Foraging Biology of Neglected Bee Pollinators
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Psyche Foraging Biology of Neglected Bee Pollinators Guest Editors: C. Rasmussen, J. Nieh, and J. C. Biesmeijer Foraging Biology of Neglected Bee Pollinators Psyche Foraging Biology of Neglected Bee Pollinators Guest Editors: J. Nieh, J. C. Biesmeijer, and C. Rasmussen Copyright © 2010 Hindawi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved. This is a special issue published in volume 2010 of “Psyche.” All articles are open access articles distributed under the Creative Com- mons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Psyche Editorial Board Arthur G. Appel, USA Abraham Hefetz, Israel Mary Rankin, USA David Byrne, USA John Heraty, USA David Roubik, USA Christopher Carlton, USA DavidG.James,USA Michael Rust, USA D. Bruce Conn, USA Russell Jurenka, USA Coby Schal, USA Gary Dunphy, Canada Bethia King, USA James Traniello, USA JayD.Evans,USA Ai-Ping Liang, China Martin H. Villet, South Africa Brian Forschler, USA Robert Matthews, USA William (Bill) Wcislo, Panama Howard S. Ginsberg, USA Donald Mullins, USA DianaE.Wheeler,USA Lawrence M. Hanks, USA Subba Reddy Palli, USA Contents Foraging Biology of Neglected Bee Pollinators, J. Nieh, J. C. Biesmeijer, and C. Rasmussen Volume 2010, Article ID 134028, 2 pages Flower Constancy in the Generalist Pollinator Ceratina flavipes (Hymenoptera: Apidae): An Evaluation by Pollen Analysis, Midori Kobayashi-Kidokoro and Seigo Higashi Volume 2010, Article ID 891906, 8 pages Floral Resources and Nesting Requirements of the Ground-Nesting Social Bee, Lasioglossum malachurum (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), in a Mediterranean Semiagricultural Landscape, Carlo Polidori, Alice Rubichi, Valeria Barbieri, Luca Trombino, and Marta Donegana Volume 2010, Article ID 851947, 11 pages The Bumble Bees of Ukraine: Species Distribution and Floral Preferences, Irene B. Konovalova Volume 2010, Article ID 819740, 10 pages Analysis of Pollen Collected by Andrena flavipes Panzer (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae) in Sweet Cherry Orchards, Afyonkarahisar Province of Turkey,YaseminGuler¨ and Kadriye Sorkun Volume 2010, Article ID 160789, 5 pages Several New Aspects of the Foraging Behavior of Osmia cornifrons in an Apple Orchard, Shogo Matsumoto and Tsutomu Maejima Volume 2010, Article ID 384371, 6 pages Large Carpenter Bees as Agricultural Pollinators, Tamar Keasar Volume 2010, Article ID 927463, 7 pages Abundance and Diversity of Native Bumble Bees Associated with Agricultural Crops: The Willamette Valley Experience,SujayaRaoandW.P.Stephen Volume 2010, Article ID 354072, 9 pages Impact of Bee Species and Plant Density on Alfalfa Pollination and Potential for Gene Flow, Johanne Brunet and Christy M. Stewart Volume 2010, Article ID 201858, 7 pages Trade-Off between Foraging Activity and Infestation by Nest Parasites in the Primitively Eusocial Bee Halictus scabiosae, Andrea Lienhard, Lea Mirwald, Thomas Hotzl,¨ Ilse Kranner, and Gerald Kastberger Volume 2010, Article ID 707501, 13 pages Ambient Air Temperature Does Not Predict whether Small or Large Workers Forage in Bumble Bees (Bombus impatiens), Margaret J. Couvillon, Ginny Fitzpatrick, and Anna Dornhaus Volume 2010, Article ID 536430, 8 pages Patch Departure Behavior of Bumble Bees: Rules and Mechanisms, Dale E. Taneyhill Volume 2010, Article ID 872736, 9 pages Foraging Activity in Plebeia remota, a Stingless Bees Species, Is Influenced by the Reproductive State of a Colony,Patr´ıcia Nunes-Silva, Sergio Dias Hilario,´ Persio´ de Souza Santos Filho, and Vera Lucia Imperatriz-Fonseca Volume 2010, Article ID 241204, 16 pages Hindawi Publishing Corporation Psyche Volume 2010, Article ID 134028, 2 pages doi:10.1155/2010/134028 Editorial Foraging Biology of Neglected Bee Pollinators C. Rasmussen,1 J. Nieh,2 and J. C. Biesmeijer3 1 Department of Biological Sciences, Aarhus Universitet, Ny Munkegade 120, 8000 Arhus˚ C, Denmark 2 Section of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, Mail Code 0116, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0116, USA 3 Department of Biological Sciences, Earth and Biosphere Institute, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK Correspondence should be addressed to J. Nieh, [email protected] Received 12 April 2010; Accepted 12 April 2010 Copyright © 2010 C. Rasmussen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Charles Darwin [1] was fascinated by bees, particularly Floral Preferences (C. Rasmussen). Single bee species never bumble bees, and even recruited his children to trace their visit all of the different flowers in an area. Constraints on meandering paths through his garden [2]. Darwin’s