Bee pollination is essential for many fruits and berries grown in Virginia, including apples, blueberries, caneberries, and cucurbits. Native bees and other non-Apis bees play an important role in pollination alongside honey bees. A study surveyed bees on apple, blueberry, caneberry and cucurbit crops, finding a diversity of bee species including andrenid bees, bumble bees, and squash bees. The document provides recommendations to support native bee populations through habitat protection and integrated pest management practices.
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Tree Fruit and Berry Pollination in Virginia (and the mid-Atlantic by extension)
1. Bee Pollination of Tree Fruits & Berries
in Virginia
(an expanded version of a
presentation to Virginia
State Beekeepers on
16 April 2010)
Nancy Adamson, Richard Fell, Donald Mullins
VT Entomology Department
2. Program Overview
Tree fruits & berries grown in Virginia
Colony recommendations
Pollination research on non-Apis bees & a
little more pollination biology
honey
bee to
peach
3. Insect pollinated* fruit grown in Virginia
Rosaceae (rose family) Other fruit families
apple & crab apple, pear, Cucurbitaceae (cucurbit):
serviceberry, quince watermelon, musk melon
caneberry (raspberry, Annonaceae (custard-apple):
blackberry, black raspberry, pawpaw
wineberry) Grossulariaceae: gooseberry,
peach, plum, nectarine, currant
apricot Ebonaceae (ebony): persimmon
strawberry Caprifoliaceae (honeysuckle):
elderberry
Actinidiaceae (Chinese
Ericaceae (heath family) gooseberry): kiwi
blueberry, cranberry,
Passifloraceae: passion flower
huckleberry
Cactaceae (cactus): prickly pear
* Grapes and mulberries don’t depend on insects—can you think of others?
4. Most fruit crops benefit from cross-pollination
Some crop varieties*require cross-pollination
apples, blueberries, cherries, kiwis, persimmons, sunflowers,
caneberries**, and hemp (McGregor 1976, Free 1993, McConkey 2009)
two apple
varieties
*Variety is a horticultural term for plants of one
species with specific characteristics
•Red Delicious, Fuji, and Pink Lady apples
• Bing and Rainier cherries
5. Self-fertile plants—cross-pollination improves size and shape
Many caneberries** are sold as self-fertile
halictid bee
on raspberry
Autumn Bliss (l) & Josephine (r) raspberries
** Caneberries are raspberries,
blackberries, black raspberries, etc.
bumble bee on blackberry
6. Cross-pollination requirements/recommendations vary
tremendously by variety
Pollenizers are the pollen “donors”
Crab apples are often used as pollenizers in apple cultivation
•Bill Frieman of Doe Creek Orchard in Pembroke, VA prefers to use
compatible saleable varieties
Here, 2 varieties are
in different rows
Notice larger flowers
in left variety
7. Cross-pollinationneeds vary by variety
cherry pollination chart
Many of these cherry
varieties are self-sterile
Some are cross-
incompatible* (for ex.
Emporer Frances, Bing, &
Kristin)
Check with nurseries for
pollenizer requirements
Especially important to
match pollenizers to the
harvest variety by bloom
time
* Cross-incompatible
varieties cannot pollinate http://freedomtreefarms.com/chart
s/cherry/
one another
8. Pollination requirements and flower structure:
more ovaries require more visits
Prunus spp.: plums, cherries, peaches, apricots & almonds
very early spring flowering, single* ovary forms “stone” fruits, drupes
pollen
single ovary
*One visit may be adequate if the female parts are receptive, the pollen
viable, and the varieties compatible.
9. Flower parts may mature at different times—promotes cross-
fertilization (vigor in the big scheme)
Malus spp.– apples and crab apples
5 ovaries need multiple visits, generally proterogynous (pollen is
shed after stigma is no longer receptive--prevents self-fertilization)
apple flowers
&andrenid bee
ovaries
10. Aggregate* & accessory fruits (multiple ovaries & visits)
Rubus spp. – caneberries (drupelets)
Fragaria spp.– strawberries (seeds
are achenes)
blackberry raspberry
strawberry
*Fleshy fruit forms from ovary. Accessory fruit
(strawberries and apples) flesh forms from non-ovarial tissue.
