Effects of landscape and farm management on wild pollinators of eastern apple orchards

Recent declines in honey bee health and increasing demand for pollination services highlight a need for enhancing wild pollinators in agriculture. In order to enhance such services, key wild pollinators and the biophysical factors that support their abundance and diversity must first be identified. Apple is an economically important crop in New York State that requires insect pollination, yet little is known about wild bee pollinators. Between 2009 and 2011, we net surveyed bees visiting apple blossoms in a total of 22 orchards throughout Western New York. We used mixed linear models to test the effects of surrounding land use and farm management (e.g., spray regime) on bee community structure. In addition to honey bees, over 80 wild bee species were collected off apple blossoms study-wide. The fauna of wild bees in eastern apple orchards is dominated by bees in the genera Andrena and Bombus, both of which are demonstrated to be effective apple pollinators based on experimental studies. Wild bee abundance and species richness decreased significantly with agricultural intensification at local and landscape scales. Our study indicates that proximity to natural habitat is important to ensure wild bee pollination in apple orchards.