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Towards a sustainable management of bees of the subgenus Osmia (Megachilidae; Osmia) as fruit tree pollinators

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Abstract

The limited pollination efficiency of honeybees (Apidae; Apis) for certain crop plants and, more recently, their global decline fostered commercial development of further bee species to complement crop pollination in agricultural systems. In particular, a number of mason bees (Megachilidae; Osmia) are among the most widely used alternative pollinators, and their utilisation has been fine-tuned specifically for pollination in fruit tree orchards. A successful management system should not only aim at optimising pollination efficiency but also consider the relevant biological and ecological requirements to achieve sustainable and healthy bee populations. Here, we review the factors influencing the rate of population increase during the implementation of Osmia bees as orchard pollinators. These factors include nesting material, release methods, and control of antagonists as well as methods optimising management of developmental stages to synchronize bee activity with orchard bloom and to minimize developmental mortality.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Andreas Müller, Kathrin Tschudi, and the two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the manuscript.

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  1. ETH Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Applied Entomology, Schmelzbergstrasse 9/LFO, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland

    Claudio Sedivy & Silvia Dorn

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  1. Claudio Sedivy
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  2. Silvia Dorn
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Correspondence to Claudio Sedivy.

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Manuscript editor: Peter Rosenkranz

Vers une gestion durable des abeilles du sous-genre Osmia (Megachilidae; Osmia ) comme pollinisateurs d’arbres fruitiers

Arbres fruitiers / verger / pollinisation / pollinisateur alternatif / nid artificiel / abeille maçonne

Nachhaltiges Management von Bienen der Untergattung Osmia (Megachilidae; Osmia ) als Bestäuber von Obstbäumen

Obstbestäubung / alternative Bestäuber / Osmia / Obstbäume

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Sedivy, C., Dorn, S. Towards a sustainable management of bees of the subgenus Osmia (Megachilidae; Osmia) as fruit tree pollinators. Apidologie 45, 88–105 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-013-0231-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-013-0231-8

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