I would appreciate help in solving a bit of a puzzle regarding
blossom damage to highbush blueberry.  Last week I received a
call from a grower who had noticed that honey bees were foraging
from holes near the base of the corolla.  What he described
sounded a lot like carpenter bee damage.  However, I felt that
Xylocopa probably wasn't present in Nova Scotia, so there must
be some other explanation.  An alternative was that bumble bees
were chewing holes in the bloom.  I went out to the field and
found that indeed the damage looked like carpenter bee damage.
There were two small slits at the base of the corolla in all of
the ones I looked at.  Damage was fairly sporadic and no
carpenter bees were seen.  Yet, no other entomologists here have
seen carpenter bees.  My questions are:
 
Has anyone seen carpenter bees in the Atlantic Provinces?
 
Does anyone know what bumble bee blossom damage looks like?  The
literature says they chew holes in the bloom.  I see nothing in
the blossoms I examined that suggest chewing of any sort.
 
Any other suggestions of what could be causing this type of
damage?  The grower wondered if it might be caused by vespid
wasps.
 
Thanks.
 
Kenna MacKenzie
Agriculture Canada Research Station    Phone:  902-679-5731
Kentville, Nova Scotia                 FAX:    902-679-2311
B4N 1J5    Canada        E-mail:  [log in to unmask]