UC Delivers

An Alternative to Honey Bees for Pollination

Managing bees for pollination is becoming more difficult as beekeepers face challenges from the Africanized honey bee, the Red Imported Fire Ant, Varroa and tracheal mites and several other pests and diseases. Colony strength, winter survival and restrictions on movement of bees in to and out of the state all affect the economics of beekeeping. Growers who rely on honey bees for pollination are concerned about future availability of bees as well as increasing costs for pollination. Leafcutter bees are used for pollination on certain crops in Canada and the Pacific Northwest, but they had not been used in California due to their higher cost and more intensive management requirements. If leafcutter bees could be used to pollinate several commodities in this area, there would be greater incentive to establish the necessary infrastructure, the cost would go down, custom pollinators might become involved and more growers could take advantage of the leafcutter bee's superior pollinating activity on certain crops.