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Measures to support populations of solitary bees in agroecosystems
Šlachta, Martin ; Erban, T. ; Votavová, A. ; Cudlín, Ondřej ; Cudlín, Pavel ; Halešová, T.
Solitary bees participate in the pollination of crops. According to our field\nsurvey, this involves 88 species of solitary bees in spring, mainly mining bees\n(Andrenidae) and sweat bees (Halictidae) nesting in the soil. The species\nnesting above soil were present less due to the lack of nesting opportunities\nand generally summer nesting activity. Among them, mason bees (Osmia sp.),\nnesting in spring, are used abroad for the pollination of fruit trees. The aim of\nthis methodology is to provide farmers with instructions for the use of mason\nbees for pollination of orchards by means of artificial nesting sites. We propose\na convenient construction of nesting sites and the methodology for rearing the\nEuropean orchard bee, Osmia cornuta (Latreille, 1805), which is, due to its earlyspring nesting activity, a suitable substitute for the currently used buff-tailed\nbumblebee. Breeding can be supplemented by the red mason bee, O. bicornis\n(Linnaeus, 1758), with later nesting activity. The book contains also suggested\nmeasures to support solitary bees in the landscape and new research data on\nthe diversity of solitary bees and pollen preferences of mason bees.
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