Bee visitors of sweetvetch, Hedysarum boreale boreale (Leguminosae), and their pollen-collecting activities

Authors

Vincent J. Tepedino, Utah State University
Mark Stackhouse, Salt Lake City, Utah

Abstract

The native bee fauna visiting and pollinating a population of sweetvetch in Grand Teton National Park was surveyed. The papilionaceous flowers were exploited by 37 bee species, most of which had long mouthparts. Most species collected pollen as well as nectar. Bees foraged most heavily in early afternoon when pollen was most abundant. However, there was no indication that bee species were competing for limited pollen resources: there was no difference among three time periods in percent sweetvetch pollen carried in the scopal pollen loads of bees nor was there any evidence that some species were displacing the foraging times of others. The advantages of developing a native species as a commercial pollinator of sweetvetch are discussed and several potential candidates are mentioned.

Recommended Citation

Tepedino, Vincent J. and Stackhouse, Mark (1987) "Bee visitors of sweetvetch, Hedysarum boreale boreale (Leguminosae), and their pollen-collecting activities," Great Basin Naturalist: Vol. 47: No. 2, Article 18.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/gbn/vol47/iss2/18