THE FIDELITY OF COMMERCIALLY REARED COLONIES OF BOMBUS IMPATIENS CRESSON (HYMENOPTERA: APIDAE) TO LOWBUSH BLUEBERRY IN SOUTHERN NEW BRUNSWICK

1996 ◽  
Vol 128 (5) ◽  
pp. 957-958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Troy L. Whidden
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
New Brunswick ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Bombus Impatiens ◽  
Crop Pollination ◽  
Vaccinium Angustifolium ◽  
Lowbush Blueberry ◽  
Native Bee

Lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait., V. myrtilloides Michx.) growers often use colonies of the European honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) to supplement native bee populations for pollination. Native bee fauna is thought to be insufficient in number and too unpredictable, in terms of numbers, from year to year to be relied on for adequate crop pollination (Kevan and LaBerge 1978; Mackenzie and Winston 1984; Mohr and Kevan 1987; Kevan 1988; Eck 1988).

scholarly journals Honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies benefit from grassland/ pasture while bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) colonies in the same landscapes benefit from non-corn/soybean cropland

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0257701
Author(s):  
Gabriela M. Quinlan ◽  
Meghan O. Milbrath ◽  
Clint R. V. Otto ◽  
Rufus Isaacs
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
The United States ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Bombus Impatiens ◽  
Bumble Bee ◽  
Social Bees

Agriculturally important commercially managed pollinators including honey bees (Apis mellifera L., 1758) and bumble bees (Bombus impatiens Cresson, 1863) rely on the surrounding landscape to fulfill their dietary needs. A previous study in Europe demonstrated that managed honey bee foragers and unmanaged native bumble bee foragers are associated with different land uses. However, it is unclear how response to land use compares between managed honey bees and a managed native bumble bee species in the United States, where honey bees are an imported species. Furthermore, to our knowledge, no such direct comparisons of bee responses to land use have been made at the colony level. To better understand how two different social bees respond to variation in land use, we monitored the weights of A. mellifera and B. impatiens colonies placed in 12 apiaries across a range of land use in Michigan, United States in 2017. Bombus impatiens colonies gained more weight and produced more drones when surrounded by diverse agricultural land (i.e., non-corn/soybean cropland such as tree fruits and grapes), while honey bee colonies gained more weight when surrounded by more grassland/pasture land. These findings add to our understanding of how different bee species respond to agricultural landscapes, highlighting the need for further species-specific land use studies to inform tailored land management.

THE BIOLOGY OF CANADIAN WEEDS. 2. SPIRAEA LATIFOLIA

1974 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. V. HALL ◽  
R. A. MURRAY ◽  
L. P. JACKSON
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Moisture Content ◽  
New Brunswick ◽  
Prince Edward Island ◽  
Soil Moisture Content ◽  
Mechanical Damage ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Vaccinium Angustifolium ◽  
Lowbush Blueberry

Spiraea latifolia (Ait.) Borkh., broad-leaved meadowsweet (Rosaceae), is a weed of pastures, lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait. and V. myrtilloides Mich.) fields and cranberry (V. macrocarpon Ait.) bogs of Eastern Canada, especially where soil moisture content is high during the growing season. Where S. latifolia occurs, other vegetation is lacking or depressed. Much time is lost in harvesting lowbush blueberries due to jamming of the S. latifolia stems among the tines of the rake or in cranberries due to mechanical damage to the harvesters. In Canada, S. latifolia occurs in Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba.

Honey bee stocking numbers and wild blueberry production in Nova Scotia

2012 ◽  
Vol 92 (7) ◽  
pp. 1305-1310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonard J. Eaton ◽  
Vilis O. Nams
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Megachile Rotundata ◽  
Vaccinium Angustifolium ◽  
Wild Blueberries ◽  
Stocking Rates ◽  
Wild Blueberry

Eaton, L. J. and Nams, V. O. 2012. Honey bee stocking numbers and wild blueberry production in Nova Scotia. Can. J. Plant Sci. 92: 1305–1310. Wild blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) require cross pollination by insects. Introduction of managed species such as honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) and alfalfa leafcutting bees (Megachile rotundata Fabr.) is costly. We assessed the effects of stocking rates of honey bee hives and the interacting effects of the numbers of honey bees and other bees on yield of blueberries in commercial fields. Blueberry fields were sampled from 101 fields in years 1991 to 2010 in Nova Scotia. We recorded field size, numbers of beehives, yield, densities of bees, numbers of buds, blossoms and set fruit. Yields increased linearly with numbers of beehives, up to∼4 hives/hectare, but at higher stocking rates there was too much variation to adequately determine the effects. Yields also increased linearly with numbers of honey bees, but there was an interaction with other bees that decreased the effects of honey bees, such that at maximum densities of other bees, there was no effect of honey bees on yield. These results suggest that other bees and honey bees compete for pollination. If producers have limited numbers of beehives, we suggest that more should be placed in areas where densities of other bees are lower, up to approximately 4 hives/hectare.

scholarly journals Abiotic and biotic factors affecting Rhagoletis mendax [Diptera :Tephritidae] populations in eastern Canadian lowbush blueberry fields

2005 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.S. Geddes ◽  
J.-P.R. LeBlanc ◽  
W.N. Yule
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Soil Acidity ◽  
Cultural Practice ◽  
Biotic Factors ◽  
Vaccinium Angustifolium ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Lowbush Blueberry ◽  
Rhagoletis Mendax ◽  
Abiotic And Biotic Factors

An investigation was carried out in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Canada, to identify natural regulatory factors, such as soil acidity and weed incidence, that could influence the occurrence of blueberry maggot (Rhagoletis mendax) populations in commercial lowbush blueberry fields (Vaccinium angustifolium). Over the range observed, the soil acidity had no detectable influence on the distribution and mortality of R. mendax larvae and pupae. Adult migrational patterns were affected by the cultural practice of burning on alternate years causing the emerging adults of burned fields to move toward sareasin production. There was also a positive correlation between the growth intensity of indigenous weeds and blueberry maggot infestation levels.

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