Development of Blue-banded bees as managed buzz pollinators

Australian blue-banded bees (genus Amegilla) are buzz pollinators of many wild plants. We already know that they are excellent pollinators of tomatoes and probably of various other crops. However, as they are solitary and seasonal bees, research is required to develop and maintain populations for managed pollination in glasshouses.

Despite being popular garden visitors, little is known about their ecology. This project aims to increase knowledge of the biology of wild blue-banded bees, using this to develop and test protocols for their large-scale rearing and deployment as pollinators in commercial greenhouses. In addition, we are exploring the floral preferences and diets of the bees, how they forage, and what crop plants they can pollinate efficiently.

We are studying wild bees at their nesting aggregations and using “bee bricks” to obtain nests and larvae to initiate a captive population. This population will allow us to better understand their life cycle and explore glasshouse foraging behaviours.