Bee Biology and Systematics Laboratory, USDA-ARS-PIRU, 1410 N 800 E, Logan, UT 84341 (
J Insect Sci. 2017 Jan 1;17(2). doi: 10.1093/jisesa/iex008.
The blue orchard bee, Osmia lignaria (Say), is a solitary bee that is an excellent pollinator of tree fruit orchards. Due to the annual rising costs of honey bee hive rentals, many orchardists are eager to develop management tools and practices to support O. lignaria as an alternative pollinator. Establishing O. lignaria pollination as a sustainable industry requires careful consideration of both bee and orchard management. Here, we test the effect of artificial nest box distribution on in-orchard propagation of O. lignaria in Utah commercial tart cherry orchards. Two nest box distributions were compared across three paired, 1.2-ha plots. One distribution, traditionally employed by O. lignaria consultants, included a centrally located tote for mass-nesting with smaller, surrounding 'satellite' nest boxes at orchard margins. The other distribution was composed of smaller, more equally distributed nest boxes throughout the 1.2-ha plots. Significantly higher propagation of O. lignaria was observed in the latter nest box distribution, although all treatments resulted in bee return exceeding the number of bees initially released. These findings provide support for the use of O. lignaria in tart cherry orchards, and demonstrate how simple changes to bee set-up and management can influence propagation efforts.
蓝果园蜂（Osmia lignaria（Say））是一种独居蜜蜂，是果树果园的优秀传粉媒介。由于每年租用蜜蜂蜂箱的成本不断上升，许多果农渴望开发管理工具和实践，以支持 O. lignaria 作为替代传粉媒介。要使 O. lignaria 授粉成为可持续的产业，需要仔细考虑蜜蜂和果园的管理。在这里，我们测试了人工巢箱分布对犹他州商业酸樱桃果园中 O. lignaria 园内繁殖的影响。在三个配对的 1.2 公顷的地块上比较了两种巢箱分布。一种分布是 O. lignaria 顾问传统采用的，包括一个中央的大桶用于大规模筑巢，周围是较小的“卫星”巢箱位于果园边缘。另一种分布是由较小的、更均匀分布的巢箱组成，分布在整个 1.2 公顷的地块上。在后一种巢箱分布中，O. lignaria 的繁殖明显更高，尽管所有处理的蜜蜂返回数量都超过了最初释放的蜜蜂数量。这些发现为在酸樱桃果园中使用 O. lignaria 提供了支持，并展示了蜜蜂设置和管理的简单变化如何影响繁殖工作。
