Bees as Ambassadors for Plant Conservation

Ari Hoffman, Thais Vasconcelos, Eric Robert Hagen

Because of their abundance and sessile nature, plants often blend into the landscape, which can lead many people to be unaware of, uniformed, or uninterested in them. This phenomenon, known as “Plant Awareness Disparity” (PAD), contributes to a lack of support for the conservation of plants relative to animals. Strategies for mitigating PAD across diverse demographic groups remain poorly understood. To address this gap, we surveyed 318 people in Southeast Michigan with a combination of quantitative and qualitative questions designed to assess the four axes of PAD: Attention, Attitude, Knowledge, and Relative Interest. Results were statistically analyzed across gender, education, and age groups and assessed in the context of strategies for mitigation across demographics and axes. We found greater Relative Interest and Attention toward plants in non-males compared to males and greater Knowledge in the 18-29 age group relative to those 30 and over. Most notably, in a question where participants were asked to construct an ecosystem using abiotic and biotic features, bees were the most commonly selected biotic feature across demographics. We discuss how future plant conservation campaigns can overcome PAD by employing bees as “ambassadors” to increase care for plants and support for policies that protect threatened plant species. This strategy could close demographic gaps in PAD and increase support for plant conservation policies, benefiting society and natural environments.