The mining bee, Andrena crataegi, a potential new commericial pollinator

Commercial fruit and vegetable agriculture is dependent on honeybees for pollination services.  However, the honeybee is in decline due to several factors such as Colony Collapse Disorder. In addition, costs for honeybee pollination services (i.e. renting honeybee hives) have increased over the past decades, adding to farmer production costs.  In the present study, we examined the abundance and diversity of native bees present in apple orchards in Georgia. We have documented over 100 species of native bees and have documented the mining bee, Andrena crataegi, as the most abundant native bee in apple orchards.  Netting experiments that isolated apple branches from honeybees found that native bees pollinate just as efficiently as the honeybee.  In addition, over 70% of the bees responsible for this successful pollination of the apple trees were Andrena crataegi.  Further studies have shown that the abundances of these bees can be boosted by adding trenches (nesting areas) around commercial orchards.  Andrena crataegi, a communal ground nesting mining bee, has the potential to become a valuable commercial pollinator.