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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

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Blueberry pollination posts at the NCSU Entomology Portal

Bumble bee foraging at a blueberry flower. Photo: HJB

We've posted lots of information about blueberry pollinators at the Entomology Portal, including results from our experiments over the last several years.

Which bees are the best blueberry pollinators?
Does bee diversity change how pollinators behave in blueberries?
Blueberry pollinators - Information on different bee species

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