Fruit Set and Single Visit Stigma Pollen Deposition by Managed Bumble Bees and Wild Bees in Citrullus lanatus (Cucurbitales: Cucurbitaceae)

2018 ◽  
Vol 111 (2) ◽  
pp. 989-992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua W Campbell ◽  
Jaret C Daniels ◽  
James D Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Fruit Set ◽  
Citrullus Lanatus ◽  
Bumble Bees ◽  
Pollen Deposition ◽  
Wild Bees ◽  
Single Visit

scholarly journals Analysis of Pollination Services Provided by Wild and Managed Bees (Apoidea) in Wild Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton) Production in Maine, USA, with a Literature Review

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1413
Author(s):  
Sara L. Bushmann ◽  
Francis A. Drummond
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Crop Yield ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Fruit Set ◽  
Bumble Bees ◽  
Wild Bees ◽  
Vaccinium Angustifolium ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Bee Communities ◽  
Wild Blueberry

Maine is the largest producer of wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton) in the United States. Pollination comes from combinations of honey bees (Apis mellifera (L.)), commercial bumble bees (Bombus impatiens Cresson), and wild bees. This study addresses (1) previous research addressing wild-blueberry pollination, (2) effects of wild-bee and honey-bee activity densities on fruit set, yield, and crop value, (3) the economic value of wild-bee communities, and (4) economic consequences of pollinator loss. Bee communities were sampled in 40 fields over three years (2010–2012) and bee activity densities were estimated for bumble bees, honey bees, and other wild bees. These data were applied to an economic model to estimate the value of bee taxa. Bumble bees and honey bees predicted fruit set and reduced its spatial heterogeneity. Other wild bees were not significant predictors of fruit set. Yield was predicted by fruit set and field size, but not pest management tactics. Our analysis showed that disruption in supply of honey bees would result in nearly a 30% decrease in crop yield, buffered in part by wild bees that provide “background” levels of pollination. Honey-bee stocking density and, thus, the activity density of honey bees was greater in larger fields, but not for wild bees. Therefore, a decrease in crop yield would be greater than 30% for large fields due to the proportionally greater investment in honey bees in large fields and a relatively lower contribution by wild bees.

Stigmatic Pollen Grain Deposition by Honey Bees and Bumble Bees after Single Bee Visits to Pistillate Watermelon Flowers

HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 484a-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.S. Stanghellini ◽  
J.T. Ambrose ◽  
J.R. Schultheis
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Light Microscopy ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Citrullus Lanatus ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Pollen Grain ◽  
Bumble Bees ◽  
Bombus Impatiens ◽  
Single Visit ◽  
Microscope Slides

As a means to assess pollinator efficiency, the number of pollen grains deposited by honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) and bumble bees (Bombus impatiens Cresson) after single visits to pistillate watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai] flowers was compared. Pistillate flowers were enclosed in nylon bags prior to anthesis, and were then exposed to single visits by each bee species (RCBD: 10 flowers per bee species per replicate; 4 replicates). Pollen grains were removed from stigmata immdiately after bee visitation by use of a glycerin jelly-gelatin mixture that was mounted onto microscope slides. Light microscopy was used to count the number of pollen grains per slide. Bumble bees deposited significantly more pollen grains than did honey bees (P < 0.05). After single bee visits to flowers, bumble bees deposited an average of 481 pollen grains, while honey bees deposited an average of 119 pollen grains. Although multiple bee visits are usually required to set watermelon fruit, this work demonstrates that bumble bees are more-efficient pollinators of watermelon at the single visit level than are honey bees.

scholarly journals 216 Squash Pollination by Honey Bees vs. Native Pollinators in Maine

HortScience ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 479C-479
Author(s):  
Laura C. Merrick ◽  
Frank Drummond ◽  
Constance Stubbs ◽  
Rhonda Weber
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Fruit Set ◽  
Bumble Bees ◽  
Native Bees ◽  
Wild Bees ◽  
Male Flowers ◽  
Parasitic Mites ◽  
Winter Squash

