2.1 Wild Bees
Wild bees, also referred to as native bees for a given locale, are those bees not
managed by humans, where management involves breeding and generally tending to
the bees’ basic needs such as providing shelter and supplemental food. Wild bees
may be either social or solitary.
More than 90% of the world’s 20,000 plus bee species are in fact solitary, which
makes both management and research very challenging compared to the highly
social nature of honey bees that live in structured colonies. A solitary bee is simply
one that lives alone, where each nest is built and occupied by a single female with no
caste or role hierarchy [3].
Bumblebees are social bees like honey bees, but their nest population numbers in
the low hundreds, not the tens of thousands honey bees in a colony. Bumblebees are
not as widely adopted into commercial apiculture (beekeeping), because they produce only small amounts of honey-like substance sufficient for their own consumption and are difficult and expensive to raise. Certain species are reared for
commercial pollination in greenhouses, but most species of bumblebee are wild [4].
Roughly 4000 species of wild bee are native to the United States, and they are still
credited with the majority of pollination activities with respect to native plants. For
example, the imported honey bee either cannot or poorly pollinates tomato, eggplant,
pumpkins, cherries, blueberries, and cranberries [5].
However, consistent and accurate studies for wild native bees, most of which are
solitary, can be difficult to achieve. The accessibility of managed honeybee colonies
means more data on their pollinator role and environmental effects upon them,
particularly in close relation to agricultural production.
2.2 Honey Bees
Farmers manage only 11 of over 20,000 bee species worldwide, with the European
honey bee (Apis mellifera) being the most commonly managed bee species [6].
Since honey bees are the primary subject of most pollinator-crop studies due to
the close relationship between the beekeeping and agriculture industries, a basic
understanding of their characteristics is necessary. Subspecies and hybrids exhibit
variations in behavior and morphology, but all honey bees share the following
general characteristics.
2.2.1 Honey Bee Colony Social Structure
The honey bee colony’s social structure is particularly important when considering
stressors that are transferred from individual to hive, such as infectious diseases and
parasites that target concentrated populations of bees.
6
C. Li
Wild bees, also referred to as native bees for a given locale, are those bees not
managed by humans, where management involves breeding and generally tending to
the bees’ basic needs such as providing shelter and supplemental food. Wild bees
may be either social or solitary.
More than 90% of the world’s 20,000 plus bee species are in fact solitary, which
makes both management and research very challenging compared to the highly
social nature of honey bees that live in structured colonies. A solitary bee is simply
one that lives alone, where each nest is built and occupied by a single female with no
caste or role hierarchy [3].
Bumblebees are social bees like honey bees, but their nest population numbers in
the low hundreds, not the tens of thousands honey bees in a colony. Bumblebees are
not as widely adopted into commercial apiculture (beekeeping), because they produce only small amounts of honey-like substance sufficient for their own consumption and are difficult and expensive to raise. Certain species are reared for
commercial pollination in greenhouses, but most species of bumblebee are wild [4].
Roughly 4000 species of wild bee are native to the United States, and they are still
credited with the majority of pollination activities with respect to native plants. For
example, the imported honey bee either cannot or poorly pollinates tomato, eggplant,
pumpkins, cherries, blueberries, and cranberries [5].
However, consistent and accurate studies for wild native bees, most of which are
solitary, can be difficult to achieve. The accessibility of managed honeybee colonies
means more data on their pollinator role and environmental effects upon them,
particularly in close relation to agricultural production.
2.2 Honey Bees
Farmers manage only 11 of over 20,000 bee species worldwide, with the European
honey bee (Apis mellifera) being the most commonly managed bee species [6].
Since honey bees are the primary subject of most pollinator-crop studies due to
the close relationship between the beekeeping and agriculture industries, a basic
understanding of their characteristics is necessary. Subspecies and hybrids exhibit
variations in behavior and morphology, but all honey bees share the following
general characteristics.
2.2.1 Honey Bee Colony Social Structure
The honey bee colony’s social structure is particularly important when considering
stressors that are transferred from individual to hive, such as infectious diseases and
parasites that target concentrated populations of bees.
6
C. Li