Management of Wild Bees for the Pollination of Crops

Bohart, George E.

doi:10.1146/annurev.en.17.010172.001443

Cited by 130 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…There is increasing recognition of the importance of non-honeybees as crop pollinators (Bohart, 1972;Kevan, 1987Kevan, , 1990bParker et al, 1987;Torchio, 1987Torchio, , 1990Torchio, , 1991Torchio, , 1994Kevan et al, 1990a;Richards, 1987Richards, , 1993Roubik, 1995;Matheson et al, 1996). Nevertheless, pollinator populations seem to be declining world wide though the effects of pesticides, habitat destruction, spread of diseases and parasites, and competition from introduced flower visitors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pollinators as bioindicators of the state of the environment: species, activity and diversity

Kevan¹

1999

Invertebrate Biodiversity as Bioindicators of Sustainable Landscapes

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Pollinators and pollination are crucial in the functioning of almost all terrestrial ecosystems including those dominated by agriculture because they are in the front line of sustainable productivity through plant reproduction. Pollinators are bioinidicators as individuals and populations in that they can be used to monitor environmental stress brought about by introduced competitors, diseases, parasites, predators as well as by chemical and physical factors, particularly pesticides and habitat modification. Honeybees are useful as samplers of the environments in which they are kept and have been used to assess atmospheric and other types of pollution. Pollinator guildes offer new means of assessing ecosystemic health because the species diversity and abundance relationship is changed from the log-normal standard expected from ecological principles and niche theory.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, honeybees are not the best pollinators for all crops (Bohart, 1972;Westerkamp, 1991;. Other bees that do not produce harvestable quantities of honey, if any at all, can be are managed or have potential for management as pollinators of particular crops.…”

Section: Pollination Pollinators and Anthophilesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollinators as bioindicators of the state of the environment: species, activity and diversity

Kevan¹

1999

Invertebrate Biodiversity as Bioindicators of Sustainable Landscapes

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“…Such short-lived bonanzas may also favor one species at the expense of others. For instance, the alkali bee (Nomia melanderi), a native of the dry basins of the U.S. intermountain west, proliferates wherever blooming seed alfalfa combines with subirrigated alkali flats for nesting (Bohart 1972b). Clearly, some of North America's fauna of invertebrate pollinators, probably the vast majority, are not inextricably linked to pristine parks and reserves, but what balance, extent, and kind of human activities are compatible with their persistence?…”

Section: Possible Causes Of Pollinator Declinementioning

confidence: 99%

Causes and Extent of Declines among Native North American Invertebrate Pollinators: Detection, Evidence, and Consequences

Cane¹,

Tepedino²

2001

151

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“…Such pollination schemes are usually limited to relatively small geographic regions. To date, there are three species of solitary bees that are produced on a commercial basis to provide this kind of pollination service: Nomia melanderi, used in the U.S. and New Zealand for alfalfa pollination, Megachile rotundata, used in several countries also for alfalfa; and Osmia cornifrons, used in Japan and the eastern U.S. for apples and almonds (reviewed by Bohart, 1972;Torchio, 1987;Maeta, 1990). A relatively new candidate for commercial rearing is Osmia lignaria, which is used in North America for a number of fruit crops, notably almonds and apples (Torchio, 1987;Bosch and Kemp, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A century of advances in bumblebee domestication and the economic and environmental aspects of its commercialization for pollination

Velthuis¹,

Doorn²

2006

Apidologie

784

849

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-This paper reviews a century of progress in techniques of bumblebee rearing, starting with those used to encourage bumblebee queens to initiate a colony in artificial domiciles and including those needed for the commercial production of large numbers of colonies for the pollination of agricultural crops. Five species of bumblebees are currently used for crop pollination, the major ones being Bombus terrestris from Eurasia and Bombus impatiens from North America. As a result of their frequent use in foreign territories, there have been reports of B. terrestris becoming established, as well as interactions and/or competition with local (bumble-) bee fauna. Of the many vegetable, fruit and seed crops that bumblebees pollinate, greenhouse tomatoes are of predominant importance. In 2004, 40 000 ha of tomato crops were pollinated, with a crop value of e 12 000 million. The growers benefit from bumblebee pollination because of lower production costs, increased yields, and improved fruit quality. The interrelationship between commercial mechanisms and ecological risks is discussed.bumblebee / pollination / commercial rearing / economic value / ecological impact

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Management of Wild Bees for the Pollination of Crops

Cited by 130 publications

References 9 publications

Pollinators as bioindicators of the state of the environment: species, activity and diversity

Pollinators as bioindicators of the state of the environment: species, activity and diversity

Causes and Extent of Declines among Native North American Invertebrate Pollinators: Detection, Evidence, and Consequences

A century of advances in bumblebee domestication and the economic and environmental aspects of its commercialization for pollination

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