Managed Bumble Bees (Bombus impatiens) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Caged With Blueberry Bushes at High Density Did Not Increase Fruit Set or Fruit Weight Compared to Open Pollination.
Highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) is an important crop grown throughout Florida. Currently, most blueberry growers use honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) to provide pollination services for highbush blueberries even though bumble bees (Bombus spp.) have been shown to be more efficient at pollinating blueberries on a per bee basis. In general, contribution of bumble bees to the pollination of commercial highbush blueberries in Florida is unknown. Herein, we determined if managed bumble bees could contribute to highbush blueberry pollination. There were four treatments in this study: two treatments of caged commercial bumble bee (Bombus impatiens Cresson) colonies (low and high weight hives), a treatment excluding all pollinators, and a final treatment which allowed all pollinators (managed and wild pollinators) in the area have access to the plot. All treatments were located within a highbush blueberry field containing two cultivars of blooming plants, 'Emerald' and 'Millennia', with each cage containing 16 mature blueberry plants. We gathered data on fruit set, berry weight, and number of seeds produced per berry. When pollinators were excluded, fruit set was significantly lower in both cultivars (<8%) compared to that in all of the other treatments (>58%). Berry weight was not significantly different among the treatments, and the number of seeds per berry did not show a clear response. This study emphasizes the importance of bumble bees as an effective pollinator of blueberries and the potential beneficial implications of the addition of bumble bees in commercial blueberry greenhouses or high tunnels.
Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Steinmetz Hall, Natural Area Dr., Gainesville, FL 32611-0620 (joshuacampbell@ufl.edu; hennellyi@ufl.edu; cbkimmel@ufl.edu; jdellis@ufl.edu).
J W
JW
Campbell
USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, 320 Green St., Athens, GA 30602 (jjobrien@fs.fed.us).
J
J
O'Brien
Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Steinmetz Hall, Natural Area Dr., Gainesville, FL 32611-0620 (joshuacampbell@ufl.edu; hennellyi@ufl.edu; cbkimmel@ufl.edu; jdellis@ufl.edu).
J H
JH
Irvin
Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Steinmetz Hall, Natural Area Dr., Gainesville, FL 32611-0620 (joshuacampbell@ufl.edu; hennellyi@ufl.edu; cbkimmel@ufl.edu; jdellis@ufl.edu).
C B
CB
Kimmel
McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, 3215 Hull Rd., PO Box 112710, Gainesville, FL 32611-2710 (jdaniels@flmnh.ufl.edu).
J C
JC
Daniels
Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Steinmetz Hall, Natural Area Dr., Gainesville, FL 32611-0620 (joshuacampbell@ufl.edu; hennellyi@ufl.edu; cbkimmel@ufl.edu; jdellis@ufl.edu).
J D
JD
Ellis
D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D056630:Beekeeping; D001516:Bees / Q000502:physiology*; D029798:Blueberry Plants; D005431:Florida; D005638:Fruit / Q000254:growth & development; D054817:Pollination; D013045:Species Specificity; D029796:Vaccinium / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*
Bombus impatiens; Vaccinium corymbosum; bumble bee; highbush blueberry; pollination