Pollinating Insects-- Biology, Management and Systematics Research Site Logo
ARS Home About Us Helptop nav spacerContact Us En Espanoltop nav spacer
Printable VersionPrintable Version     E-mail this pageE-mail this page
Agricultural Research Service United States Department of Agriculture
Search
  Advanced Search
Programs and Projects
Squash Pollinator
Alfalfa Leafcutting Bee
About our Research
Crop-Pollination
Blue Orchard Bee
 

Research Project: POLLINATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVE CROP POLLINATORS

Location: Pollinating Insects-- Biology, Management and Systematics Research

Title: Breeding biologies, seed production and species-rich bee guilds of Cleome lutea and Cleome serrulata (Cleomaceae)

Author

Submitted to: Plant Species Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: May 20, 2008
Publication Date: October 1, 2008
Citation: Cane, J.H. 2008. Breeding biologies, seed production and species-rich bee guilds of Cleome lutea and Cleome serrulata (Cleomaceae). Plant Species Biology. 23:152-158

Interpretive Summary: Nevada bee-plant and Rocky Mountain bee-plant are desirable native wildflower species for use in rangeland restoration in the Intermountain West. We showed that both species are capable of setting some seed on their own, but that a diversity of native and managed bee species are attracted to the flowers and greatly enhanced fruit and seed production. Good pollination should be possible for native seed growers, and the floral rewards of these plant can serve to bolster native bee communities that persist on reseeded sites following wildfire.

Technical Abstract: The summer-blooming annual forbs Cleome lutea and C. serrulata (Cleomaceae) are widespread in the U.S. Intermountain West and Rocky Mountains, respectively. Their farmed seed is sought to help rehabilitate western rangelands. This study of the reproductive biologies and pollinator faunas of C. lutea and C. serrulata is the first for their cosmopolitan family, the sister family to the Brassicaceae. Both species of Cleome were found to be self-fertile and capable of some autonomous pollination. Outcrossing enhanced neither seed set, seed viability nor seedling vigor. Large, openly visited plants yielded >20,000 seeds. Flowers of both species first shed their pollen, secreted nectar and became receptive nocturnally. However, no nocturnal visitors were found, but both Cleome species attracted diverse diurnal native bees, wasps and butterflies. Among the many floral generalists that work Cleome flowers for pollen and nectar are two managed agricultural pollinators, Apis mellifera and Megachile rotundata. These observations bode well both for pollinating C. lutea and C. serrulata in small commercial seed fields, as well as for these two species¿ value for sustaining native pollinator faunas during early stages of plant community restorations, particularly after fire.

   

 
Project Team
James, Rosalind
Pitts Singer, Theresa
Strange, James - Jamie
Cane, James
Griswold, Terry
 
Publications
   Publications
 
Related National Programs
  Crop Production (305)
 
 
Last Modified: 11/05/2008
ARS Home | USDA.gov | Site Map | Policies and Links 
FOIA | Accessibility Statement | Privacy Policy | Nondiscrimination Statement | Information Quality | USA.gov | White House