Native Bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) Abundance and Diversity in North Georgia Apple Orchards Throughout the 2010 Growing Season (March to October)

Abstract

Bees play a key role in agriculture, directly affecting the production of over one-third of the human food supply. Apis mellifera (Honey Bee), the chief pollinator used in commercial agriculture, has been in decline. Reliance on a single species for the pollination of a significant portion of commercial agriculture can be dangerous. One alternative to using Honey Bees as the main commercial pollinator is native bees. In this study, we document native bee species diversity and abundance throughout the 2010 growing season (March through October) at 4 North Georgia Malus domestica (Apple) orchards. The 4 study sites included 2 large-scale orchards (Mercier Orchards and Hillside Orchards) and 2 small- scale orchards (Mountain View Orchards and Tiger Mountain Orchards). A comprehensive sampling methodology using pan-traps, vane-traps, malaise traps, and sweep-netting was performed at each orchard on 8 separate collection days. A total of 1817 bees were identi- fied to species. These bees comprised 128 species in 28 genera in 5 families. Several native bee species were quite common and widespread at all 4 orchards. These native bee species included: Andrena crataegi, A. perplexa, Lasioglossum imitatum, L. pilosum, and Xylocopa virginica (Eastern Carpenter Bee). Andrena crataegi was identified as the best native bee candidate for Apple pollination in North Georgia due to its abundance, wide-spread distri- bution in Georgia Apple orchards, and its life-history characteristics.