12. Dr. Fell* recommends 1 to 2 honey bee colonies/acre for tree fruit
(~1 to 3 are recommended for berries)
plum pollination chart
Some self-sterile, cross-
incompatible, or low
sugar nectar crops need
more colonies
Red Delicious apples,
plums, pears
* Dr. Richard Fell is the
Apiculture Extension
Agent at Virginia Tech
http://freedomtreefarms.com/chart
s/cherry/
13. Some single ovary early bloomers may not benefit from
introduced honey bee colonies
Stone fruits, like peaches& nectarines, require thinning by hand
(apples can be chemically thinned)
honey bee on peach
single stigma
(leads to ovary)
14. Bees tend to move down rows—best to interplant pollenizers
Dwarf and semi-dwarf stock may need more colonies
dwarf stock=more densely planted
In this orchard layout,
pollenizers are
interplanted
http://www.taranakifarm.c
om
15. Fell’s “rule of thumb” for farmers to determine if there are
adequate bees in orchards
Monitor number of bees in 1 tree on a warm, sunny day
30 seconds
OK if 8 to 12 bees
(including bumble, mason,
and mining bees)
Average at several trees,
at various distances from
colonies
Osmia (mason bee)
on apple
17. Is a global pollinator decline affecting Virginia?
1
Periodic honey bee disease cycle
since 1915
approximately 15 to 20 year
cycle (Johnson 2010, Morse and Flottam
1997)
Status of Pollinators in N.
America, 2007 (Natural Resource Council
of the National Academy of Science)
Baseline data needed
Increasing pollinator dependent
crop acres (Aizen 2008)
18. Primary research objective
Investigate the role of native and other non-Apis bees in
pollination of entomophilous* crops in southwest Virginia
Available Virginia crop values:
apples $37.7 million
apple industry value=$235 million
(USDA-NASS 2009, VA Apple Board 2010)
tomatoes $88.3 million (USDA-NASS 2006)**
cucumbers $4.3 million (USDA-NASS 2006)
watermelons $3.6 million (USDA-NASS 2006)
**Not dependent on bees (except in
halictid bee greenhouses)—bee pollination improves yield &
on blueberry quality in field grown tomatoes.
*Entomophilous derives from Greek for “insects” and “that which is loved.” Unlike
wind pollinated plants, entomophilous plants attract insects with nectar, etc.
19. Study Area in SW Virginia
Virginia
Blacksburg
Undergraduate researcher, Jennifer
Kilby, collecting bowl trap specimens
at a caneberry site
20. Methods: Bee Surveys & Pollen Samples
Survey bees in apple, blueberry, caneberry, &
cucurbits
• Survey only when weather
conducive to bee activity orchard bee
• Visual counts & netting at on apple
flower at peak flowering time
• Bowl traps (for overall site
species richness)
• Pollen load samples (netted
at flower)
fluorescent blue bowl trap (withyellow
fluorescent & white bowls) in apple orchard—
soap in water breaks surface tension, bees drown
21. Insect pollinated fruit grown in Virginia
Study crops
apple
blueberry
caneberry
• raspberry
• blackberry
• black raspberry
mining bee
on apple
22. Other insect pollinated fruit grown in Virginia
watermelon, musk melon
pear, crab apple, serviceberry, quince (pome fruits)
peach, plum, nectarine, apricot(stone fruits)
pawpaw
strawberry
wineberry
gooseberry, currant
persimmon
cranberry, huckleberry
elderberry
kiwi
passion fruit
prickly pear honey bee on prickly pear
23. Crops with Virginia native relatives (shown in BLUE)—what
pollinated these before honey bees were introduced?
Rosaceae (rose family) Other fruit families
apple & crab apple, pear, Cucurbitaceae (cucurbit):
serviceberry, quince watermelon, musk melon
caneberry (raspberry, Annonaceae (custard-apple):
blackberry, black pawpaw
raspberry, wineberry) Grossulariaceae: gooseberry,
peach, cherry, plum, currant
nectarine, apricot Ebonaceae (ebony): persimmon
strawberry Caprifoliaceae (honeysuckle):
elderberry
Ericaceae (heath family)
Actinidiaceae (Chinese
blueberry, cranberry,
gooseberry): kiwi
huckleberry
Passifloraceae: passion flower
Have more VA relatives
not shown Cactaceae (cactus): prickly pear
24. Besides honey bees, what other bees are important crop
pollinators in the mid-Atlantic region? mining bees
mason bees, Osmia spp. Andrena spp.
