Carpenter bees are the most effective pollinators of passion fruits. However, their populations can be small in some areas. For this project, I wanted to know how much passionfruit crops depend on carpenter bees for pollination, or whether other bees can provide enough pollination. I also wanted to try trap nest for carpenter bees, as a way to increase their population in agricultural areas.

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I found that dependence on carpenter bees for pollination vary depending on the floral biology of the crop species, and who abundant other bees and pollinators are in the crops. Trap nests for carpenter bees had a limited success, but I was able to collect data regarding the nesting biology of one species (Xylocopa nasica). Check out the full study here.