Protect Your Pollinators
(Page 3 of 7)
Like honeybees, bumblebees are general feeders that visit a
broad range of host plants. But many wild bees have
restrictive tastes and stick close to the plants they were
born to serve. Squash bees, for example, followed early
strains of squash as native people moved the crop northward
from Central America. Females emerge in early summer and
only fly in the morning when squash blossoms are open. In
the afternoon, you often can find males curled up asleep in
closed squash flowers (yes, bees do sleep). Cane recently
worked with the specialist bee that pollinates only
rabbiteye blueberries — and that does so with amazing
efficiency. The adult life of a specialist bee is quite
short, but in only a few weeks, just one of them often
out-pollinates 100 honeybees.
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Because specialist bees need pollen from specific plants,
they tend to stay close to home and forage in smaller
plantings, says James Tew of Ohio State University’s
Honey Bee Lab. Most native bees pose no problem for plants,
though leafcutter bees do harvest rounded leaf pieces from
roses, ash trees and several other plants, which they use
to build their nests. “The small amount of leaf
material taken is a bargain when the pollination activities
of leafcutter bees are considered,” Tew says.
Various species of leafcutter bee have been found to be
much better pollinators of alfalfa, blueberries, carrots,
sunflowers and onions than honeybees. For example, in an
enclosed greenhouse where carrots were being grown for
seed, researchers found that 150 leafcutter bees could do
the work of 3,000 honeybees. One non-native species, the
alfalfa leafcutter bee, is now reared by the millions
because it does such an outstanding job pollinating alfalfa
grown for seed.
The Native Edge
Particular characteristics contribute to native bees’
pollination talents. Many native bees are quite hairy, and
tufts of hair (such as those on the abdomens of female
leafcutter bees) serve as soft brushes that gently transfer
pollen from a flower’s stamens to its stigma (the
female part that connects to the ovary). The buzz factor
also is important because some flowers, such as blueberries
and most members of the tomato family, need to be vibrated
to shake the pollen loose from the stamens. Scientists call
this process “sonication,” but Arizona
entomologist Stephen Buchmann (co-author of The Forgotten
Pollinators) came up with another phrase: “buzz
pollination.” Bumblebees, digger bees and several
other native bees are great buzz pollinators.
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