Efficacy of Nest Boxes for Wild Bumblebees as a Supplemental Pollination Strategy in Highbush Blueberry
2025
Bryce, Emma | Gillespie, Sandra
Commercial highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L) growers use managed honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies as the primary pollination strategy, yet in many respects wild bumblebee species (Bombus spp. L) are better suited. Studies on the use of nest boxes to augment wild bumblebee populations are limited and have focused solely on nest box occupation, without determining whether there is any subsequent increase in bumblebee visitation to flowers in the field. This two-year study evaluated the use of nest boxes in blueberry production systems in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia (BC), Canada. I measured both nest box occupation as well as the rate of bumblebee visitation on flowers and the impact of land use on both outcomes. I found 10% nest box occupation in 2022 and 18% occupation in 2023. Semi-natural habitat had a contrasting effect on both box occupation and in-field observations. Occupied boxes had a positive effect on bumblebee observations in 2023 when there were fewer bees present overall, pointing to potential for mitigating pollination deficits.
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