Native Bees of Massachusetts Cranberry: Changes Over the Years Noel Hahn Umass Amherst, Cranberry Station

University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Cranberry Station Outreach and Public Service Cranberry Station Extension meetings Activities 2017 Native Bees of Massachusetts Cranberry: Changes over the years Noel Hahn UMass Amherst, Cranberry Station Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cranberry_extension Part of the Agriculture Commons Recommended Citation Hahn, Noel, "Native Bees of Massachusetts rC anberry: Changes over the years" (2017). Cranberry Station Extension meetings. 244. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cranberry_extension/244 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Cranberry Station Outreach and Public Service Activities at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Cranberry Station Extension meetings by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Native Bees of Massachusetts Cranberry Changes over the years Noel Hahn University of Massachusetts Cranberry Research Station Pollination in cranberries • Bees are the main pollinators of cranberries • Different bees differ in their effectiveness • Number of flowers visited • Efficiency of pollen removal • Number of pollen grains deposited Honey bees and bumble bees • Abundance of honey bees • Nectar foraging honey bees may not pollinate as effectively • Weather constraints • Not as many as honey bees • Bumble bees can buzz pollinate • Helps to dislodge pollen • More efficient than honey bees Other bees Wild bees • Many are solitary bees • Nest in ground or wood • Exact contribution to cranberry pollination unknown • Visit cranberry flowers less frequently than honey bees or bumble bees • Weather • Vaccinium specialist • Melitta americana • Found in lowbush blueberry and deerberry What do we find in Massachusetts? • Bee collection dating from 2007 • 69 species without honey bees and bumble bees • Over 50% were sweat bees (Halictidae) • Halictus ligatus • Lasioglossum leucozonium • Melitta americana • Andrena vicina Halictus ligatus • Sweat bee • Native • Forages on over 100 different plants • Nests in soil free of vegetation or rotting wood • Dirt roads • Abundant • Widespread Lasioglossum leucozonium • Sweat bee • Introduced, but now established in US • Forages on over 30 plants • Nests on flat ground • Found from Wisconsin to New Jersey and north to Canada Melitta americana • Forages mostly on Vaccinium plants • Most Melitta are ground nesting • Are able to buzz pollinate Andrena vicina • Forages on almost 100 different plants • Nests in ground in sandy soil • Common, widespread across US Bees found on MA cranberry bogs 1990-1991 2007-2009 2016 6 23 45 28 42 40 336 190 1,216 1,422 358 385 Honey bees Bumble bees Honey bees Bumble bees Honey bees Bumble bees Sweat bees Other bees Sweat bees Other bees Sweat bees Other bees 1.64 1.19 0.86 Diversity index Bees between 1990 and 1991 • 786 bees 1990-1991 • 336 honey bees • 385 bumble bees • 164 Bombus impatiens • 42 sweat bees • 23 other bees Honey bees Bumble bees • 39 species including honey bees and Sweat bees Other bees bumble bees Bees between 2007 and 2009 • 2,723 bees 2007-2009 • 1,422 honey bees • 1,216 bumble bees • 709 Bombus impatiens • 45 sweat bees • 40 other bees Honey bees Bumble bees • 39 species including honey bees and Sweat bees Other bees bumble bees Bees in 2016 • 586 bees 2016 • 6 of 11 sites did not stock honey bees • 190 honey bees • 358 bumble bees • 303 Bombus impatiens • 28 sweat bees • 6 other bees • 21 species including honey bees and Honey bees Bumble bees bumble bees Sweat bees Other bees Collecting bees near cranberry bogs in 2016 • 67 bee species not including honey bees and bumble bees • 1,123 bees collected • 374 Halictus ligatus • 209 Lasioglossum leucozonium • 78 Agapostemon virescens Rusty-patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) • US Fish and Wildlife declared this an endangered species • Forages on many plants • Tolerates colder climates • Nests in ground • Have been found aboveground in balls of grass and dirt • Parasitized by a cuckoo bee and Apicystis bombi • Pathogen spillover, pesticide use, habitat fragmentation and change • 34 found in 1990-1991, 1 found in 2009 Wild bees on cranberry bogs • We have an assemblage of wild bees in our region • Many do not forage on cranberry bogs • Generalist feeders • Potential conflict and competition with honey bees and bumble bees .

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