Samenvatting

Urban areas are growing faster and in many cases create a fragmented landscape, threatening biodiversity. There are numerous organisms that can adapt to urbanization, such as insects. Multiple studies show a worldwide decline in their numbers. Insects are indispensable because of their important ecosystem services, such as pollinating natural but also cultivated crops. Many bee species fulfill this role. Bees are declining due to the change of land use, but there are urban places that potentially benefit them, providing foraging and nesting sites. One of these examples are solar parks. The worldwide market for the construction of solar parks is growing and these are often large-scale and ground-mounted. An example of this is Shell Moerdijk in Noord-Brabant. To improve biodiversity in the park, seed mixtures with flowering plants have been sown in selected areas. This study focused on which bees can be found and if there is a difference in locations where they occur. It was found that there was one location where the amount of bees was greater than the rest of the locations, but the seed mixtures were not likely to be a factor in this. More time is needed for the seed mixtures to develop. In the future, more studies should show if there is any effect of the mixtures on the abundance of the bee species in the solar park.