Pollinators, such as bees, enable the cross-fertilization of flowering plants, which increases plant fitness. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has greatly reduced honey bee (Apis mellifera) populations since 2006, which drastically impacts agriculture. A. mellifera are the primary pollinators for many animal pollinated crops. Since their populations have decreased, the search for alternative pollinators has gained attention in the scientific community. Mason bees (Osmia lignaria) and other early spring bees have been largely neglected among North American native pollinator research. I have studied the effectiveness of O. lignaria as a greenhouse pollinator of strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa) by measuring fruit quality (symmetry and weight) of insect-pollinated and selfed berries. Visitation frequencies of bees were monitored to determine if these bees can be used to pollinate F. x ananassa in greenhouses and whether pollination produces better quality fruit.
Results/Conclusions
Preliminary data involving a small sample size was not significant, but a larger scale study is currently in progress to further test the concept. More conclusions will follow the completion of the experiment, but O. lignaria have been shown to pollinate F. x ananassa in greenhouses.