 Female Peponapis Bee Pollinating Squash: Photo by Jim Cane Would pumpkin pie be as plentiful without the diligent efforts of pumpkin-pollinating bees? Perhaps not. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) entomologist James Cane and his colleagues are discovering more about America's native bees that pollinate pumpkins, other squashes, and gourds. Most of these bees are members of the genus Peponapis or the genus Xenoglossa, according to Cane. He's based at the agency's Pollinating Insects Biology, Management, and Systematics Research Unit in Logan, Utah. Cane is studying wild bees as replacements for the European honeybee, in view of the ongoing problems faced by the nation's premier pollinator, Apis mellifera. Honeybees' current troubles include the puzzling phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder. Cane has shown, for the first time, that male Peponapis pruinosa play a surprisingly significant role in pollinating summer squash. In the past, less than 10 percent of pollination has been attributed to male bees. Simple lust may explain the male squash bee's role in pollinating blooms. Unlike male bees that mainly hunt for females at nest sites, P. pruinosa males seek their mates at flowers, and in the process carry pollen from one plant to another. Read more about this research in the November/December 2008 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.
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