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Dilemma: Honeybees have long been the prime pollinators of our crops. But these European immigrants have suffered a steep population decline due to deadly mite infestations and insecticide use.
Findings: Researchers have been investigating the 4,000 species of bees that are native to North America to understand their role as pollinators. Rachael Winfree and Claire Kremen, of the University of California at Berkeley, and Neal Williams, of Bryn Mawr College, are documenting wild bee behavior on farms, recording how often the bees visit which crops and how much pollen they deposit. On 23 farms in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, they noted that 40 species of native bees are doing a good share of the pollinating of tomatoes, peppers, and melons. What's more, there are specialists, like squash bees, that do the job more efficiently than European honeybees. Wild bees are also more likely to venture out in cool or cloudy weather, when honeybees prefer to remain hivebound. Native wild bees deposited about 65 percent of the pollen on studied plants at most of the farms.
Our advice: Attract wild bees by growing lots of flowering plants from spring though fall, especially native wildflowers and insect-pollinated vegetables. "Garden plants such as mints are excellent for bees," Winfree reports. Ground-nesting bees require some open, well-drained soil; others like a shrubby habitat. In general, bees like what we like: a diverse, beautiful, and alive organic landscape.
