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Thursday, December 19, 2013

Solitary bees in pruned canes

An email from a grape grower a few weeks ago helped solve a mystery I posted about a few years ago--what caused tunnels moving in from the tips of blackberry canes. Small native bees were present in grape vines along with their larvae.

This interesting observation made me wonder...are we creating native bee habitat when we prune perennial crops? It would be interested to see if there's a positive effect on twig dwelling bees in these fields!

More information
Blackberry borers can mean big problems - NC Small Fruit & Specialty Crop IPM
A surprising cause of holes in pruned canes - NC State University Entomology Portal

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