Seasonality and alternative floral resources affect reproductive success of the alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Managed populations of the alfalfa leafcutting bee (ALCB), Megachile rotundata (F.), are often not sustainable. In addition to numerous mortality factors that contribute to this, the dense bee populations used to maximize alfalfa pollination quickly deplete floral resources available to bees later in the summer. Providing alternative floral resources as alfalfa declines may help to improve ALCB reproduction.

Methods

We examined the relationship between floral resource availability and ALCB reproduction and offspring condition via (1) a field study using alfalfa plots with and without late-blooming wildflower strips to supply food beyond alfalfa bloom, and (2) a field-cage study in which we provided bees with alfalfa, wildflowers, or both as food reso

SUBMITTER: Delphia CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11332388 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature