This study has investigated the role that roadside verges play for bumblebees. On the one hand, flower-rich roadside verges can be valuable as they provide habitats for plants and a food source for pollinating insects. On the other hand, they can be a dangerous environment for insects to forage in. Flower-rich roadside verges have also been identified as a priority in Swedish nature conservation policy.
The researchers were assisted by specially trained dogs that had learnt to sniff out bumblebee nests. The survey covered 60 roadside verges across Skåne. The study compared the number of live and dead bumblebees along roads with varying levels of traffic. The researchers found more dead bumblebees when traffic flow was high compared to when it was low.
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The full text is available in Swedish only: Blomsterprakten som skördar trafikoffer | Biologiska institutionen
The study has recently been published in the scientific journal Biological Conservation: High traffic-related mortality and few nests indicate limited value of public road verges for bumblebee populations - ScienceDirect