Strategic honey bee hive placement improves honey bee visitation but not pollination in northern highbush blueberry.

ABSTRACT: Commercial blueberry Vaccinium spp. (Ericales: Ericaceae) production relies on insect-mediated pollination. Pollination is mostly provided by rented honey bees, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), but blueberry crop yields can be limited due to pollination deficits. Various hive placement strategies have been recommended to mitigate pollination shortfalls, but the effect of hive placement has received limited formal investigation. This study explores the effects of clumped and dispersed hive placement strategies on honey bee visitation and pollination outcomes in "Bluecrop" and "Duke" fields over 2 years (2021 and 2022) within 2 economically important regions of production in the United States-the Midwest (Michigan) and Pacific Northwest (Oregon and Washington). Clumping hives consist

SUBMITTER: Brouwer K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11818375 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature