Urban beekeeping putting the sting on wild bee populations
McGill entomology researcher and PhD candidate Gail MacInnis presented her findings at the Apimondia International Apicultural Congress in Montreal earlier this week
McGill entomology researcher and PhD candidate Gail MacInnis says that when comparing pollination efficiency between wild bees native to Canada and the more numerous honey bees, there is no contest. Wild bees win, wings down.
“For strawberry, we found that honey bees often visit flowers just for the nectar, they’re not actively collecting the pollen,” said MacInnis, whose research has focused on the pollination efficiency, mostly on strawberry crops. “So, they don’t transport (pollen) from flower to flower, which is what the flower needs to produce a fruit… Honey bees are very neat, they wet the pollen with a little bit of nectar, put it in a little ball in their leg and take it back to the hive to feed their babies. Wild species are messier, they carry the pollen dry all over their bodies, so it tends to deposit on the flowers more.”