A Novel Pollen Transfer Mechanism by Honey Bee Foragers on Highbush Blueberry (Ericales: Ericaceae)

Hoffman, George D.; Lande, Claire; Rao, Sujaya

doi:10.1093/ee/nvy162

Cited by 27 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Smaller pollen pellets on honey bee corbiculae could fail to dislodge in pollen traps. Furthermore, another recent study documented the presence of blueberry pollen on various parts of the honey bee bodies that were visiting blueberry flowers (Hoffman 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Pollen Diversity Available to Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Major Cropping Systems During Pollination in the Western United States

Topitzhofer

Lucas

Chakrabarti

et al. 2019

Journal of Economic Entomology

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Global western honey bee, Apis mellifera (L.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), colony declines pose a significant threat to food production worldwide. Poor nutrition resulting from habitat loss, extensive monocultures, and agricultural intensification is among the several suggested drivers for colony declines. Pollen is the primary source of protein for honey bees; therefore, both pollen abundance and diversity are critical for colony growth and survival. Many cropping systems that employ honey bee colonies for pollination may lack sufficient pollen diversity and abundance to provide optimal bee nutrition. In this observational study, we documented the diversity and relative abundance of pollen collected by honey bees in five major pollinator-dependent crops in the western United States. We sampled pollen from pollen traps installed on honey bee colonies in the following cropping systems—almond, cherry, highbush blueberry, hybrid carrot, and meadowfoam. The pollen diversity was estimated by documenting the number of different pollen pellet colors and plant taxa found in each pollen sample. The lowest pollen diversity was found in almond crop. Relatively higher quantities of pollen collection were collected in almond, cherry, and meadowfoam cropping systems. The information gleaned from this study regarding pollen diversity and abundance may help growers, land managers, and beekeepers improve pollen forage available to bees in these cropping systems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Pollen Diversity Available to Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Major Cropping Systems During Pollination in the Western United States

Topitzhofer

Lucas

Chakrabarti

et al. 2019

Journal of Economic Entomology

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“…The artificial pollination experiment showed that the pollination level within a certain range significantly affects the seed set, yield, and fruit quality of 'Bluecrop' blueberry. The pollination of various 'Bluecrop' blueberry cultivars also showed that the number of pollen grains deposited on stigmas was often positively correlated with the seed number, single fruit weight, and fruit grade of 'Bluecrop' blueberry (Burd, 1994;Dogterom, 1999;Dogterom et al, 2000;Hoffman et al, 2018). For example, a positive relationship between the seed number per fruit and fruit grade was observed in northern highbush 'Bluecrop' blueberry, showing that the more seeds per fruit, the larger the fruit was (Dogterom et al, 2000;Shore and Barrett, 1984), which is because fruit enlargement is stimulated by auxin secreted by fertilized ovules or developing seeds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differences in Pollination Efficiency Among Three Bee Species in a Greenhouse and Their Effects on Yield and Fruit Quality of Northern Highbush ‘Bluecrop’ Blueberry

Sun¹,

Zhao²,

Wu³

et al. 2021

horts

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Different pollinators exhibit different adaptability to plants. Here, we compared the performance in visiting frequency and pollination efficiency among three bee pollinators (Bombus terrestris, Apis cerana, and Apis mellifera) on greenhouse-grown northern highbush ‘Bluecrop’ blueberry plants and evaluate their effects on yield and fruit quality. Our results indicated that the duration of daily flower-visiting of B. terrestris was 24 and 64 minutes longer than that of A. cerana and A. mellifera, respectively, and the visiting time of a single flower for B. terrestris was substantially shorter than the other two bee species, and pollen deposition on the stigma from single visit by B. terrestris was twice and three times that of A. cerana and A. mellifera, respectively. The yield of individual plants pollinated by B. terrestris showed an increase of 11.4% and 20.0% compared with the plants pollinated by A. cerana and A. mellifera, respectively, with the rate of Grade I fruit (>18 mm diameter) reaching 50.8%, compared with 32.9% and 22.5% for A. cerana and A. mellifera groups, respectively. Moreover, the early-to-midseason yield of plants pollinated by B. terrestris was higher, and the ripening time was 3 to 4 days earlier. An artificial pollination experiment demonstrated that seed set of high (≈300), medium (90–110), and low (20–30) pollination amounts were 43.0%, 42.5%, and 10.5%, respectively, and the corresponding mean weights of single fruits (related to the seed number inside) were 2.8, 2.7, and 1.2 g, respectively. The highly efficient pollination of B. terrestris was attributed to its behavior of buzz-pollination. Therefore, it is preferential for pollination of ‘Bluecrop’ blueberry in the greenhouse.

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“…In Michigan and Oregon, we sampled bees on highbush blueberry ( Vaccinium corymbosum L.). Native bee pollination is important for blueberry because pollen is most effectively removed by bees capable of sonication (Javorek et al ), but see Hoffman et al (). Previous research found 30 species of bees present on blueberry fields in Oregon (Rao et al ) and 112 species in Michigan (Tuell et al ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mismatched outcomes for biodiversity and ecosystem services: testing the responses of crop pollinators and wild bee biodiversity to habitat enhancement

et al. 2019

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Supporting ecosystem services and conserving biodiversity may be compatible goals, but there is concern that service‐focused interventions mostly benefit a few common species. We use a spatially replicated, multiyear experiment in four agricultural settings to test if enhancing habitat adjacent to crops increases wild bee diversity and abundance on and off crops. We found that enhanced field edges harbored more taxonomically and functionally abundant, diverse, and compositionally different bee communities compared to control edges. Enhancements did not increase the abundance or diversity of bees visiting crops, indicating that the supply of pollination services was unchanged following enhancement. We find that actions to promote crop pollination improve multiple dimensions of biodiversity, underscoring their conservation value, but these benefits may not be spilling over to crops. More work is needed to identify the conditions that promote effective co‐management of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

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A Novel Pollen Transfer Mechanism by Honey Bee Foragers on Highbush Blueberry (Ericales: Ericaceae)

Cited by 27 publications

References 16 publications

Assessment of Pollen Diversity Available to Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Major Cropping Systems During Pollination in the Western United States

Assessment of Pollen Diversity Available to Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Major Cropping Systems During Pollination in the Western United States

Differences in Pollination Efficiency Among Three Bee Species in a Greenhouse and Their Effects on Yield and Fruit Quality of Northern Highbush ‘Bluecrop’ Blueberry

Mismatched outcomes for biodiversity and ecosystem services: testing the responses of crop pollinators and wild bee biodiversity to habitat enhancement

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