مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - Basic Necessities for Commercial Rearing of Bumblebee, Bombus terrestris L.

Abstract :

Each year more than one million Bombus terrestris colonies are used for the pollination of a number of crops, mainly of tomatoes in greenhouses in the world. In Turkey, demand for bumblebees have been increased especially in Mediterranean coastal region, where greenhouse tomato production is widespread, and approximately 150 000 commercially produced B. terrestris colonies were used in 2012-2013 production season. This high demand also caused to increase of interest for commercial rearing of bumblebees. However, lack of knowledge and inexperience about mass and commercial rearing of bumblebee can be important risks for new investors. The most important step is to have the technical knowledge and experience for commercial rearing. Additionally, the producers should have convenient rearing laboratory, required materials and equipments, hibernated queens for starting the rearing activity, official authorization for production and marketing, production planning according to sales forecast, healthy and quality queen rearing for sustainable production and experienced marketing staff for success in commercial rearing. In this study, main stages and basic necessities for commercial rearing process of B. terrestris were described.