Managed and feral honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies have declined dramatically in the past decade due largely to parasitic mites, pesticide contamination, and severe weather. Squash (Cucurbita spp.) is one of many agricultural crops whose production may be negatively effected by decline of these pollinators. A study was conducted on a set of nine farms in Maine to assess the relationship between bee abundance and fruit set of summer and winter squash. The organic and conventional farms targeted in the study included farms with and without the presence of honey bees. With winter squash, fields with more bees tended to exhibit higher fruit set. The average fruit set was slightly higher for farms with honey bees (42%) vs. those without (35%), but both types of farms were similar to that found in controlled hand pollinations (31% on average). In contrast, fruit set for summer squash averaged 95% to 96% for all farms, regardless of the relative abundance of censused bees. Bumble bees (Bombus spp.) were the most abundant wild bees found pollinating squash. Farms with honey bees on average had higher numbers of bees in squash flowers than farms without honey bees, although a difference in preference for floral sex type was detected for bee taxa. Honey bees were much more likely to be found in female flowers, while bumble bees were more abundant in male flowers. Significantly more native bees were found in squash flowers on farms without honey bee hives, although native bees were still present to some extent on farms that were dominated by Apis mellifera.

Staminodes influence pollen removal and deposition rates in nectar-rewarding self-incompatible Phanera yunnanensis (Caesalpinioideae)

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-42
Author(s):  
Menglin Wang ◽  
Shuyin Huang ◽  
Manru Li ◽  
Doyle McKey ◽  
Ling Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Fruit Set ◽  
Removal Rate ◽  
Apis Cerana ◽  
Pollen Dispersal ◽  
Adaptive Significance ◽  
Western China ◽  
Pollen Deposition ◽  
Deposition Rates ◽  
Flower Visitation ◽  
Pollen Removal

AbstractStaminodes are sterile stamens that produce no pollen, exhibit diverse structures and perform various functions. Flowers of Phanera yunnanensis possess three fertile stamens with large anthers and long filaments, and seven staminodes with tiny anthers and short filaments. To investigate the adaptive significance of staminodes in this species, we studied effects of staminode removal on pollen removal and deposition, flower visitation rate and fruit set in Xishuangbanna, south-western China. Four species of nectar-foraging pollinators visited flowers, mostly Amegilla zonata and Apis cerana (2.80 ± 0.15 and 1.76 ± 0.41 visits h−1 per flower, respectively). Staminode removal did not affect fruit set, but increased visitation by A. cerana by 2.6-fold, reduced visitation by A. zonata by 68% and increased the pollen removal rate for both pollinators (all effects were significant). Staminode removal significantly reduced pollen deposition rate for A. zonata, but not for A. cerana. These results suggest that the staminodes of P. yunnanensis filter which insects act as pollinators and affect pollen removal and deposition rates. By reducing pollen removal rates, staminodes may implement a pollen-dispensing schedule that spreads pollen dispersal from individual flowers over multiple pollinators. By altering pollen deposition rates, staminodes may influence reproductive fitness in other ways.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Selected Ornamental Asteraceae as a Pollen Source for Urban Bees

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Wróblewska ◽  
Ernest Stawiarz ◽  
Marzena Masierowska
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bees ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Bumble Bees ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
Tagetes Patula ◽  
Single Plant ◽  
Calendula Officinalis ◽  
Wild Bees ◽  
Se Poland ◽  
Urban Conditions

Abstract Offering more floral resources for urban bees can be achieved by growing ornamental bee plants. The aim of the present study was to evaluate selected Asteraceae (Calendula officinalis ‘Persimmon Beauty’ and ‘Santana’, Centaurea macrocephala, Cosmos sulphureus, Dahlia pinnata, Tagetes patula, Tithonia rotundifolia, and Zinnia elegans) as pollen sources for pollinators. Under urban conditions in Lublin, SE Poland, the investigated plants flowered from late June to the end of October. The mass of pollen produced in florets and capitula was found to be species-related. The highest pollen amounts per 10 florets (10.1 mg) as well as per capitulum (249.7 mg) were found for C. macrocephala. The mass of pollen yielded by a single plant depended on both the pollen mass delivered per disk florets and the proportion of disk florets in capitulum, and the flowering abundance of the plants. A single plant of D. pinnata and a single plant of T. rotundifolia each produced the largest pollen mass. Mean pollen yield per 1m2 of a plot ranged from 6.2 g (Z. elegans) to 60.7 g (D. pinnata). Pollen grains are tricolporate, with echinate exine, medium or small in size. They can be categorised as oblatespherical, spherical, and prolatespherical. The principal visitors to C. macrocephala, C. sulphureus, and C. officinalis were honey bees, whereas bumble bees dominated on T. rotundifolia and D. pinnata. A magnet plant for butterflies was Z. elegans. Among the investigated species, D. pinnata, C. macrocephala, and T. rotundifolia were found to be the most valuable sources of pollen flow for managed and wild bees.

