Comparison of Yield and Fruit Size of Four Raspberry Varieties Grown under High-tunnel Conditions at Vsu’s Randolph Farm

PREFERENCE OF HONEY BEES, CARPENTER BEES, AND BUMBLE BEES FOR NEW CROPS IN VIRGINIA. Mark Kraemer & Harbans Bhardwaj, Agricultural Research Station, Virginia State Univ., Petersburg, VA 23806. Agricultural crops may provide important nectar and pollen resources for native bees and the European honey bee, especially during the mid to late summer period when forage resources are limited. In some cases pollination is essential for good yields. Bee visits to several new crops were recorded during late August 2012 to replicated quarter acre plots of sesame, pigeon pea, mung bean, and lablab bean. Only 3 species constituted 99% of the bees visiting the flowers: carpenter bee (Xylocoris flavipes), common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens), and European honey bee (Apis mellifera). Bees were counted during a 3-minute walk through of the field plots, repeated 3 times in a 3-week period. Significant differences (P<0.05) were found in the mean number of bees visiting the different crops using the PROC GLM procedure of SAS. Sesame attracted significantly larger numbers of B. impatiens (113) than either carpenter bees (1.8) or honey bees (0.1). In contrast, pigeon pea and lablab bean attracted significantly more carpenter bees (15.5 and 16.8, respectively) than bumble bees (2.8 and 1.0, respectively). Mung beans attracted significantly more bumble bees (12.0) and carpenter bees (4.7) than honey bees. Honey bee populations were low despite the presence of 10 active hives within 1⁄2 mile. The large number of B. impatiens in the sesame plots was likely partially due to their good physical fit within the corolla of the flower whereas carpenter bees were too large to enter the flower and those present attempted to rob nectar by chewing holes in the base of the corolla.