Abstract

Blueberry is one of the most relevant buzz-pollinated crops worldwide and Chile is the most important global producer of fresh blueberries during wintertime in the Northern Hemisphere. Thousands of exotic Bombus terrestris are imported from Europe to pollinate blueberries. However, no study has investigated the performance of the native Chilean fauna to pollinate blueberry or other crops. Therefore, we aimed to compare the performance of native Chilean floral visitors with managed visitors to pollinate highbush blueberry. Per-visit pollination performance (stigmatic pollen deposition) and floral visitation were measured and the presence of sonication behaviour of flower visitors was evaluated for five cultivars in two blueberry orchards located in southern Chile. Floral visitors showed a preference for one or more blueberry cultivars, instead of visiting all cultivars equally. Floral visits with sonication deposited more conspecific pollen on stigmas than visits without sonication. Some native sonicating bees (Cadeguala and Bombus), especially Cadeguala occidentalis, were efficient pollen vectors of blueberry and better pollinators than honeybees (5.8 times more pollen transferred) similar to that of the managed bee B. terrestris. The results indicate that some Chilean native bee species, especially those with sonication behaviour, can provide pollination service to highbush blueberry crops.