Seasonal dynamics of competition between honey bees and wild bees in a protected Mediterranean scrubland

AbstractMass-flowering crop monocultures, like sunflower, cannot harbour a permanent pollinator community. Their pollination is best secured if both managed honey bees and wild pollinators are present in the agricultural landscape. Semi-natural habitats are known to be the main foraging and nesting areas of wild pollinators, thus benefiting their populations, whereas crops flowering simultaneously may competitively dilute pollinator densities. In our study we asked how landscape structure affects major pollinator groups’ visiting frequency on 36 focal sunflower fields, hypothesising that herbaceous semi-natural (hSNH) and sunflower patches in the landscape neighbourhood will have a scale-dependent effect. We found that an increasing area and/or dispersion of hSNH areas enhanced the visitation of all pollinator groups. These positive effects were scale-dependent and corresponded well with the foraging ranges of the observed bee pollinators. In contrast, an increasing edge density of neighbouring sunflower fields resulted in considerably lower visiting frequencies of wild bees. Our results clearly indicate that the pollination of sunflower is dependent on the composition and configuration of the agricultural landscape. We conclude that an optimization of the pollination can be achieved if sufficient amount of hSNH areas with good dispersion are provided and mass flowering crops do not over-dominate the agricultural landscape.

Download Full-text

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

Journal of Apicultural Science ◽

10.1515/jas-2016-0031 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 60 (2) ◽

pp. 179-192 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

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.

Download Full-text

Wild bees enhance honey bees' pollination of hybrid sunflower

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.0600929103 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 103 (37) ◽

pp. 13890-13895 ◽

Cited By ~ 296

Author(s):

S. S. Greenleaf ◽

C. Kremen

Keyword(s):

Honey Bees ◽

Wild Bees ◽

Hybrid Sunflower

Download Full-text

Resource overlap and possible competition between honey bees and wild bees in central Europe

Oecologia ◽

10.1007/s004420050034 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 122 (2) ◽

pp. 288-296 ◽

Cited By ~ 108

Author(s):

I. Steffan-Dewenter ◽

T. Tscharntke

Keyword(s):

Central Europe ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Wild Bees ◽

Resource Overlap

Download Full-text

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

The Canadian Entomologist ◽

10.4039/n07-065 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 140 (3) ◽

pp. 348-363 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

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.

Download Full-text

Competition between honey bees and wild bees and the role of nesting resources in a nature reserve

Journal of Insect Conservation ◽

10.1007/s10841-013-9609-1 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 17 (6) ◽

pp. 1275-1283 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Anika Hudewenz ◽

Alexandra-Maria Klein

Keyword(s):

Honey Bees ◽

Nature Reserve ◽

Wild Bees ◽

Nesting Resources

Download Full-text

Evaluation of Deutzia x carnea (Lem.) Rehd. as a food source to urban bees

Acta Agrobotanica ◽

10.5586/aa.2012.019 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 65 (4) ◽

pp. 29-38 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marzena Masierowska

Keyword(s):

Honey Bees ◽

Sugar Content ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Flowering Phenology ◽

Floral Display ◽

Wild Bees ◽

Enrich Food ◽

Pollen Productivity ◽

The Mean ◽

Ornamental Shrub

This 3-year study examined the flowering phenology, to- tal floral display, nectar and pollen production as well as bee visitation to the ornamental shrub Deutzia x carnea (Lem.) Rehd. D. x carnea bloomed from early June until the middle of July. The total flower display reached 47927 flowers per plant. The number of developed flowers strongly depended on weather conditions before and during the flowering period and fluctuated significantly during the years of study. The flower of D. x carnea lived 5 days and the persistence of an inflorescence was 11 days. Nectar productivity per 10 flowers differed significantly between the years of study and ranged between 15.7 and 40.14 mg. Mean sugar content in nectar was 39.7%. The total sugar mass in nectar per 10 flowers averaged 9.91 mg (range: 3.81 – 18.91 mg). Pollen mass per 10 flowers was 16.89 mg. The estimated sugar and pollen productivity per plant was 36.8 g and 40 g, respectively. Among bees (Apoidea), honey bees were principal visitors on Deutzia flowers. The peak of daily activity of honey bees and bumblebees occurred between 11.00 and 15.00 hrs, whereas the presence of other wild bees was noted in the morning and in the late afternoon. All bees gathered mainly nectar, but pollen collectors were also noted. The mean daily visiting rate was 0.0809 visits per flower × min-1. The use of this shrub in gardens and parks should be encouraged in order to enrich food pasture for urban Apoidea. However, its cultivation is limited to areas of mild climate and adequate water supply.

Download Full-text