Rob Green writes:
> Let me be blunt. I find this approach promoting native pollinators disingenuous. 

Sure, that's what I was saying about six months ago, but since then I have spent that much time looking into this issue. In summation of what I have learned, I offer this short excerpt:

Honey bees are the most valuable pollinators in agriculture currently, because they are well understood, relatively easy to maintain, movable, and able to communicate rapidly the locations of new food sources. There are, however, another 3,500 non-Apis bee species in the US which are also important pollinators of most specialty crops. These include the many species of bumble bees and what are often referred to as solitary bees. 

We will refer to both groups as “pollen bees” because their main value, in relation to people, is not the production of honey, but the collection and transfer of pollen for the fertilization of plants. It is obvious that pollen bees are critical components of food webs associated with wildlife habitats of all types in North America because almost all of them were here long before honey bees were introduced by Europeans. 

For most bee species, the paucity of long-term population data and our incomplete knowledge of even basic taxonomy, life history and ecology make assessing their value and possible declines in some regions very difficult. It is well-known that honey bees are not the best pollinators for all crops. They are generalist foragers easily distracted from target crops like cucurbits, pears, and apples by other species such as dandelions and other nectar sources. Wild and managed species of pollen bees in many cases can and do supplement honey bees for pollination in specialty crops, but in some situations can replace them. 

The folly of relying on a single pesticide, tactic or cultivar has been seen repeatedly in the development of IPM programs for specialty crops. In the case of pollinators, a similar reliance on one pollinator such as the honey bee is also not wise. As Peter Kevan (2003) has said, “the age of IPM and ecology has come to apiculture”. Developing multiple tactics with multiple pollinator species represents the most robust management approach for a future of uncertain climate, environmental disruptions, and invasive species introductions. 

from: Solitary Bees as Alternative Pollinators of Pennsylvania Fruit Crops

D. Biddinger – Penn State University Fruit Research & Extension Center, Biglerville, PA 
J. Frazier, M. Frazier, E. Rajotte – Penn State University, Department of Entomology, State College, PA 
L. R. Donovall – Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Harrisburg, PA 
T. Leslie - Department of Biology, Long Island University, New York, NY

PLB
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