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AN OVERVIEW OF WILD BEE POLLINATORS PRESENT IN THE AGRICULTURAL AREAS OF GEORGIA

Abstract

Humans depend on honeybees for the pollination of fruits and vegetables. Bees pollinate 1/3 of the human food supply. They pollinate nearly every fruit, nut, and vegetable. The main bee pollinator, the honeybee, has been in decline for several decades due to CCD. Finding alternative pollinators that could supplement or replace the declining honeybee would be a wise safeguard. Wild bees (including wasps) are already a source of sustainable pollination, contributing more than $3 billion in pollination services each year. Regional studies are essential in gathering accurate information on the wild bees present in each region to determine the types of wild bees and which habitat enrichments are most effective in recruiting and keeping target wild bee species in agricultural areas. During the past 15 years, we have investigated different agricultural areas throughout Central and Northern Georgia. Georgia has over 500 wild bees or native bee species, many of which are important agricultural pollinators. Bees in the Families Andrenidae (mining bees), Family Apidae (bumblebees and carpenter bees, blueberry bees, etc.), Family Halictidae (sweat bees), and Family Megachilidae (mason bees and leafcutter bees) were the most important groups in Georgia agricultural systems. Habitat enrichments with wildflowers were able to boost all of these bee types at farms and orchards, which led to an increased amount of sustainable pollination.

Acknowledgements

Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) grants # OS22 -150 and OS 24 -172.

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