bumble bees
Bombus spp.
squash bees
Peponapispruinosa halictid (sweat) bees
Xenoglossastrenua (various genera)
Osmia photos by T’ai Roulston, http://people.virginia.edu/~thr8z/Bee_Diversity/Blandy_Bee_Diversity.php
25. Honey bees are eusocial, bumble bees are primitively
eusocial, and most other bees are solitary
Bumble bee queens start a Female solitary bees make
new colony in spring and provision their nests
alone
mining bee (solitary)
blue
orchard bee
(solitary)
26. Some bees are active in cooler temperatures in spring or earlier
in the morning than honey bees
early spring bees
bumble bees, Bombus spp.
mining bees, Andrena spp.
blue orchard bees, Osmia spp.
large carpenter bees, Xylocopa spp.
summertime early risers
bumble bees, Bombus spp.
squash bees,XenoglossastrenuaPeponapispruinosa
large carpenter bees, Xylocopa spp.
some work later into the evening
many, including bumble bees
27. Many native bees “buzz” pollinate—sonicating flowers
improves pollination of crops like blueberry tomato
Nightshade heath families (tomato blueberry, etc)
pollen is only released when sonicated,
like sound is released from a tuning fork
29. Andrenid bees were the most common genus on apple and
blueberry (27 species of Andrena in 70 total species on apple)
Andrenabarbarawas
the most common
species on apple (1/4
of all specimens
collected).
30. Next step: Compare bee species richness
with landscape metrics
vegetation, land cover classes (NLCD), soil (SSURGO)
compare data freely available online versus field surveys
31. Management Implications: Practices that support native bee
populations like protecting natural areas also benefit honey bees
Some of the best pollen nectar sources are found in natural areas
willow, tulip tree, locust, sourwood, sumac, wingstem,
goldenrod…
bees!!!
on wingstem
32. Management Implications: Remind farmers to avoid chemical
use when bees are active or reduce use all together
You can’t move native bee nests—avoid spraying during the day
Bees collect pollen from many sources (even plants that are wind-pollinated)
Fungicides, though not intended for insects, harm bees
bumble honey bees
collecting corn pollen
33. Management Implications: Native bees nest in the ground
and in vegetation
Protect natural areas or create
buffer zones to support bees
leave brushy debris unless it may
harbor a pest species
provide nesting sites such as
wood blocks, bundles of reed, or
bare patches of earth
Many trees are fantastic sources
of nectar and pollen
stream buffers provide some of
the best habitat
Hedgerows also support other
beneficial creatures
spiders predatory wasps
34. The following links are in a small hand-out--they include info on
pollinator habitat identification
FRONT SIDE
Xerces Society: www.xerces.org
Farming for Bees: Guidelines for Providing Native Bee Habitat on Farms Using
Farm Bill Programs for Pollinator Conservation
Pollinator Partnership: www.pollinator.org
Selecting Plants for Pollinators: A Regional Guide for Farmers, Land Managers,
and Gardeners in the Southeastern Mixed Forest Province
North American Pollinator Protection Campaign: www.nappc.org
Reducing Risk to Pollinators from Pesticides
Bee Identification
Discover Life: www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Apoidea
USGS, Sam Droege: www.slideshare.net/sdroege/slideshows
VA, T'ai Roulston: people.virginia.edu/~thr8z/Bee_Diversity/Blandy_Bee
_Diversity.php
Florida (good intro): chiron.valdosta.edu/jbpascar/Intro.htm
Bug Guide: bugguide.net
35. BACK SIDE of HAND-OUT
National Biological Information Infrastructure:
pollinators.nbii.gov/portal/community/Communities/Ecological_Topics/Pollina
tors/Pollinator_Species/Invertebrates/Bees_and_Wasps/
USDA Sustaining Native Bee Habitat For Crop Poll’n
plants.usda.gov/pollinators/Agroforestry_Sustaining_Native_Bee_Habitat_for_
Crop_Pollination.pdf
SARE’s Managing Alternative Pollinators (for beekeepers, growers, and
conservationists) http://www.nraes.org/nra_map.html
Mid-Atlantic
VA Fruit Page: http://www.virginiafruit.ento.vt.edu/VAFS-bees.html
Mid-Atlantic Apiculture Research Extension Consortium: maarec.psu.edu
DE Dept of Agric: dda.delaware.gov/plantind/pollinator.shtml (several terrific
guides on native bees, native plants, and farming for bees)
