Important modifications are occurring in temperate forests due to climate change; in polar latitudes their distribution area is increasing, while in tropical latitudes it is decreasing due to temperature increase and droughts. One of the biotic regulators of temperate forests are the debarking insects that cause the mortality of certain trees. These insects have increased in number, favored by climate change, and the consequences on forests have not been long in coming. In recent times in the northern hemisphere, the massive mortality of conifers due to the negative synergy between climate change and debarking insects has been evident. In Mexico, we have also experienced infestations by bark stripping insects never seen before; therefore, we are trying to understand the interactions between climate change, forest health and bark stripping insects, to detect the areas with greater susceptibility to attack by these insects and propose management measures to reduce the effects.

Flower-visiting insects may be pollinators or, conversely, unrelated to the reproductive process of plants. Interactions between pollinating and non-pollinating flower visitors can negatively influence pollen transfer. Little is known about the effects of bee visits on pollination of squash (Cucurbita spp.) flowers and their interactions with the presence of other floral visitors. The study was conducted at the Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias (Universidad Nacional de Rosario) in the south of Santa Fe (Argentina) and evaluated the effect of the presence of non-pollinating floral visitors on bee foraging in the flowers of two cultivated squash species. Flower sex and squash species C. maxima and C. moschata were included as variables. A total of 937 visitors were recorded in 403 flowers. Bees of the tribes Eucerini and Apini were the most abundant pollinators with an average of 2.3 individuals per flower during 10 minutes of observation. Diptera, flower sex and squash species did not influence the number of bee visits, whereas the prolonged stay of coleoptera and formicids negatively affected the presence of bees on both squash species. The presence of coleoptera reduced bee visits by 38%, while in the presence of ants, bees did not visit the flowers. The theft of nectar and pollen by non-pollinating floral visitors could have a negative effect on the reproductive success of squash.