Bee diversity and pollen foraging specificity in cultivated highbush blueberry (Ericaceae: Vaccinium corymbosum L.) plantings in Rhode Island

Approximately 87% of flowering plants in the world are pollinated by animals. Bees are some of the most economically and ecologically important pollinators, necessary for the production of about one third of all crops. One such crop is highbush blueberry, grown throughout Rhode Island in small acreages. We conducted a survey of the bee species foraging on managed blueberry farms throughout Rhode Island, and analyzed their preference for blueberry pollen. We expected to mostly find species in the genera Bombus and Andrena, found commonly throughout the region and surveyed at URI East Farm in the Spring of 2014. These genera are known to effectively pollinate lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.), so we predicted to find similar results in highbush. We identified species using the Discover Life bee guides, confirmed the determinations with a taxonomist, and analyzed pollen loads to calculate percent blueberry pollen collected. This was used to quantify how specifically different bee species forage on blueberry when in fields of it.  We will use this data to inform growers which bees may be the most important for their crop yields and distribute conservation literature tailored for the specific fauna or lack thereof at each farm, emphasizing the importance of native pollinators for local agriculture.