MD DNR: www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/wabees.asp (Wild Backyard--Bees)
PA NJ: www.extension.org/mediawiki/files/1/15/NativeBees2009.pdf
36. Acknowledgements
Richard Fell, Donald Mullins--Co-
Advisors
Douglas Pfeiffer, Lisa Kennedy,
T’aiRoulston—Committee Members
Virginia State government—grant
support via the Virginia Cooperative
Extension
All the farmers who so generously give
access to their farms for this research
Sam Droege, US Geological Survey Bee
Guru
Margie Adamson, Sydney Church, Clare
Davidoski, Jennifer Kilby--behind the
scenes
VT Entomology Department
37. Thanks for use of photos from the following
web sources
http://www.holtanatomical.com/
http://appleparermuseum.com/Images/AppleLongSection230.jpe
g
http://comenius.susqu.edu/bi/202/ARCHAEPLASTIDA/VIRIDIPL
ANTAE/Flowering%20Plants/judd-photos/Frageria-flower-l-s.jpg
http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/vascular/ros.htm
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/~kenr/Photos/Prunus_flower.jpg
http://www.beeculture.com/content/pollination_handbook/196.gif
http://www.katsushikahokusai.org/Plum-Blossom-and-the-
Moon.jpg
http://knowledge.allianz.com/nopi_downloads/images/C5_plum_
pox_resistant_plum_genetically_modified_GMO_q.jpg
http://gemini.oscs.montana.edu/~mlavin/b436/labtotal.htm
http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/imgs/128x192/0000_0000/0504/03
00.jpeg
http://www.naturehills.com/images/productImages/gooseberry_re
d_big.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Asimina_triloba3.jpgto share a
Hopefully I haven’t forgotten anyone. If I have or you want
better photo with me, please contact me at nladamson@gmail.com.
Other photos are my own or acknowledged within the slides.
Good afternoon! I’ll be talking about fruit and berry pollination and honey bee recommendations, then about my research on non-Apis bee crop pollinators. I realize that as beekeepers, you know a lot about pollination.
Many of the fruits and vegetables we eat or the livestock we eat depend on insects for pollination. Can anyone think of fruit grown in Virginia that doesn’t require pollinators? The only ones I can think of are grapes and mulberries. You can see in this list, that the Rose family provides a lot of our fruit. We’ll return this list a little later.
In general, cross-pollination means pollen from another plant rather than pollen from the same plant leading to fertilization. But, when we talk about cross-pollination, we usually mean pollen from another or many other varieties. Variety is a horticultural name for plants within the same species that have specific characteristics, like Red Delicious versus Fuji or Pink Lady apples. Many self-pollinating varieties are sold, but even those varieties have improved size and shape when cross-pollinated. In this diagram (the larger symbols are cherries with a big X over them), all except Lapins require cross-pollination, and Royal Ann, Lambert, and Bing are incompatible. In apples, some growers use crab apples as pollenizers for a variety of reasons. Pollenizers are the plants that provide the main pollen source. Bill Frieman of Doe Creek Orchards in Pembroke prefers to use compatible varieties that are all harvested, similar to this chart for cherries.
In general, cross-pollination means pollen from another plant rather than pollen from the same plant leading to fertilization. But, when we talk about cross-pollination, we usually mean pollen from another or many other varieties. Variety is a horticultural name for plants within the same species that have specific characteristics, like Red Delicious versus Fuji or Pink Lady apples. Many self-pollinating varieties are sold, but even those varieties have improved size and shape when cross-pollinated. In this diagram (the larger symbols are cherries with a big X over them), all except Lapins require cross-pollination, and Royal Ann, Lambert, and Bing are incompatible. In apples, some growers use crab apples as pollenizers for a variety of reasons. Pollenizers are the plants that provide the main pollen source. Bill Frieman of Doe Creek Orchards in Pembroke prefers to use compatible varieties that are all harvested, similar to this chart for cherries.