Bumble bees influence berry size in commercial Vaccinium spp. cultivation in British Columbia

2008 ◽  
Vol 140 (3) ◽  
pp. 348-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia M. Ratti ◽  
Heather A. Higo ◽  
Terry L. Griswold ◽  
Mark L. Winston
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Vaccinium Corymbosum ◽  
Bumble Bees ◽  
Wild Bees ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Berry Size ◽  
Dispersion Patterns ◽  
Potential Alternative ◽  
Fraser Valley

AbstractWe studied the abundance, diversity, and dispersion patterns of managed and wild bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) populations in commercial highbush blueberry and cranberry (Ericaceae: Vaccinium corymbosum L., Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) fields in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, and assessed their potential as pollinators of these crops by determining which groups of bees had the greatest impact on percent yield and mass of berries. Bumble bees were evenly distributed within both crops. Other wild bee species were well distributed in blueberry fields but generally remained at edges of cranberry fields. Percent berry yield was not related to bee abundance for any group of bees, nor was species diversity correlated with berry mass. Blueberry mass and cranberry mass were related to abundance of bumble bees but not to that of honey bees or other wild bees. Bumble bees are recommended as potential alternative pollinators of these crops.

scholarly journals Sensitivity of commercial pumpkin yield to potential decline among different groups of pollinating bees

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 170102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja C. Pfister ◽  
Philipp W. Eckerter ◽  
Jens Schirmel ◽  
James E. Cresswell ◽  
Martin H. Entling
Keyword(s):  
Crop Yield ◽  
Fruit Set ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Pollen Deposition ◽  
Insect Pollination ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Flower Visitation ◽  
Pollen Receipt ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Pollinator Fauna

The yield of animal-pollinated crops is threatened by bee declines, but its precise sensitivity is poorly known. We therefore determined the yield dependence of Hokkaido pumpkin in Germany on insect pollination by quantifying: (i) the relationship between pollen receipt and fruit set and (ii) the cumulative pollen deposition of each pollinator group. We found that approximately 2500 pollen grains per flower were needed to maximize fruit set. At the measured rates of flower visitation, we estimated that bumblebees (21 visits/flower lifetime, 864 grains/visit) or honeybees (123 visits, 260 grains) could individually achieve maximum crop yield, whereas halictid bees are ineffective (11 visits, 16 grains). The pollinator fauna was capable of delivering 20 times the necessary amount of pollen. We therefore estimate that pumpkin yield was not pollination-limited in our study region and that it is currently fairly resilient to single declines of honeybees or wild bumblebees.

scholarly journals Watermelon Phosphorus Requirements in Soils with Low Mehlich-I-extractable Phosphorus

HortScience ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 630-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
George J. Hochmuth ◽  
Ed A. Hanlon ◽  
John Cornell
Keyword(s):  
Fruit Set ◽  
Citrullus Lanatus ◽  
Extractable P ◽  
P Fertilizer ◽  
P Rate ◽  
Extractable Phosphorus ◽  
Phosphorus Requirements ◽  
Fertilizer Rates

Watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai] was grown at two sites differing slightly in Mehlich-I (double-acid) -extractable P (6 and 10 mg·kg-l soil). Early and total yields responded positively to P rate; however, maximum yields were obtained with small amounts of P fertilizer. The linear-plateau critical P fertilizer rates were 26 and 27 kg·ha-1 at sites 1 and 2, respectively. These critical rates were lower than those currently used for recommending P fertilizer on soils that have very low P. Phosphorus concentrations of most-recently matured leaves at early fruit set were 2.5 and 2.8 g·kg-1 at sites 1 and 2, respectively, with 0 P, and 4.4 and 4.8 g·kg-1 with the 25-kg P/ha treatment.

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