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Comparing Species Of Bees For Controlled Pollination Of Helianthus Petiolaris In Field Cages, R. L. Wilson, C. A. Abel, M. E. Brothers
Comparing Species Of Bees For Controlled Pollination Of Helianthus Petiolaris In Field Cages, R. L. Wilson, C. A. Abel, M. E. Brothers
Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS
Honey bees, Apis mellifera, have been used for several years to pollinate caged plant species maintained at the USDA-ARS North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station (NCRPIS), Ames, Iowa. Because maintaining large numbers of honey bees is expensive and time consuming, we began looking in 1995 for other pollinator species that can be easily managed and less expensive to maintain than A. mellifera. One species we tested was the hornfaced bee, Osmia cornifrons, a solitary bee imported from Japan in the late 1970s. We also tested a mixture of native bumblebees, Bombus bimaculatus and B. impatiens, which are native to the …
Comparing Three Bee Species For Controlled Pollination Of Selected Brassicaceae, R. L. Wilson, C. A. Abel, R. L. Luhman
Comparing Three Bee Species For Controlled Pollination Of Selected Brassicaceae, R. L. Wilson, C. A. Abel, R. L. Luhman
Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS
Pollination of species of Brassicaceae for seed increase at the USDA-ARS North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station (NCRPIS) has been accomplished for several years by using nucleus hives of honey bees, Apis mellifera L., in field cages. Brassicaceae are cool season crops that need pollination from late April to early June in the north temperate zone. Overwintered hives of honey bees need time to strengthen (i.e., increase their numbers) and thus it is difficult to make enough nuclei to meet our early season pollinations needs. Purchasmg package bees from suppliers in the southern U.S. is an expensive alternative. In this …