In general, cross-pollination means pollen from another plant rather than pollen from the same plant leading to fertilization. But, when we talk about cross-pollination, we usually mean pollen from another or many other varieties. Variety is a horticultural name for plants within the same species that have specific characteristics, like Red Delicious versus Fuji or Pink Lady apples. Many self-pollinating varieties are sold, but even those varieties have improved size and shape when cross-pollinated. In this diagram (the larger symbols are cherries with a big X over them), all except Lapins require cross-pollination, and Royal Ann, Lambert, and Bing are incompatible. In apples, some growers use crab apples as pollenizers for a variety of reasons. Pollenizers are the plants that provide the main pollen source. Bill Frieman of Doe Creek Orchards in Pembroke prefers to use compatible varieties that are all harvested, similar to this chart for cherries.
In general, cross-pollination means pollen from another plant rather than pollen from the same plant leading to fertilization. But, when we talk about cross-pollination, we usually mean pollen from another or many other varieties. Variety is a horticultural name for plants within the same species that have specific characteristics, like Red Delicious versus Fuji or Pink Lady apples. Many self-pollinating varieties are sold, but even those varieties have improved size and shape when cross-pollinated. In this diagram (the larger symbols are cherries with a big X over them), all except Lapins require cross-pollination, and Royal Ann, Lambert, and Bing are incompatible. In apples, some growers use crab apples as pollenizers for a variety of reasons. Pollenizers are the plants that provide the main pollen source. Bill Frieman of Doe Creek Orchards in Pembroke prefers to use compatible varieties that are all harvested, similar to this chart for cherries.
Now we’ll take a closer look at individual flowers and how they relate to pollinators. Most of the earliest flowering fruit are stone fruits, with single ovaries. Attached to the ovary are the style and stigma, which form the female parts (the whole thing is the pistil), which are receptive sometimes. They receive pollen from the male parts, the anthers (that hold the pollen) and filaments (stamen for the whole thing). For fertilization to occur, the female parts have to be receptive, the pollen must be viable, and the varieties must be compatible.
In apples, which tend to bloom later than the stone fruits, multiple visits are required because there are 5 ovaries. In this central photo, the male parts are in different stages of maturity (they’re on the white filaments). The female parts aren’t that noticeable. They’re the green stems in the middle. This andrenid bee on the right can’t help contacting the female parts because the filaments are so closely packed that she’s forced to forage at the center. Some varieties are looser than this, allowing bees to forage only for nectar.
Aggregate fruits like raspberries and blackberries form from multiple ovaries. Strawberry seeds form from multilple ovaries, but the fruit derives from other tissue (this is also the case in apples and pears, so those are also accessory fruits, since the fleshy fruit is not derived from ovarial tissue.
Even though we refer to lots of other fruit as berries, in botanical or horticultural terms, true berries are those with a single ovary with multiple seeds, such as blueberries, gooseberries, and, believe it or not, pawpaw.
Dr. Fell generally recommends 1 to 2 colonies per acre for tree fruit. Some varieties are self-sterile or cross-incompatible, so may require more, as with some apples and plums. Pear nectar has relatively lower sugar content, so is less attractive. Because peaches and nectarines need to be hand thinned (apples are chemically thinned), colonies are not generally recommended. In terms of orchard layout, density of trees increases when dwarf and semi-dwarf varieties are used, so higher numbers of colonies may be needed. In the past, pollenizers were planted in separate rows, but studies of foraging habits showed that bees tend to move down rows, so now pollenizers are interplanted as often as every 3 or 4 trees.
Dr. Fell generally recommends 1 to 2 colonies per acre for tree fruit. Some varieties are self-sterile or cross-incompatible, so may require more, as with some apples and plums. Pear nectar has relatively lower sugar content, so is less attractive. Because peaches and nectarines need to be hand thinned (apples are chemically thinned), colonies are not generally recommended. In terms of orchard layout, density of trees increases when dwarf and semi-dwarf varieties are used, so higher numbers of colonies may be needed. In the past, pollenizers were planted in separate rows, but studies of foraging habits showed that bees tend to move down rows, so now pollenizers are interplanted as often as every 3 or 4 trees.
Dr. Fell generally recommends 1 to 2 colonies per acre for tree fruit. Some varieties are self-sterile or cross-incompatible, so may require more, as with some apples and plums. Pear nectar has relatively lower sugar content, so is less attractive. Because peaches and nectarines need to be hand thinned (apples are chemically thinned), colonies are not generally recommended. In terms of orchard layout, density of trees increases when dwarf and semi-dwarf varieties are used, so higher numbers of colonies may be needed. In the past, pollenizers were planted in separate rows, but studies of foraging habits showed that bees tend to move down rows, so now pollenizers are interplanted as often as every 3 or 4 trees.
