The document discusses the importance of wild pollinators, particularly bees, in agricultural crop pollination, highlighting their interdependence with humans and efficiency compared to honeybees. It emphasizes that preserving diverse wild bee populations is crucial for pollination security as honeybee numbers decline, and outlines ways farmers can support these bees through habitat management. Research findings indicate that increasing perennial habitats near crop fields significantly boosts wild bee visitation, thereby enhancing pollination outcomes.

1. Getting Along with Wild Pollinators
Alex Smith
Manager, Rise Up Farms
Indiana Small Farms Conference, March 6 2015

2. Humans and bees are
interdependent • Bees pollinate ~75% of
food crops worldwide
(Klein et al. 2007)
• Farmers can provide
bees with
– Nesting sites
– Forage
– A non-toxic environment
(Kremen 2008)

3. • Many species of wild crop-
visiting bees (Tuell et al. 2009)
• Can provide ample
pollination in bee-friendly
environments (Winfree et al. 2007)
• Wild bees can be more
efficient pollinators than
honeybees (Canto-Aguilar and
Parra-Tabla, 2000)
Wild bees are good
crop pollinators

4. • Bumblebees (Bombus spp.)
– Great pollinators of many crops
– Can buzz-pollinate
– Used commercially for greenhouse tomato
– Social (with a queen and workers)
– Nest in the ground or in existing cavities

5. • Leafcutter bees
(Megachile spp.)
– Excellent pollinators,
particularly of fruit
trees
– Solitary (females care
for their broods alone)
– Cut semicircular
pieces out of leaves to
line their nests
– Nest in existing
cavities

6. • Mason bees / Orchard bees (Osmia spp.)
– Known as great pollinators of fruit trees
– One species (the Blue Orchard Mason Bee)
available commercially for orchard pollination
– Otherwise similar to their cousins the leafcutters

7. • Squash bees (Peponapis pruinosa)
– A principal pollinator of the squash family
– Solitary
– Females nest in the ground; males often
sleep in squash flowers!

8. • Mud bees (Anthophora and Melissodes spp.)
– Noted pollinators of apples and blueberries
– Can buzz-pollinate like bumblebees
– Nest in bare ground

9. • And many more!
– Giant carpenters
– Tiny carpenters
– Sweat bees
– And others

10. Wild bees are important for
pollination security
• Colony collapse disorder
threatens honeybees (National
Research Council 2007)
• Pollination demand
growing while US
honeybees numbers
decline (Aizen and Harder 2009)
• Pollinator diversity is great
insurance
– Decline of one species does
not mean loss of pollination
(Fontaine et al. 2006)
redcloverblossom.com

11. Intensive agriculture threatens wild bees (Kremen et
al. 2007)
– Tillage of marginal lands
– Large-scale monoculture
– Use of broad-spectrum insecticides

12. Wild bees need…
Nesting Sites

13. Forage resources throughout
their active period
Wild bees need…

14. Natural areas can help!
• Perennial areas near the field benefit wild
bees and boost crop pollination (Steffan-Dewenter
et al. 2002, Kremen et al. 2004, Winfree et al. 2008, Smith et al. 2013)
• Bee-friendly habitat can
include
• Perennial flower
plantings
• Woodland or
windbreaks
• Mowed grassland
• Old Fields
• Wetland areas

15. Taking the bees’ eye view
• Managing for wild bees means
understanding how bees see your farm
?

22. My research

23. Study Sites
• 10 farms in Southern
and Central Indiana
• Situated in a range of
landscapes
• No chemical pesticides
• Diverse vegetable crops

24. Study Sites

25. Monitored visitation of
bees to cucumber
– Measured diversity of
visitors
Measured amount of
perennial habitat around
the cucumber patch
– At varying distances
from the field – from
250 m to 2000 m.

26. Conclusions
- Fields surrounded by more perennial habitat saw
more visits of wild bees to cucumber
- Perennial habitat within 500 m (1/3 mile) of the
cucumber patch had the biggest impact (Smith et al.
2013)
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
0 500 1000 1500 2000
Impactofperennial
habitatonbees
Abundance of wild bees
Proximity of habitat to the field(m)

27. Take home messages
• Wild bees visiting cucumber experience
benefits from perennial areas
• Perennial areas near the field increase
pollinator visits to cucumber
– Likely to increase pollination in many crops
• Setting aside perennial areas on your farm
can increase pollination security

28. Rise Up Farms

31. • Xerces Society for
Invertebrate
Conservation
– www.xerces.org
– Practical resources on
pollinator conservation
for farmers
Learn More!