Comparison of the Efficiency of the Bumble Bees Bombus impatiens and Bombus ephippiatus (Hymenoptera: Apidae) as Pollinators of Tomato in Greenhouses (original) (raw)
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Journal of Economic Entomology, 2012
Experiments were conducted in a commercial tomato, Solanum lycopersicum L. (Solanaceae) greenhouse to compare the relative foraging effort and efÞciency of two bumble bee species: Bombus impatiens Cresson, a species from northeastern North America, commercially reared and used for pollination in Mexico; and B. ephippiatus Say, a native species of Mexico and central America. B. ephippiatus was as efÞcient in pollination of tomatoes as B. impatiens, as indicated by all variables of fruit quality: fruit weight, number of seed per fruit, and maximum fruit diameter. The two species had similar levels of hourly and daily foraging activity. They had the same response to temperature ßuctuation. Pollination rates by both species were similar and close to 100% throughout the sample period. However, B. impatiens showed greater foraging activity during the Þrst half of the 27-d sample period, whereas B. ephipiatus had greater relative activity during the last half. This study establish that B. ephippiatus is as efÞcient as B. impatiens as a pollinator of tomatoes in greenhouses and thus a candidate as a managed pollinator. However, standard reliable methods for mass rearing of B. ephippiatus are not yet available. Such methods are necessary to ensure healthy colonies and optimum pollination for producers and will reduce the pressure for the unregulated collection of queens in the Þeld and the subsequent reduction of populations of this species. RESUMEN Se evaluó el esfuerzo de forrajeo y eÞciencia de polinizació n de dos especies de abejorros en un invernadero comercial de tomate Solanum lycopersicum L. (Solanaceae). Las especies comparadas fueron: Bombus impatiens Cresson, nativo del noreste de Norteamé rica, comercialmente disponible para polinizació n en Mé xico; y Bombus ephippiatus Say, una especie de abejorro nativo de Mé xico y Centroamé rica. Ambas especies presentaron eÞciencias de polinizació n similares, pues todas las variables de calidad del fruto, como peso fresco, nú mero de semillas, y diámetro máximo, no fueron diferentes de forma signiÞcativa. Ambas especies no diÞrieron en la actividad de forrajeo en funció n de la temperatura. No se encontró mayor actividad de B. ephippiatus durante los periodos de mayor temperatura en el invernadero. Ambas especies de abejorros lograron porcentajes de polinizació n similares, cercanos al 100% durante todo el periodo de evaluació n. Este estudio establece que Bombus ephippiatus es un polinizador eÞciente de tomates bajo invernadero, comparable a la eÞciencia de Bombus impatiens, por lo que se puede considerar con potencial para su uso como polinizador manejado. Sin embargo, mé todos de crianza masiva de dicha especie no están aú n disponibles y son necesarios para asegurar la calidad y sanidad de los nidos y al mismo tiempo disminuir la posible presió n para la colecta no regulada de esta especie.
Pollination of Greenhouse tomatoes by the Mexican bumblebee Bombus ephippiatus (Hymenoptera: Apidae)
Journal of Pollination Ecology
Mexican native bumblebee Bombus ephippiatus Say was evaluated as a potential pollinator of greenhouse tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicon L.). The experiments were performed at San Andrés Cholula, Puebla, Mexico, from June to December 2004 in two 1 000 m 2 greenhouses planted with tomatoes of the cultivar Mallory (Hazera ®). For the experiments, we used two colonies of Bombus ephippiatus, reared in the laboratory from queens captured in the field. Four treatments were applied to 20 study plants: pollination by bumble bees, manual pollination, pollination by mechanical vibration and no pollination (bagged flowers, no vibration). We measured percentage of flowers visited by bumble bees, number of seeds per fruit, maturing time, sugar content, fruit weight and fruit shape. All available flowers were visited by bumblebees, as measured by the degree of anther cone bruising. The number of seeds per fruit was higher for bumble bee-pollinated plants as compared with plants pollinated mechanically or not pollinated and was not significantly different between hand-pollinated and bumble beepollinated plants. Maturation time was significantly longer and sugar content, fresh weight and seed count were significantly higher for bumblebee pollinated flowers than for flowers pollinated manually or with no supplemental pollination, but did not differ with flowers pollinated mechanically.
Genetics and Molecular Research, 2009
The pollination effectiveness of the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata and the honey bee Apis mellifera was tested in tomato plots. The experiment was conducted in four greenhouses as well as in an external open plot in Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. The tomato plants were exposed to visits by M. quadrifasciata in one greenhouse and to A. mellifera in another; two greenhouses were maintained without bees (controls) and an open field plot was exposed to pollinators in an area where both honey bee and stingless bee colonies are abundant. We counted the number of tomatoes produced in each plot. Two hundred tomatoes from each plot were weighed, their vertical and transversal circumferences were measured, and the seeds were counted. We collected 253 Chrysomelidae, 17 Halictidae, one Paratrigona sp, and one honey bee from the flowers of the tomato plants in the open area. The largest number of fruits (1414 tomatoes), the heaviest and largest tomatoes, and the ones with the most seed were collected from the greenhouse with stingless bees. Fruits cultivated in the greenhouse with honey bees had the same weight and size as those produced in one of the control greenhouses. The stingless bee, M. quadrifasciata, was significantly more ef-©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br Genetics and Molecular Research 8 (2): 751-757 (2009) S.A. Bispo dos Santos et al. ficient than honey bees in pollinating greenhouse tomatoes.
Bumble bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) activity and loss in commercial tomato greenhouses
The Canadian Entomologist, 2001
Activity of bumble bees, Bombus impatiens Cresson, was examined in commercial tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. (Solanaceae), greenhouses in relation to greenhouse covering type, solar radiation, greenhouse temperature and humidity. Bumble bee activity was measured by photodiode monitors inserted into the entrance of the colonies. Colony sizes were monitored as an indicator of bee loss through gutter ventilation systems in relation to covering. Activity monitors were found to be a good predictor of actual bumble bee entrances and exits (? = 0.85).
The use of different stingless bee species to pollinate cherry tomatoes under protected cultivation
Sociobiology, 2021
Under standard greenhouse conditions, the tomato fruits of spontaneous self-pollination are expected to be of lower quality than those of bee pollination, as well as that simultaneously use different bee species which can complement pollination services. To test these hypotheses, we evaluated the complementarity of pollination services from the use of three native stingless bee species that have distinct foraging behaviors, Melipona bicolor Lepeletier 1836, Nannotrigona testaceicornis (Lepeletier 1836) and Partamona helleri (Friese 1900) during flowering of cherry tomatoes in greenhouses. Fruit quality parameters resulted from pollination experiments were measured and the acclimatization of the analyzed bee species was evaluated. Visits of M. bicolor and N. testaceicornis to the tomato flowers contributed significantly to the increase in the average weight, seed number, and thickness of the pericarp (only for N. testaceicornis) of the fruits, compared to the spontaneous self-pollina...