Cost of introducing Bumblebees to mainland Australia
Many in the scientific community are strongly opposed to introducing Bumblebees to mainland Australia. This is because Bumblebees are not only specialist pollinators for farmable plants but also many agricultural weeds in the Solanaceae family (Hingston AB et al. 2001). Many of these weeds are present now in Australia however because they lack a key pollinator they are yet to gain status as a serious weed. The introduction of Bumblebees would cause these weeds to become much more invasive and damaging than they currently are (NSW Scientific Committee 2011).
The introduction of Bumblebees would also increase competition for native bees. Many of Australia’s native bee species are solitary instead of colonial so they do not possess many of the advantages that Bumblebees have (Cane JH 2008). The advantage of being colonial is that there is a storage of food in the hive for when food supplies become short. There is a network of other bees to communicate too about the location of good food supplies (Dornhouse A & Chittka L 2004). Bumblebees are also able to fly in much cooler temperatures than most native Australian bees (PJ Gullen & PS Cranston 2011). Therefore they can begin foraging much earlier in the day and may exhaust pollen and nectar supplies before native bees have the chance to forage themselves. Competition between native birds that utilize pollen and nectar may also be increased with the introduction of the Bumblebee.
A large portion of Australian bees belong to the family Colletidae (PJ Gullen & PS Cranston 2011). These bees are the most likely to suffer if the Bumblebee is introduced because they both feed on the same species of plant (Buttermore RE 1997).
The species of Bumblebee that farmers want introduced is the Large Earth Bumblebee (NSW Scientific Committee 2011). Already introduced to Tasmania in 1992 multiple studies have been done on its effects on native flora and fauna. The Bumblebee introduced to Tasmania has already spread over a wide range of habitats and has been found in both urban and bush land areas (Hingston AB et al. 2001). Due to its easy adaptability it would most likely be able to spread very quickly throughout the mainland of Australia.
The Large Earth Bumblebee is capable of much larger than average Bumblebee colonies with the average nest hosting about 300 – 500 individual bees (Buttermore RE 1997). It is a wide range forager and has been recorded foraging from 170 different species in Tasmania, 14 of which were native with the other 156 being exotic plant species (Semmens TD 1996).
The Large Earth Bumblebee is known a specialist pollinator to many European plant species. Triggers such as weight, bee size and buzz pollination is what makes it a specialist pollinator to these plants (Hingston AB & McQuillan PB 1998). On mainland Australia exotic species such as Scotch Broom is pollinated by native honeybees however not at a great level of efficiency (NSW Scientific Committee 2011). The introduction of the Large Earth Bumblebee to mainland Australia would result in increased pollination for these plants and in turn increased seed setting. This would result in an increased level of weediness of those exotic plant species.
For the above reasons the NSW Scientific Committee (2011) stated in 2004 that the Scientific Committee is of the opinion that the Introduction of the Large Earth Bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, could cause species or populations that are not threatened to become threatened.
The introduction of Bumblebees would also increase competition for native bees. Many of Australia’s native bee species are solitary instead of colonial so they do not possess many of the advantages that Bumblebees have (Cane JH 2008). The advantage of being colonial is that there is a storage of food in the hive for when food supplies become short. There is a network of other bees to communicate too about the location of good food supplies (Dornhouse A & Chittka L 2004). Bumblebees are also able to fly in much cooler temperatures than most native Australian bees (PJ Gullen & PS Cranston 2011). Therefore they can begin foraging much earlier in the day and may exhaust pollen and nectar supplies before native bees have the chance to forage themselves. Competition between native birds that utilize pollen and nectar may also be increased with the introduction of the Bumblebee.
A large portion of Australian bees belong to the family Colletidae (PJ Gullen & PS Cranston 2011). These bees are the most likely to suffer if the Bumblebee is introduced because they both feed on the same species of plant (Buttermore RE 1997).
The species of Bumblebee that farmers want introduced is the Large Earth Bumblebee (NSW Scientific Committee 2011). Already introduced to Tasmania in 1992 multiple studies have been done on its effects on native flora and fauna. The Bumblebee introduced to Tasmania has already spread over a wide range of habitats and has been found in both urban and bush land areas (Hingston AB et al. 2001). Due to its easy adaptability it would most likely be able to spread very quickly throughout the mainland of Australia.
The Large Earth Bumblebee is capable of much larger than average Bumblebee colonies with the average nest hosting about 300 – 500 individual bees (Buttermore RE 1997). It is a wide range forager and has been recorded foraging from 170 different species in Tasmania, 14 of which were native with the other 156 being exotic plant species (Semmens TD 1996).
The Large Earth Bumblebee is known a specialist pollinator to many European plant species. Triggers such as weight, bee size and buzz pollination is what makes it a specialist pollinator to these plants (Hingston AB & McQuillan PB 1998). On mainland Australia exotic species such as Scotch Broom is pollinated by native honeybees however not at a great level of efficiency (NSW Scientific Committee 2011). The introduction of the Large Earth Bumblebee to mainland Australia would result in increased pollination for these plants and in turn increased seed setting. This would result in an increased level of weediness of those exotic plant species.
For the above reasons the NSW Scientific Committee (2011) stated in 2004 that the Scientific Committee is of the opinion that the Introduction of the Large Earth Bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, could cause species or populations that are not threatened to become threatened.
Benefit of introducing Bumblebees to mainland Australia
Many farmers and potential Bumblebee importers want to import Bumblebees over to Australia to assist in the pollination of farmed plant species such as tomatoes, eggplants and potatoes. Better pollination of these plants would result in a larger and higher quality harvest (E Evans et al. 2007). There are manual vibration devices available for farmers to increase pollination however studies have shown that it is cheaper to simply place Bumblebee hives in the vicinity of the plants (Blue Banded Bee 2013)
Potential Solution
Scientists are working on modifying the native Australian blue banded bee in hopes that it can be used to increase pollination of farmed plants instead and the idea of imported Bumblebees can be abolished by farmers completely. Blue Banded Bees are one of the few native Australian bees that can use buzz pollination. The presence of Blue Banded Bees around Chillis, Eggplants and Kiwi fruit is already thought to improve their yield by 30% (Blue Banded Bee 2013).
Blue Banded Bee buzz pollinating.
Website created by Catherine Russo 2013