# Wild bees increase tomato pollination



## TwT (Aug 5, 2004)

with 20+ hives on my home yard I have never seen a bee's on a tomato bloom, now they work beans, melons, cucumbers, okra and squash but I have never seen one on a tomato bloom, maybe I miss them but have watched on and off for a few years now.... good info, until I read this I never thought they worked tomato's.


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## MichaelW (Jun 1, 2005)

Actually what you observed agrees with the study. Honey bees don't care about tomatoes. The Anthophorine Bee
http://www.dbc.uci.edu/~pjbryant/biodiv/hymenopt/Anthophora.htm
and a bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii 
http://pick4.pick.uga.edu/mp/20q?search=Bombus+vosnesenskii&guide=Bumblebees
where the most common bee visitors.

Bumblebees pollinate through "buzz pollination" or sonic resonance. Insects that don't usually do buzz pollination, such as the honey bee, can not easily access the pollen from flowers like tomatoes and therefore likely don't care much for it. There are a number of bees that buzz pollinate including all the bumble bees.

here's a write up on buzz pollination
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzz_pollination


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## dug_6238 (May 9, 2007)

*Size does matter - Bee pollination of tomoatoes*

Isn't this also a case of "Size does matter" when it comes to tomatoes? I had been under the impression that a honeybee's probiscus (closest thing they have to a tongue) was too short to work tomato blossoms, and that bumblebees or some other large bee would in omst cases be required for pollination of a blossom this deep.

I openly welcome objective calibration if this was in error...


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## MichaelW (Jun 1, 2005)

tomatoes aren't known for producing nectar, which is another reason honey bees aren't interested. They do produce pollen though and bumblebees ability to buzz pollinate makes the pollen accessible.


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