The South American Black Bumblebee ( Bombus pauloensis ) as a Potential Pollinator of Alfalfa ( Medicago sativa )

Denise Nery, Florencia Palottini and Walter M. Farina ()
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Denise Nery: Laboratorio de Insectos Sociales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
Florencia Palottini: Laboratorio de Insectos Sociales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina
Walter M. Farina: Laboratorio de Insectos Sociales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-13

Abstract: We assessed if the commercially reared South American bumblebee Bombus pauloensis forages resources in alfalfa crops by monitoring their colony activity daily. We analyzed the pollen collected by using pollen traps specifically designed for B. pauloensis nests and counted the number of bumblebees in the crop. Consequentially, colony activity was found to be highest during the mornings; 65% of the pollen trap samples analyzed contained alfalfa pollen grains, and 60% of the total pollen loads were identified as alfalfa pollen. Although the honey bee was the predominant pollinator observed in the crop, the high percentage of alfalfa pollen found in the pollen traps of B. pauloensis nests suggests that this species forages resources in alfalfa crops and could be considered a potential managed pollinator.

Keywords: native bumblebee; lucerne; pollination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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