By Stroh et al.
Specialty
crops, which include a variety of non-staple fruits and vegetables, are
pollinated by a diverse array of bees. Different geographic regions harbor
unique bee communities, although non-native Western honey bees (Apis
mellifera) are used to supplement the pollination provided by wild, native
bees in some specialty crops. There are a variety of other factors that affect
bee community composition for individual crops, including crop bloom phenology
and flower morphology. Crops that bloom in the spring are exposed to a
different suite of early-season bees than those that bloom in the summer months.
Flower shape, which determines ease of access for different bee species,
further filters bee communities in individual cropping systems.
We
sampled bee communities using pan traps and flower observations on commercial apple
(Malus domestica), blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), tomato (Solanum
lycopersicum), and watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) farms in Indiana,
a state dominated by agronomic crop production with small pockets of specialty
crops. Apples, blueberries, and watermelons were stocked with honey bees, while
tomatoes were not.