Netted crop covers reduce honeybee foraging activity and colony strength in a mass flowering crop.

ABSTRACT: The widespread use of protective covers in horticulture represents a novel landscape-level change, presenting the challenges for crop pollination. Honeybees (Apis mellifera L) are pollinators of many crops, but their behavior can be affected by conditions under covers. To determine how netting crop covers can affect honeybee foraging dynamics, colony health, and pollination services, we assessed the performance of 52 nucleus honeybee colonies in five covered and six uncovered kiwifruit orchards. Colony strength was estimated pre- and postintroduction, and the foraging of individual bees (including pollen, nectar, and naïve foragers) was monitored in a subset of the hives fitted with RFID readers. Simultaneously, we evaluated pollination effectiveness by measuring flower visitation r

SUBMITTER: Evans LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6540661 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature