Native bees and their floral host associations in Tasmania Apple Orchards

Four orchards in the Huon Valley Region, southern Tasmania, Australia, were surveyed by Kit S. Prendergast in October 2019. Three orchards (Lymington, Cradoc and Geeveston) of which were “Certified Organic” (Australian Organic Ltd, 2019), and one (Plenty) which used Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Only the IPM orchard had managed honeybee colonies (30 colonies, at densities of approximately 2.5 colonies/ha). Each orchard was surveyed for three days in succession during the flowering season. Orchards were only surveyed on days that were suitable for bee activity, namely when temperatures were >15oC, partly cloudy to sunny condition, with windspeeds