Native bees, honeybees and pollination in Oregon cranberries (BioResource Research)

Graduation date: 2010Farmers rely almost exclusively on the imported European honeybee (Apis mellifera L.)\ud for fruit and vegetable crop pollination services. The recent decline in honeybee health\ud has underscored the danger of relying on a single species to provide vital services.\ud Increasing pollinator biodiversity with native bees may provide biological insurance\ud against the decline of any particular species. By examining cropping systems, it is\ud possible to determine which native bees are providing pollination services and then\ud augment habitat to increase their numbers or attempt domestication. In this study, we\ud examined the native bee populations in the cranberry growing area of southern coastal\ud Oregon in order to determine if native bees play a significant role in cranberry\ud pollination. This two-year study surveyed four farms across a 22 km north-south\ud gradient. At least 27 bee species were observed during cranberry bloom (mid-May to\ud late June), of which five were observed foraging on the cranberry flowers. The imported\ud European honeybee and bumble bees (Bombus spp.) comprised 99.7% of foragers.\ud While honeybees and bumble bees foraged at comparable wind speeds, Bombus spp.\ud foraged at significantly lower average temperatures (P