Comparative Pollination Efficacies of Five Bee Species on Raspberry Flowers Show Honey Bees Doing Just Fine

摘要

Unlike m any other rosaceous fru it crops,com m ercial raspberry cultivars are largely self-fertile and m ostly self-pollinate autogam ously.H owever,their floral morphology does not allow for complete autopollination,which often yields unmarketable small or crumbly fruits.Insect visitation is therefore essential to maximize raspberry production.Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are typically used to pollinate commercial raspberries,but escalating prices for hive rentals coupled with increasing acreage encourages evaluation of other manageable pollinators.Four other manageable bee taxa — various Bombus spp.,Osmia /ignaria Say,Osmia ag/aia Sandhouse,and Osmia bruneri Cockere/I — are all promising raspberry pollinators.