Progeny Density and Nest Availability Affect Parasitism Risk and Reproduction in a Solitary Bee (Osmia lignaria) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae)

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahla Farzan
2008 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 298-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
SUSAN E. ELLIOTT ◽  
REBECCA E. IRWIN ◽  
LYNN S. ADLER ◽  
NEAL M. WILLIAMS

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (41) ◽  
pp. 10924-10929 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan R. Helm ◽  
Joseph P. Rinehart ◽  
George D. Yocum ◽  
Kendra J. Greenlee ◽  
Julia H. Bowsher

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Cairns Fortuin ◽  
Kamal JK Gandhi

AbstractFruit set, berry size, and berry weight were assessed for pollination by the solitary bee Osmia lignaria (Say) in caged rabbiteye blueberries (Vaccinium ashei Reade, Ericales : Ericaceae), and compared to that of uncaged rabbiteye blueberries which were pollinated largely by honey bees (Apis mellifera L). O. linaria produced berries that were 1.6mm larger in diameter and 0.45g heavier than uncaged blueberries. Fruit set was 40% higher in uncaged blueberries. This suggests that Osmia bees can produce larger and heavier berry fruit, but O. lignaria may be less efficient at blueberry pollination as compared to A. mellifera under field cage conditions.


2003 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 545-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig A. Abel ◽  
Richard L. Wilson ◽  
Richard L. Luhman

Until 1997, honey bees, Apis mellifera L., were used to pollinate Brassicaceae grown in field cages at the North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station (NCRPIS), at Ames, IA. At this time, a solitary bee, Osmia cornifrons (Radoszkowski), was first employed to pollinate the crop in field cages; however, a native bee species, Osmia lignaria subsp. lignaria Say, out-competes O. cornifrons in central Iowa for artificial nesting sites erected for rearing. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of these two solitary bee species for producing Brassica napus, B. rapa, and Sinapis alba seed in field cages. There was no difference in seed production for the S. alba accession, PI 209022, or the B. rapa accession, PI 278766, between the two species of Osmia. But, the B. rapa accession, PI 392025, and the B. napus accession, PI 469944, produced significantly more seed when pollinated by O. lignaria subsp. lignaria than by O. cornifrons. Because the native bee is easier to rear and maintain, it will be the pollinator of choice for control pollinating collections of Brassicaceae species maintained at NCRPIS. The commercial use of O. lignaria subsp. lignaria or the related subspecies, O. lignaria subsp. propinqua, should be investigated for improving the production of canola and rapeseed.


2006 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christelle Guedot ◽  
Theresa L. Pitts-Singer ◽  
James S. Buckner ◽  
Jordi Bosch ◽  
William P. Kemp

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abby E. Davis ◽  
Kaitlin R. Deutsch ◽  
Alondra M. Torres ◽  
Mesly J. Mata Loya ◽  
Lauren Cody ◽  
...  

Abstract Flowers can be transmission platforms for parasites that impact bee health, yet bees share floral resources with other pollinator taxa, such as flies, that could be hosts or non-host vectors (i.e., mechanical vectors) of parasites. Here, we assessed whether the fecal-orally transmitted gut parasite of bees, Crithidia bombi, can infect Eristalis tenax flower flies. We also investigated the potential for two confirmed solitary bee hosts of C. bombi, Osmia lignaria and Megachile rotundata, as well as two flower fly species, Eristalis arbustorum and E. tenax, to transmit the parasite at flowers. We found that C. bombi did not replicate (i.e., cause an active infection) in E. tenax flies. However, 93% of inoculated flies defecated live C. bombi in their first fecal event, and all contaminated fecal events contained C. bombi at concentrations sufficient to infect bumble bees. Flies and bees defecated inside the corolla (flower) more frequently than other plant locations, and flies defecated at volumes comparable to or greater than bees. Our results demonstrate that Eristalis flower flies are not hosts of C. bombi, but they may be mechanical vectors of this parasite at flowers. Thus, flower flies may amplify or dilute C. bombi in bee communities.


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