Tomato pollination with Japanese native bumblebees (Bombus spp)

The pollination efficiency of greenhouse tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum) by laboratory-reared colonies on native Japanese Bumblebees (Bombus hypocrita hypocrita and B. ignitus) was examined. The Bumblebees buzz-foraged on tomato flowers and induced a high fruiting rate and almost no puffy fruit. There was no difference in the pollination efficiency between Japanese Bumblebees and the imported non-native Bumblebee (B. terrestris). Because indigenous Bumblebees pose no ecological risk, we propose using them for crop pollination instead of the imported B. terrestris.