How do you know if you have enough bees? Dr. Fell recommends observing one tree on a warm sunny day for 30 seconds and counting the bees you can see. Do this at several trees and at varying distances from honey bee colonies. If there are 8 to 12 bees on average, there are adequate bees. I would add that if you see bumble bees, mason bees, and andrenid bees, you can include them in the count.
My research started in 2006, just when colony collapse disorder became big, bad news, adding to concerns about potential global pollinator decline. At that same time, the National Academy of Science highlighted the need for more baseline data on pollinators in the US. Since then, Marcelo Aizen and colleagues investigated pollinator decline around the globe. Rather than a decline, he found increasing acreages of pollinator dependent plants, and so increasing demand for pollination services. That’s good news, but we still don’t know much about non-Apis bee pollinators in this region, so that’s been the focus of my work.
I’ve been studying bee pollinators on entomophilous croups in southwest Virginia. Entomophilous derives from Greek for “insects” and “that which is loved.” Unlike wind pollinated plants, entomophilous plants have developed mechanisms to attract insects, such as nectar. The crops I’ve looked at are apple, blueberry, caneberry, and cucurbits, and I’ll highlight results of the fruit research.
The study area is SW VA within about a 75 km radius of Blacksburg and the VA Tech campus.
I surveyed crops from mid-April through the end of summer starting with apples and blueberries in spring, caneberries and cucurbits in summer. I did visual counts and netting at flower to understand pollinator visitation, and used bowl traps to get a sense of overall site species richness. I also collected pollen load samples to take a look at flower constancy.
These are some of the other fruits that grow in Virginia (besides tomatoes!).
Here’s that list we saw earlier. We have other fruit related to apple—hawthorne, chokeberries. It turns out another fruit, mountain ash, used to be in the same genus as pear, which is Pyrus, but mountain ash is now in the genus Sorbus. We also have chokecherries and other wild cherries, lots of wild type blueberries and huckleberry species. Though we don’t have native cucurbit fruit, most of our squash varieties are from the New World. So, who do suppose pollinated all these plants before the honey bee arrived? Native bees, of course!
The structure of some flowers allows pollen to be released when a certain vibration is emitted by the bees’ wing muscles. Honey bees can also vibrate their muscles, but don’t do so at the frequency needed for “buzz” pollination. Have you noticed not only the buzz of a bumble bee flying, but that special buzz when on some flowers?
When I observed flowers, I had to group bees into these categories (what I could recognize). Though I could often recognize some categories within these, I couldn’t be about identifications without using a microscope. There are many genera that look very, very similar. You can see that medium bees were especially important for apple and bluebberries.
Taking a closer look at species richness in one crop, andrenid bees were the most common genus on apple. Of 70 species found on apple, there 27 species of Andrena. However, of about 400 bees identified, nearly ¼ were one species of andrenid, Andrena barbara. Overall, for all crops studied, I found about 180 species of bees in 3 field seasons, which represent about ¼ of all known bee species in Virginia. Of these, 6 are state records, not necessarily because they are rare, but because there just has not bee a lot of sampling and identification (artifact of sampling) for a 100 years or so.
So, my next steps will look more closely at bee species richness and landscape metrics, comparing field measures of habitat diversity with data available freely online.
What I hope to share with farmers and land planners are practices that support native bee populations and also benefit honey bees. Some of the best pollen and nectar sources are in natural areas. Avoiding spraying chemicals when bees are active is just as important for native bees as honey bees.
What I hope to share with farmers and land planners are practices that support native bee populations and also benefit honey bees. Some of the best pollen and nectar sources are in natural areas. Avoiding spraying chemicals when bees are active is just as important for native bees as honey bees.
[Reiterate slide.] Protecting nesting areas of native bees also protects feral honey bees, and pollen and nectar resources of honey bees. One current trend in caneberries is the use of primocane varieties. These varieties are easier to manage because they are mowed down annually. But the canes provide nesting sites. Being aware of this, farmers could maintain some floricane varieties or wild caneberries, or keep cut canes on site until bees emerge in spring.
With that I’d like to thank all for your attention and so on…