Baseline Assessment of Insect Pollinators in Agroecosystems of Rwanda: a baseline perspective for pollinator conservation

While some research has been conducted on honeybees, little is known about other pollinators such as butterflies, beetles, moths, and others. A major gap exists in comprehensive baseline data on pollinator diversity and distribution, making it difficult to design effective conservation strategies.

We used sweep nets and pan traps to sample insect pollinators along 1 km transects in agricultural areas across 5 agroecosystems. Surveys documented pollinator abundance, diversity, and their associations with crop flowering stages and habitat structure. A total of 99 insect species were recorded, with Apis mellifera emerging as the predominant species across all sites, indicating that these agroecosystems continue to support essential pollination services.