curiosity floral morphology or flowering phenology may prevent them is part of a long history of interest in bee foraging biology. from doing so, but even more interesting, most bees have a This attention is well deserved because bees are key polli- preference for pollen of certain plant species. This section nators in diverse ecosystems, exhibit complex adaptations traces the preferred floral resources for three different groups such as recruitment communication, use foraging strategies of bees: Ceratina, Halictus, and Bombus. Kobayashi-Kidokoro that adapt to conditions inside and outside the nest, and and Higashi examined pollen loads brought back to the nest have evolved elegant solutions to the challenges of gathering by the small carpenter bee (Ceratina flavipes) and found that, scattered floral resources. Much research has focused on within a bee population, such loads consist of 14 different honey bees, a remarkable model organism. However, the pollen sources, although a single bee rarely exploits more goal of this special issue is to explore new research on than three different plants for pollen. While such preferences somewhat “neglected” bee pollinators. Many of these bees could be guided by local floral abundance, the authors are not traditional model systems but have recently received found that preference for certain pollen sources persisted, attention because they are native pollinators whose diversity even when the plant was uncommon. This phenomenon is and numbers are in decline [3]. In addition, concern about termed flower constancy, where individual pollinators prefer the decline of honey bees (Apis mellifera), a frequently used flowers of the same species that they are already foraging agricultural pollinator, has led to increasing public awareness at, thus bypassing other available flower species, even if that non-Apis species can also pollinate crops. This has the other flowers may be more rewarding. Polidori and increased interest in alternative pollinators, many of which collaborators likewise report a limited range of pollen sources are native bee species. for Lasioglossum malachurum, which can use from five to This special issue therefore examines a wide range of seven different pollen types but only visit one to two different bee species and is divided into three sections: (1) bee floral plant species during each foraging flight. This species, preferences in mixed landscapes, (2) the agricultural role of however, exhibits large annual variation in the preferred bees, and (3) influences on bee foraging activity. The first pollen type. Lastly, Irene Konovalova compiled all known section, floral preferences, provides data on the abundance information about the bumblebees (Bombus) of Ukraine. of different species and what they feed on. We then examine Most of these bumblebees are polylectic with regional and the role of diverse bee species in pollinating agricultural seasonal preferences to the same flowering plant species, crops. Finally, we explore different factors that influence bee with the exception of B. gerstaeckeri, which almost exclusively foraging activity inside and outside the nest. forages from Aconitum. 2 Psyche Bees and Agriculture (J. Nieh). This section begins with internal factors influencing foraging activity, particularly in papers examining the role of two solitary bee species in social bees. Nunes-Silva and colleagues report on a Brazilian crop pollination. Guler¨ and Sorkun report that Andrena stingless bee, Plebeia remota, where worker production stops flavipes (Andrenidae) is not an important pollinator of during the colder winter months. Temperature and relative sweet cherry but does collect pollen from a wide variety of humidity affected foraging activity as expected. However, in plants, particularly the Brassicaceae. Matsumoto and Mae- addition they found that when brood production stopped, jima examine apple pollination by the megachilid bee, Osmia bees mainly collected nectar and rarely pollen. This has been cornifrons. Interestingly, males and females of this solitary reported before in honeybees but was not known from these species collect nectar and, in net enclosure experiments, tropical stingless bees. males contribute to apple pollination. Next, Keasar reviews the agricultural role of carpenter bees, which exhibit a wide C. Rasmussen range of solitary to quasisocial or communal organization. J. Nieh He describes the benefits and difficulties of using these bees J. C. Biesmeijer as agricultural pollinators. Rao and Stephen then examine a thriving population of native bumble bees in western References Oregon (USA) and suggest that cultivation of different crops blooming in succession may account for the diversity and [1]