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Wild Bees Can
Be Effective Pollinators
Three-year study finds possible alternatives to honey bees
Full text of the article (HTML or PDF).
Lanham, MD; March 24, 2009 – Over the past few years, honey bee keepers have
experienced problems due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), which has hurt honey
bee populations, causing some growers of fruits, nuts and vegetables to wonder
how their crops will be pollinated in the future. A
new study published in the
Annals of the Entomological Society of America shows that wild bees,
which are not affected by CCD, may serve as a pollination alternative.
In the article “Wild Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila) of the Michigan
Highbush Blueberry Agroecosystem,” authors Julianna K. Tuell (Michigan State
University), John S. Ascher (American Museum of Natural History), and Rufus
Isaacs (Michigan State University) report the results of a three-year study
which took place on 15 southwestern Michigan blueberry farms. Using traps and
direct observation, the authors identified 166 bee species, 112 of which were
active during the blueberry blooming period. Many of these species visit more
flowers per minute and deposit more pollen per visit than honey bees (Apis
mellifera L.), and most of them are potential blueberry pollinators.
“This should help growers know what kinds of bees are in the fields so that they
can make informed decisions about whether they should modify crop management
practices in order to help conserve natural populations of bees,” said Dr.
Julianna Tuell.
Unlike honey bees, which live together in hives, most of the bees found by the
authors were solitary bees that nest in the soil or in wood cavities. While
soil–nesting bees may be difficult to manage, the authors see potential for
cavity–nesting bees, such as several species of mason bees, to be managed by
growers who can support their populations by providing nesting materials.
“Untreated bamboo or reeds are good materials because they provide natural
variation in hole diameter to attract the broadest range of species,” said Dr.
Tuell. “There are also a number of commercially manufactured options that
growers can use, such as foam blocks with pre-drilled holes and cardboard tubes
made to a particular diameter to suit a particular species of interest. Drilling
different sized holes in wood is another option. If a grower is interested in
trying to build up populations of a particular species, there are also details
about how to do so available online.”
Besides blueberries, many of the species in this study also visit cherries,
apples, and cranberries, and managed mason bees are already being used to
pollinate cherry orchards.
Click here for full text of the article (HTML or PDF).
Annals of the Entomological Society of America,which is published
quarterly by the Entomological Society of America (ESA), was recently named one
of the
100 most influential journals in biology and medicine over the last 100 years by
the Special Libraries Association.
Founded in 1889, ESA is a non-profit organization committed to serving the
scientific and professional needs of nearly 6,000 entomologists and individuals
in related disciplines. ESA's membership includes representatives from
educational institutions, government, health agencies, and private industry.
More information on ESA is available at
http://www.entsoc.org.
Contact: Richard Levine, 301-731-4535, ext. 3009, or
rlevine@entsoc.org.
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