Pollinator Particulars

As trucks carrying beehives from far-away Texas (so I heard today) along with others are rolling into Maine to pollinate the wild blueberry crop, I am starting a miniature education effort at a local nature center.  Every week I hope to place a typed sentence or paragraph describing something about pollinators in the visitor center and I will also post something similar on beesy-me.

This week's Pollinator Particular, as I am calling it, is about pollinating the 60,000 acres of Maine's lowbush blueberry crop.  Last year, according to Maine Beekeeper General Tony Jadczak's report in the Maine Beekeeping newsletter, about 52,000 hives from away joined another 1,600 in-state hives in this big pollination party on the blueberry barrens.  What might be less well-known is that there are more than 40 species of native bees found in blueberry lands and some of them are excellent pollinators of the small clusters of flowers that result in the tasty berries come July.  One is actually called the Maine blueberry bee and it is blue!  Osmia atriventris is the Latin name, a member of the genus of leaf-cutter/mason class of bees,  the megachilids.  (mega = big, chilid = jaws).

One interesting characteristic of this type of bee is that the females carry the pollen under their abdomen instead of on their hind legs.  Ok, one more -  the "big jaw" comes in handy for chewing off pieces of leaves that they use to line the nesting tunnels which they locate in wood or woody parts of vegetation such as raspberry canes.

Stay tuned for more Pollinator Particulars.  The next one will describe in part at least how to increase the numbers of native bees in places like blueberry fields.  I don't have a photo of the Maine blueberry bee but if anyone has one that they would share for this blog please let me know!  Here instead is another native bee, a bumble bee species, at work on some high-bush blueberry flowers that are similar to those of the wild plant. 

Bumble bee, Bombus sp., on high-bush blueberry blossom.