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Section Symposium

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

Pollinator Work on Federal Lands

Three methods used to survey bees in historic orchards at Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

Tuesday, November 12, 2024
3:45 PM – 4:00 PM MST
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 124 AB
Oral Presentation

Honeybees are often transported to orchards for pollination; however, the degree to which native bees alone pollinate orchards is less known. Apple, apricot, pear, peach, cherry and nut trees were planted by settlers in the 1880’s and historic orchards are currently managed by the National Park Service at Capitol Reef National Park. Seventy-five percent of insect visitors at fruit blossoms were honeybees (Apis mellifera) in 2003 and 2004; however, hives were removed from the park in 2006 and bee visitation has not been assessed since that time. We re-measured insect visitation at fruit trees in 2024 to compare current rates to those measured 20 years prior when honeybees were present. We measured insect visitation at flowers using GoPro cameras, and we assessed the insect assemblage using target netting and vane traps during the bloom period. We documented 11 bee species that regularly visited flowers of which 2 were not reported previously. We have not observed honeybees suggesting that feral colonies are not present. Preliminary results suggest that vane traps caught many of the same bee species visiting flowers. Fruit production in the historical orchards of Capitol Reef National Park have declined over the past 30 years; however, removing honeybees explained little variance in the mass of fruit produced. Some variation in fruit production may be explained by the number of trees in production. Native bees appeared to quickly resume the role of pollinating fruit trees after removing honeybees and a diverse assemblage of native bees pollinate the trees.