Tom and Stan, There are three types of blueberry; high bush, low bush
and rabbiteye which I am familiar with in the South.
Highbush, I have been informed from a producer in one of the New England states, has a
corolla-petal tube that is large enough for a honey bee to enter.
Lowbush, I am not familiar with.
Rabbiteye require a Buzz from the flight muscles of a bumble bee or
Southern blueberry bee, as the bee hangs inverted on the flower, while
probing for nectar. The vibration releases pollen from pores in the
anthers. The action can be duplicated by using a tuning fork held
against the petals. Using a piece of black velvet or other dark
background will allow you to see the small whittish pollen grains
falling from the bell-like flower.
Nectar is produced at the base of the "bell". The tongue length of a
honey bee is usually (variety differences) too short to reach the
nectar. A naive bee will try to force it's way into the tube and in
this effort is believed to pollinate. Even if it cannot buzz, the honey
bee can move pollen released by a previous "buzzer".
Stan's comments about waiting until a good part of the blueberries are in
bloom may take advantage of naive honey bees. Until they "learn" they
cannot reach the nectar, they will visit. Other sources easier to obtain food from should
draw them away quicker.
In tn, I often see perforation holes made by carpenter bees. This
short-tongued bee perforates the base of the flower to get nectar. Honey
bees will often be observed using the perforation hole made by carpenter
bees to get nectar.
Tom, in your area, bumble bees may be available? Your honey bees should
also help in total number of foragers, especially naive ones.
Grins, John
John A. Skinner 218 Ellington Hall
Extension Apiculturist University of Tennessee
[log in to unmask] Knoxville, TN 37901
On Sun, 26 May 1996, Stan Sandler wrote:
> >I HAVE MANY BLUEBERRY BUSHES AND THREE HIIVES OF BEES. RARELY DO I SEE BEES
> >ON THE BLUEBERRY BLOSSOMS, USUALLY THERE ARE GOOD CROPS OF BERRIES. WHAT TIME
> >OF DAY DOES MOST OF THE POLLINATION TAKE PLACE? WHAT FORM OF POLLINATION
> >TAKES PLACE? ARE THERE OTHER INSECTS WORKING AT THE SAME TIME CREATING A LIKE
> >EFFECT?
>
> Honeybees are certainly much much worse than several native pollinators
> (such as bumblebees, leafcutter bees, and the blueberry bee) at working
> blueberries, on a PER BEE basis. However when you put good strong hives in
> the fields you can introduce a massive population and they will have a very
> good effect. I have many satisfied customers. HOWEVER, YOU HAVE TO MANAGE
> THEM PROPERLY TO FORCE THEM TO WORK THE BLUEBERRIES. Your three hives, Tom,
> are probably in the same location all year. By the time the blueberries are
> flowering those hives are working far more attractive bloom to honeybees,
> such as (in my area), dandelions, apple, wild pear, lilacs,... But if you
> were to move hives into fields full of blueberry when one third of the
> blossoms had opened, and not before, you would find that on the first day in
> the new location those bees would come out and see blueberries and start
> working them. Once they start they will tend to continue working them for a
> week or so until scouts have found some other really attractive blossoms.
>
> Many blueberry growers get reasonable yields using only the pollinators
> already in the area. However it is my impression that pesticides are
> lowering the population of native pollinators quite dramaticly, and the
> blueberry growers themselves are one of the culprits in this.
>
> Regarding time and form of pollination:
> The time could be any time that insects are moving. The blueberries are not
> wind pollinated, they must be visited by an insect to be fertilized. The
> honeybees rarely if ever gather pollen from blueberries, but they fertilize
> them incidentally in their gathering of nectar, (as was intended when nectar
> evolved). The bumblebees can "buzz" out large amounts of pollen from the
> blossoms using wing vibration. The honeybees can help in spreading these
> large packets around.
>
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