Bee abundance and diversity in berry agriculture

I studied the abundance, diversity and dispersal patterns of managed and wild bee populations in and around commercial highbush blueberry and cranberry fields in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, and assessed their potential as pollinators of these crops by determining which groups of bees had the greatest impact on crop yield.; I found greater species diversity than previous studies but bee diversity was not correlated to berry weight. Bumble bees dispersed well within both crops. Other wild bees were well-distributed in blueberry fields but generally remained at cranberry field edges. Wild bee abundance was correlated between fields and surrounding areas, suggesting that wild bees were readily able to cross into fields although bee abundance varied greatly between fields. Blueberry and cranberry weight were related to bumble bee abundance but not to honey or other wild bee abundance. Bumble bees are recommended as potential alternative pollinators of these crops.; Keywords. Apis; Bombus; bee diversity; blueberry; cranberry...