Do sown flower strips boost wild pollinator abundance and pollination services in a spring-flowering crop? A case study from UK cider apple orchards

•Flower strips increased wild insect but not honeybee visitation in orchards.•Fruit set was positively associated with wild bee visitation.•Wild bees have high rates of stigma contact and move frequently between trees.•Fruit set not elevated in flower strip orchards relative to controls.•Focus on early-flowering plants could maximise benefits for orchard pollination. Flower strips are widely recommended as a tool to boost insect pollinators and yield in pollinator-dependent crops. Using UK cider apple orchards (Malus domestica Borkhausen) as a model system, we assessed whether flower strips increased pollination services in orchards. Pollinator communities (visual observation) and pollination services (fruit set) were assessed at increasing distance from surrounding semi-natural habitats (0–200m) in eight orchards. In four orchards, perennial flower strips had been established and bloomed in the year before the main experiment. In a separate experiment, insect visits to apple flowers were observed to investigate possible functional mechanisms underpinning pollinator efficacy. The visit rate of wild insects to apple flowers (non-Apis bees and flies), but not that of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.), increased by 40% in flower strip orchards compared to control orchards, particularly in areas close to semi-natural habitat (