Additional Resources

Wild bees are an important part of crop pollination. The wild blueberry landscape often can be harsh for wild bees, but there are actions you can take to manage, promote, and conserve wild bee populations around your blueberry fields. The wild blueberry web page of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension has many resources on wild bee management and conservation. Recommending reading includes:

A series of YouTube videos details multiple aspects of wild bee management and conservation in Maine wild blueberry:

Dr. Frank Drummond demonstrates how to count wild bees in wild blueberry fields:

Hear why the landscape is important for pollination management:

Learn more about pollinator plantings:

Academic references:

Bushmann, S., and F. Drummond. 2015. Abundance and Diversity of Wild Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) Found in Lowbush Blueberry Growing Regions of Downeast Maine. Environmental Entomology 44(4): 975-989. https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvv082

Chapin, S.J. 2014. The application of spatial modeling tools to predict native bee abundance in Maine’s lowbush blueberries.  M.S. Thesis, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, 44 pp. http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/2112/

Groff, S.C., Loftin, C.S., Drummond, F.A., Bushmann, S., and B. McGill. 2016. Parameterization of the InVEST Crop Pollination Model to spatially predict abundance of wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton) native bee pollinators in Maine, USA. Environmental Modelling and Software 79:1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2016.01.003

Lonsdorf, E., Kremen, C., Ricketts, T., Winfree, R., Williams, N, and S. Greenleaf. 2009. Modelling pollination services across agricultural landscapes. Annals of Botany 103(9): 1589-1600. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcp06