Combattere il colpo di fuoco con l’aiuto di Osmia cornuta

Summary

For Osmia cornuta, a low cost dispenser was developed. Therefore, per nest, 50 females and 100 males in their cocoons were released. After the mating and when the females started nesting, a metal grid was installed in front of the nest to oblige the females to get out passing through the dispenser. A free space above the dispenser gave female bees the possibility of returning to their nest without crossing the dispenser. Although some time was needed to learn how to enter the nest using the free space above the dispenser, it ended up being successful. Exiting and passing the dispenser did not result in any hindrance. This experiment shows that successful nesting activity and a good dispersion of microbial control agent can be obtained with the use of solitary bees.