BIOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT OF WILD BEE AND DOMESTICATED HONEY BEE POLLINATORS FOR TREE FRUIT POLLINATION

The objective of this study was to investigate the biology, management and pollination efficacy of wild bees and domesticated honey bees for tree fruit pollination. Observations were made and experiments conducted in the Okanagan Valley, B.C. from 1983 to 1985.;The results of a study comparing the relative pollination efficacy of honey bees and O. lignaria suggest that, although single O. lignaria visits produce fruits of a comparable size to those resulting from one to three honey bee visits, overall pollination efficacy is lower due to the greater number of seedless carpels per fruit and therefore an increased tendency toward asymmetrical apples. In addition, the data suggest that O. lignaria is less efficient at pollination since it spends significantly more time searching for and foraging on blossoms than do honey bees.;Predicting honey bee colony pollination potential in cherries, pears and apples utilizing such factors as colony characteristics, forager entrance counts and weather conditions is possible, but predictions will have to be made on an individual crop basis rather than by quantifying data to arrive at general recommendations for all tree fruit crops.;Colony characteristics and profitability were examined for three systems of honey bee management. Measurements of colony weight, sealed worker brood area and surplus honey production indicated that management systems which involved the most intensive colony management for pollination, honey production and bee production do not detract from overall colony vigour, yielded the best income, and can provide a new source of income through the sale of packages and nuclei.;Although abundant in natural habitats, unmanaged wild bees are not reliable or predictable pollinators for orchards in the Okanagan Valley. However, the management of dominant wild bees species such as Bombus terricola occidentalis and B. bifarius nearticus, which display a strong tendency toward foraging on orchard crops, does have potential for fruit crop pollination. Although Osmia lignaria propinqua was not a dominant species in orchard habitats, it has potential for tree fruit pollination in the Okanagan Valley since it is indigenous to this area and management systems for its use in fruit tree pollination have already been established.