A somewhat counter-intuitive finding from Royal Holloway London is the observation that bumblebee colonies (important wild pollinators) thrive better in urban locations than they do in the countryside (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/27/bumblebees-thrive-in-towns-more-than-countryside). The colonies persist longer, are bigger and produce more queens to spread the species. The authors of the study consider many possible factors to account for the difference including noting that, in towns, there is a relative absence of some bumblebee brood parasites, a diverse range of flowering plants is found in gardens/parks and you do not find anything like the levels of insecticides and herbicides that are common in agriculture. I personally think that the last-mentioned factor is by far the most important. One could also add that there may be benefits for the town-based bees as flowers in these locations bloom at a variety of times (the agricultural processes generally result in pollen and nectar only being produced over short, defined periods).
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