Farmers' need for bees encourages local options

By DAVE WILKINS

Capital Press

The search for alternative pollinators may be intensifying as the U.S. honeybee population continues to struggle.

With about 4,000 different bee species in North America, there's no lack of pollinators. But building up their populations, getting them to nest where they're needed and learning how to manage them for commercial horticultural purposes is a challenge, experts said.

In recent years, many small orchards have turned to the blue orchard bee to help pollinate their crops.

"There are quite a number of small orchardists scattered all over the country who are trying these bees and having success," said pollination expert Karen Strickler of Parma, Idaho.

So far there haven't been enough of the bees to be a practical, cost-effective alternative to honeybees in large commercial orchards.

But the situation could change as more of the bees become available.

Some almond growers in California have already shown strong interest in blue orchard bees, Strickler said.

"Blue orchard bees aren't going to replace honeybees, but they could provide an additional option for pollinating almonds," she said.

Strickler is a former pollination ecologist at the University of Idaho's Parma Research and Extension Center. Her research included work with the leaf cutter bee, which is used in Western Idaho and Eastern Oregon to pollinate alfalfa seed fields.

She's trying to develop nesting material for the blue orchard bee similar to the system used for alfalfa leaf cutter bees.

Blue orchard bees and leaf cutter bees are both examples of solitary bees.

Solitary bees don't form colonies with a queen and worker bees as honeybees do. Rather, each female solitary bee makes her own nest, forages for pollen and nectar and lays her own eggs, Strickler said.

Honeybees have run up against obstacles in recent years. Colony collapse disorder, varroa mites, pesticides, disease and movement of bee colonies around the country have all taken their toll on honeybee health.

Orchardists aren't the only ones looking for alternatives to the honeybee.

In Oregon, experts are studying the use of another solitary bee, Osmia aglaia, to pollinate blackberries and raspberries at the Sturm Berry Farm near Corbett. Strickler is a technical adviser for the project, called the Oregon Berry Bee Project.

A USDA grant will help researchers find out whether the Oregon berry bee can become a cost-effective, practical and sustainable addition to honeybees in blackberry and raspberry production, Strickler said.

Alternative pollinators don't need commercial potential to be effective.

Squash bees, for instance, are a ground-nesting solitary bee that can't readily be moved from place to place.

But growers can increase the bees' numbers by leaving a bit of untilled ground for them to nest in and reducing pesticide use.

"There isn't a commercial business in them, but people can watch for them if they're growing squash and encourage their population," Strickler said.

Staff writer Dave Wilkins is based in Twin Falls, Idaho. E-mail: dwilkins@capitalpress.com.

Bee blogs

To follow the progress of the Oregon Berry Bee Project visit http://oregonberrybee.blogspot.com.

For more information about solitary bees visit www.pollinatorparadise.com.