Rhode Island bee diversity and pollen foraging specificity in cultivated and wild cranberry

Cranberry is an economically and dietarily important crop commonly grown in New England. Cranberry flowers have poricidal anthers and are most effectively pollinated by bees that are capable of buzz pollination. Honey bees, which are commonly used in cranberry bogs, are not capable of buzz pollination. We want to determine the diversity of bees visiting cultivated and wild cranberry bogs in Rhode Island, and their pollen foraging fidelity on cranberry flowers. We monitored the cranberry flowers in six cultivated bogs by walking along 50m transects on the bog edges for 15 minutes and caught every bee visiting the flowers. In wild populations, we surveyed the area for 30 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the bog. Bees were pinned, identified, and wiped of their pollen for future analysis. This study will give us important information on the natural history of cranberries in Rhode Island and can point to the most efficient pollinators of cranberry crops.