UMAINE TODAY • April 23, 2021
A natural way to support Maine’s wild blueberry industry is to cultivate plants popular with bees, such as butterfly weed, starflower, summer sweet, sweet clover and swamp rose, according to a University of Maine study. Recent declines in wild native bee populations have garnered global attention, particularly in Maine where blueberry growers depend on bees to pollinate their crops. While bumblebees (Bombus spp.) are recognized as the most effective pollinators of wild blueberries, Maine growers are increasingly relying on Apis mellifera, a non-native bee, to pollinate their fields. Establishing bee reservoirs to provide forage when the blueberries are not in bloom is one strategy that could benefit Maine’s native bumblebees while sustaining an economically important agricultural industry.