Attempts to introduce stingless bees for the pollination of crops under greenhouse conditions in Japan
2004
Amano, R.,National Inst. of Livestock and Grassland Science, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0901 (Japan). Lab. of Apiculture
In Japan, a growing number of greenhouses for crops are now in use, where no wild pollinators are available. Although a considerable number of colonies of honey bees, Apis mellifera, and bumble bees, Bombus terrestris, are used for pollination there, farmers face difficulty because of the absolute shortage of pollinators. Consequently, many of them are obliged to perform artificial pollination or apply hormones to their crops. In response to these situations, the authors have been trying to introduce the use of new efficient pollinators in recent years. Stingless bees, Meliporinae, and honey bees, Apinae, are the only highly social bees living in permanent colonies, and both have many biological characteristics in common. Many advantages could be expected from the use of stingless bees as pollinators. They are literally harmless to beekeepers and farmers, active throughout most of the year, visit a wide range of crops(polytecty) and do not pose any environmental risks by escaping into natural habits because they cannot tolerate cold weather, especially in the winter. Consequently, among the stingless bees actually kept in their indigenous habitats, some promising species have been chosen and introduced: Meripona beecheii, M. quadrifosciata, Trigona carbonaria, Tetragonula fuscobalcata, Scaptotorigona bipunctata, Tetragonisca angustula, and so on, from tropical and subtropical habitats overseas. This presentation showed the process of introducing stingless bees and the facilities involved, together with the pollination results obtained by using the stingless bees.
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