Foraging Behavior of Blueberry Bees (Habropoda laboriosa)

    The following undergraduate students worked with me on this project. 2004-Jacob Thompson, Rachai Kanhai, Shaneika Lumpkin;

    Previous observational and experimental research (Pascarella 2007-Journal of Apicultural Research) has shown that blueberry bees forage on a wide range of plants for resources. They are believed to be dependent on blueberries, though, for pollen on which they raise their young (Bees lay eggs on balls of pollen in which the young bees hatch and feed on during their development). However, female (but not male) bees have a marked preference to visit Gelsemium over Vaccinium. In addition, many bees caught foraging at blueberries carry mixed pollen loads. This suggests that 1) either blueberry bees have increased their niche to include novel plant species such as Gelsemium and non-native Azaleas as plant diversity has changed in human-modified landscapes or 2) blueberry bees are not oligolectic but mesolectic. Research is needed to determine pollen utilization in nesting sites by females and the relative quality of blueberry vs Gelsemium pollen for larval development.

Applied Aspects of This Research: Blueberry yield is often pollen limited, particularly in dense plantings without native ground cover or habitat nearby. Does competition for pollinator service occur between Gelsemium and Vaccinium or do these species act as mutualists, maintaining a large population of blueberry bees that pollinate both species? One possible test of this is to supplement blueberry fields with Gelsemium species and compare foraging activity and fruit and seed set for both species in supplemented areas to non-supplemented areas.

For more information on this research project, please see:

J.B. Pascarella. 2007. Foraging patterns of the southeastern blueberry bee Habropoda laboriosa (Apidae, Hymenoptera): Implications for understanding oligolecty. Journal of Apicultural Research.46(1): 19-27.