Conserving Wild Bees and Other Pollinators of Costa Rica

Costa Rica is home to over 400 species of native wild bees and about 50 species of hummingbirds. But habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change threaten the health and survival of pollinators around the world. How can we better protect these important species?

More than three-quarters of the world’s crops depend on pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. These animals provide essential ecosystem services and play a crucial role in the production of many fruits and vegetables. But, a changing climate, pesticide use, and habitat loss or degradation threaten pollinator communities, although the full impact of these threats is not well understood. For example, warming temperatures could force pollinator species to shift their ranges to higher elevations, which could impact agricultural production, or it could be that a changing climate will cause these species to disappear altogether.

One way to mitigate the effects of climate change is by planting “agroforests”—or forests that grow in pastures around or among crops—that could benefit pollinator communities. As part of this expedition, you will meet local farmers and learn about their farms and farming techniques. Additionally, you will help set up experimental biodiversity islands within pasture areas, which could not only help pollinator communities but could also demonstrate to farmers how planting additional plant species can simultaneously protect biodiversity and ecosystem function as well as provide livelihoods for low-income families in the region.

In the rugged tropical forests of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve or the lower elevation site of Guacima, home to one of the world’s most endangered ecosystems, the tropical dry forest, you will join the research team to investigate how threats to bees and butterflies will affect the critical pollination services they provide.