblebee pollination for marketable yields

Quantifying the contributions of insect pollinators to crops provides insight into how pollination services should be managed and protected future. Faba bean, Vicia faba var minor (Linneaus), is a widely grown crop globally that can benefit from pollinator visitation, but only species are morphologically compatible with plant's long-corollae flowers. Here, we rank in terms their potential importance bean quantify economic value for Irish beans. Our findings demonstrate bee contributes significantly pod set beans, and, consequently, crop's production value. We find account almost half Ireland's total market value, contribution estimated at €4,000,000 per year. estimate that, relative other pollinators, wild bumblebees contribute approximately 70% fields, driven mainly by long-tongued bumblebee species, Bombus hortorum (Linneaus; Hymenoptera: Apidae). Based on these results, suggest B. populations encouraged farmland through appropriate management ensure continued delivery