Topic
Osmia ribifloris
About: Osmia ribifloris is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 15 publications have been published within this topic receiving 280 citations.
Papers
More filters
TL;DR: Interestingly, honey bees once thought to be inefficient pollinators of rabbiteyeblueberry were found to be very efficient, especially for‘Climax’ and ‘Premier’ flowers.
Abstract: Inadequate bee pollination limits rabbiteye blueberry,Vaccinium ashei Reade, production in the some areas of thesoutheastern United States Honey bees, Apis mellifera L,are currently the only manageable pollinators available for pollinatingV ashei However, a new adaptable pollinator for rabbiteyeblueberry, Osmia ribifloris Cockerell, was successfullyreared and flown in captivity The bee nested successfully in woodenshelters and conferred superior fruit set to 2-yr-old potted, rabbiteyeblueberry bushes Pollination efficiency or the percentage of blueberryflowers to set fruit after being visited once by a female Oribifloris was comparable to that of the female blueberry beeHabropoda laboriosa (F) and worker honey beesInterestingly, honey bees once thought to be inefficient pollinators ofrabbiteye blueberry were found to be very efficient, especially for‘Climax’ and ‘Premier’ flowers
78 citations
TL;DR: Cladistic analysis is used to study the evolution of 29 biological characters related to nesting behavior, nest provisioning, oviposition, cocoon spinning, defecation, and life cycle in 11 species of Osmia bees and two outgroup genera.
Abstract: Cladistic analysis is used to study the evolution of 29 biological characters related to nesting behavior, nest provisioning, oviposition, cocoon spinning, defecation, and life cycle (nest characters) in 11 species of Osmia bees (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) and two outgroup genera. A molecular phylogeny based on 38 allozyme loci-as-characters and a combined character phylogeny are produced to compare with the nest character phylogeny. All phylogenetic trees support the monophyly of the genus Osmia and the subgenus Osmia (Osmia) with Osmia ribifloris Cockerell basal to the other species in this subgenus. The subgenus Helicosmia (=Chalcosmia) is resolved as a sister clade to O. (Osmia) in the molecular tree and as sister to the subgenus Cephalosmia in the nest character and combined trees. Incomplete biological information from additional species of all three subgenera is provided to support the consistency of nest characters at the subgeneric level and their use in the establishment of subgeneric p...
49 citations
01 Jan 1994
45 citations
Journal Article•
38 citations
27 Jul 2004
TL;DR: Calculations based on flower visits and fruit set for female bees suggest that the monetary return a farmer receives from each female bee that nests in the orchard is about $12.00 to $24.00.
Abstract: SUMMARY The behavioral traits and the pollination efficiency of Osmia ribifloris Cockerell (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) were studied to assess the potential value of this bee for pollinating southern blueberry crops (Vaccinium sect. Cyanococcus). Emergence for this typically univoltine bee can be made to coincide with blueberry flowering, but there were some unusual patterns. For example, some bees delayed prepupal development and emerged one year late (i.e., parsivoltinism). Adults began foraging at blueberry flowers at air temperatures as cool as 9°C. Thirty-three to 67 percent of open-pollinated rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei Reade) flowers visited solely by female O. ribifloris set seeded fruits. Bagged flowers that excluded O. ribifloris resulted in 0-5% seedless fruit. Calculations based on flower visits and fruit set for female bees suggest that the monetary return a farmer receives from each female bee that nests in the orchard is about $12.00 to $24.00.
16 citations