Herbivore inoculation
B. rufimanus were collected over two weeks in early June from
faba bean crops in the southern region of Västergötland, where they had
already colonised the earlier flowering fields. In the H+ treatment
cages (N=14), 45 B. rufimanus individuals per
m2 (0.77 individuals per plant) were inoculated on the
16th of June, before crop bloom (BBCH-51:59). This
pest density was chosen based on surveys of B. rufimanusconducted by the Swedish Board of Agriculture in 55 faba bean fields
across Sweden between 2016-2019, which found that maximum naturally
occurring pest incidences in commercial faba bean fields were 0.5-1B. rufimanus per plant, depending on the region. To control for
herbivores in the H- treatment (N=14), cages were checked for B.
rufimanus and any individual was removed prior to pollinator
supplementation. No other faba bean crop pests, such as aphids, were
detected in the cages.