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17 February 2017 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
J.W. Campbell, J. O'Brien, J. H. Irvin, C. B. Kimmel, J. C. Daniels, J. D. Ellis
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Abstract

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.

© The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com
J.W. Campbell, J. O'Brien, J. H. Irvin, C. B. Kimmel, J. C. Daniels, and J. D. Ellis "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," Environmental Entomology 46(2), 237-242, (17 February 2017). https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvx044
Received: 7 November 2016; Accepted: 23 January 2017; Published: 17 February 2017
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KEYWORDS
Bombus impatiens
bumble bee
highbush blueberry
pollination
Vaccinium corymbosum
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