What do blue orchard bees pollinate?
Andrew Mclaughlin
Updated on February 28, 2026
They are all known for visiting fruit trees, such as apples, plums, pears, almonds, and peaches. The blue orchard bee or Osmia lignaria, is prized for its efficiency pollinating fruit trees and is one of the few native pollinators that is managed in agriculture.
How many bees are needed to pollinate an orchard?
In mature orchards, there should be 20-25 bees on apples trees, 10-15 bees on pear trees, and 25-35 bees on cherry trees. These numbers indicate that sufficient pollinators are present for proper pollination. The number of effective pollinators accomplishing pollination from a colony is rather small.
Do blue orchard bees produce honey?
OUR BEES – Blue Orchard & Horn-Faced Mason Bees & Leafcutter Bees. WHAT ARE SOLITARY BEES? Unlike the social honey bees, solitary bees do not have a queen, do not live in a hive and do not produce honey. Without the need to protect a queen and honey, solitary bees are gentle, friendly and non-aggressive.
Do mason bees pollinate fruit trees?
“Mason bees fill a spot in the season when other pollinators like honeybees are not out,” said Brooke Edmunds, a horticulturist with Oregon State University Extension Service. “They’re really important for fruit trees, especially in cool, wet areas.”
What is the rarest bee?
| Megachile pluto | |
|---|---|
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Megachilidae |
Why do fruit farmers keep beehives in their orchards?
The presence of honeybees in the orchards is crucial and one major factor to provide a sizable crop each year. Without honeybees and cross-pollination, a mass majority of fruits would not be available for you to eat, including apples, cherries, and pears.
Why do farmers breed bees in their fruit orchards?
Bees are important pollinators. In fact, there is something of a crisis in agriculture because bee populations are declining in the face of “colony collapse disorder.” Unless a cure is found, many vegetable products may become scarce and expensive. BTW, “THEIR fruit orchards,” the ones over THERE.
What do mason bees pollinate?
Mason Bees are generalists; they don’t stick to certain blossoms they pollinate whatever they find and like. They pollinate the following best: apricots, almonds, apples, blueberries, cherries, nectarines, peaches, pears, plums, prunes, raspberries, strawberries, and flowers in the rose family.
Are blue orchard bees aggressive?
Unlike honey bees, which form huge, complex hives, blue orchard bees are solitary creatures, though not particularly hostile to each other.
How do you attract bees to pollinate fruit trees?
#1 Provide Food. We already talked about providing them with what they need to eat – lots of pollen and some nectar. Make a plan now to inter-plant your fruit trees with other flowering plants. Especially look for native plants that easily grow in your area because wild bees like masons are very attracted to them.
Do Blue Orchard bees cross pollinate?
Cross pollination is required in all fruit trees, so bees must move between different cultivars; BOB females visit many trees in a short time and readily move between rows of trees. Management of the Blue Orchard Bee (BOB) is quite different than for honey bees.
What is a blue orchard bee?
The blue orchard bee or Osmia lignaria, is prized for its efficiency pollinating fruit trees and is one of the few native pollinators that is managed in agriculture. Blue orchard bees are about the same size as a honeybee but there are a few key points that help you tell them apart.
What kind of bees pollinate fruit trees?
There are a number of bees, called mason bees, that are very good at pollinating fruit trees, so much so that they are also known as orchard bees. They are related to other orchard pollinators like the leaf cutter bees featured in previous Pollinator of the Month highlights (see Leaf Cutting Bees, Megachile spp. ).
Why don’t farmers use blue orchard bees for hives?
The primary reason is that it’s really hard to get them to actually stay in one place and do what farmers want. Blue orchard bees, unlike honey bees, won’t make a hive their home for generations on end; if you release a whole bunch of blue orchard bees near a nice custom-made nest, a good percentage of them will just…fly away.
