Pollination of Greenhouse Tomatoes by the North American Bombus vosnesenskii (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Abstract

The effectiveness of pollination of tomatoes by the bumble bee Bombus vosnesenskii Radoszkowski in greenhouses was determined between May and August 1991 by measuring fruit size and seed content. Bumble bee pollination was compared with no pollination, manual pollination, and manual plus bumble bee pollination. Bumble bee-pollinated flowers produced larger fruit than non-bumble bee-pollinated flowers. Fruit shape was not affected by bumble bee pollination. Our results show that B. vosnesenskii is an effective pollinator of tomatoes in greenhouses.