Pollination ecosystem service contributes tremendously to food security; however, little is known about the farmers' awareness of the ecosystem service to ensure conservation of pollinators. This study determined farmers' perceptions, knowledge, attitudes toward bees, and pollination in a maize-producing region of Zimbabwe using semistructured questionnaires (N ¼ 828). Generalized linear model and logit regressions were used to determine factors influencing farmers' ability to identify bees, knowledge of pollination, and fear toward bees, respectively. Identification of bees was positively related to education, years in farming, and negatively related to fear toward bees (p < .001). Fear toward bees was influenced by gender, knowledge of bee attack fatalities, and perception of the importance of bees (p < .001). The majority of respondents (67%) confirmed knowledge of pollination (v 2 ¼ 96.043, p < .001), and the probability of knowing pollination was higher for those who depended on media compared with extension and school education as a source of farming information (p < .001). Our findings suggest that to improve bee conservation, farmers should be made more aware of the diverse bee fauna, specifically regarding their benefits as pollinators compared with the few dangers (resulting from stings) in order to reduce fear and increase willingness to conserve bees. Bee awareness programs need to be accessible to women, youth, and those with less formal education as they exhibited the least knowledge. Our findings also support evidence showing that extension officers should consider various media options for the effective dissemination of information to the different target audiences.

The COVID-19 pandemic is fast driving the ways of life and economies. In this study, we used Zimbabwe as a case study to assess how different forms of media are being utilised to access information of the COVID-19 disease (across age, educational level, and employment status). We investigated people’s perceptions of the origins of COVID-19, its implication on the continued consumption of meat from wildlife species by humans, and management strategies of wildlife species that harbour the coronavirus. We gathered 139 responses using an online structured questionnaire survey. Social media platforms were used to acquire information on the COVID-19 pandemic when compared to traditional sources (television, radio, and newspapers). Most respondents thought that the COVID-19 virus was created by humans (n = 55, mostly the young and middle-aged) while others believed that it originated from animals (n = 54, mostly middle-aged with postgraduate qualifications). The majority (73%) of respondents who cited COVID-19 origin as animals also supported a ban on consumption of meat from the species. The middle-aged respondents (in comparison to the young and older respondents) and those who were employed (compared to the unemployed) were more likely to support the ban in wildlife trade. The likelihood of visiting wildlife centres given the consequences of COVID-19 was significantly lower in the old-aged respondents when compared to the young and the middle-aged respondents. Our results emphasize the need for science to penetrate social media circles to provide appropriate information. The observed perceptions about visiting wildlife centres could negatively impact conservation funding.

Worldwide bees provide an important ecosystem service of plant pollination. Climate change and land‐use changes are among drivers threatening bee survival with mounting evidence of species decline and extinction. In developing countries, rural areas constitute a significant proportion of the country's land, but information is lacking on how different habitat types and weather patterns in these areas influence bee populations. This study investigated how weather variables and habitat‐related factors influence the abundance, diversity, and distribution of bees across seasons in a farming rural area of Zimbabwe. Bees were systematically sampled in five habitat types (natural woodlots, pastures, homesteads, fields, and gardens) recording ground cover, grass height, flower abundance and types, tree abundance and recorded elevation, temperature, light intensity, wind speed, wind direction, and humidity. Zero‐inflated models, censored regression models, and PCAs were used to understand the influence of explanatory variables on bee community composition, abundance, and diversity. Bee abundance was positively influenced by the number of plant species in flower ( p < .0001). Bee abundance increased with increasing temperatures up to 28.5°C, but beyond this, temperature was negatively associated with bee abundance. Increasing wind speeds marginally decreased probability of finding bees. Bee diversity was highest in fields, homesteads, and natural woodlots compared with other habitats, and the contributions of the genus Apis were disproportionately high across all habitats. The genus Megachile was mostly associated with homesteads, while Nomia was associated with grasslands. Synthesis and applications. Our study suggests that some bee species could become more proliferous in certain habitats, thus compromising diversity and consequently ecosystem services. These results highlight the importance of setting aside bee‐friendly habitats that can be refuge sites for species susceptible to land‐use changes.

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1. Worldwide bees provide an important ecosystem service of plant pollination. However, environmental pressures are threatening their survival. Information is lacking on how land-use systems and weather patterns in developing countries influence