Life Cycle ecophysiology of Osmia mason bees

Agricultural ecosystems planted with insect-pollinated plants create a situation of high pollinator demand over a short blooming period. This is especially true in areas of intensive monoculture, in which alternative flowering species are frequently unavailable to pollinators prior to and/or following petal fall of the main crop. Other environmental conditions in these areas, such as the destruction of natural nesting sites and the use of pesticides and herbicides, also contribute to the demise of wild pollinator populations. Where measures to protect and enhance these populations (see chapter 2, this volume) are difficult to implement, it becomes necessary to introduce populations of managed pollinators. This need has stimulated the search for pollinator species suitable to various crops and agronomic environments (open fields, greenhouses, screened enclosures). Some of these efforts have resulted in the development of viable pollinator management systems.