Effect of a honey bee (Hymenoptera : Apidae) gradient on the pollination and yield of lowbush blueberry

The object of this study was to establish the relationship between a gradient of honey bees, Apis mellifera L., and fruit production of low bush blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton and V. myrtilloides Michaux. Five hundred colonies of honey bees were grouped at one end of a blueberry culture, and pollinator counts as well as fruit sampling were made between 0.5 and 5.0 km from the hives, thus obtaining fruit production data from plots with many to no observed honey bees. Four parameters were estimated to assess blueberry production: seed set, fruit set, berry weight, and maturation rate. All parameters were significantly and positively correlated with an increase in the density of honey bees.