![]() ![]() This species likely occurs on many other NCC properties, but has yet to be documented. NCC owns and protects the Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve, a property with savannah habitat where dozens of native bee species, possibly including the blue orchard mason bee, live. What is NCC doing to protect this species? Numbers may have increased in some places because of increasing numbers of orchards. NatureServe has ranked this important pollinator species as globally common, widespread and abundant. 3:23 PM EST There’s just no rules anymore. Overall threats to this species are low however, in some areas, pesticide use and habitat loss threaten the blue orchard bee. Most species have a bright metallic green head and thorax, and a black-and-yellow striped abdomen some females are entirely bright green or blue. They are medium sized ranging from 0.3 to 0.6 inches (7 to 14.5 mm) long. Finally, in the event of nest predation, this ensures that males, which are less reproductively valuable than females, are eaten first. Description: Agapostemon are brightly colored metallic green or blue bees. In the background is a landscape with hills and a bright blue sky with clouds. Also, males have to hatch first so that they have time to mature and await new females throughout the mating season. Summer Flowers On A Meadow Illustration of meadow full of beautiful flowers, bees and butterflies in spring or summer. For one, males take less time to develop than females. This likely takes place for a few reasons. Interestingly, female larvae hatch from the eggs laid farthest away from the entrance, while males hatch from the ones nearest the entrance. Then she seals off the entrance to the hole with mud. She repeats this process for the remaining six to 11 eggs she lays until she has created a separate cell for each egg in the same hole. Once a female has deposited enough pollen and nectar into the hole, she lays an egg in the hole and seals it with mud. Despite this, individuals will nest near each other, resulting in decreased predation pressures, more mating opportunities and increased genetic variation through cross-breeding.įemales use holes found in wood, hoses or pipes as nests for laying eggs. In fact, you can encounter bright green bees or metallic blue bees from your own garden. How does it reproduce?Īs a solitary species, each blue orchard bee looks after its own brood rather than living in a colony made up of worker bees and a queen. Bees are not limited to the classic black and yellow. Females form a mixture of pollen and nectar that they bring back to their nests into balls with the aid of their own saliva, which the larvae eat. They pack pollen beneath rows of scopa, which are stiff hairs below the abdomen. This native species is highly valued for its pollination of fruit crops, including cherry, pear, apple, blueberry and almond. Like many other bee species, blue orchard bees feed on nectar and pollen from flowers, collecting nectar in their honey sacs from many plants. ![]() The blue orchard bee occurs in woodlands and forest edges across North America, ranging in the east from Nova Scotia to Georgia, Michigan and Texas, and in the west from southern British Columbia to southern California.
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