@article {1570,
	title = {Pollinating bees (Hymenoptera: Apiformes) of U.S. alfalfa compared for rates of pod and seed set},
	journal = {Journal of Economic Entomology},
	volume = {95},
	year = {2002},
	month = {2002///},
	pages = {22 - 27},
	abstract = {Alfalfa (=lucerne) flowers require visiting bees to trip the sexual column, thereby providing pollination and subsequent pod and seed set. Previous studies have compared the pollination values of different bee species solely by the speed with which they handle flowers and the proportion of visited flowers tripped. In this greenhouse study, five species of bees, including the three commercially managed U.S alfalfa pollinators, are likewise compared for their floral tripping frequencies. These bee species are also compared for the pod set and mature seed that results from their single visits to virgin flowers. Regardless of the identity of the pollinating bee, tripped flowers had the same probabilities of pod set and seed set. Thus, differences in the single-visit pollination efficiencies of the various bee species are entirely attributable to the proportion of visited flowers that they trip. Females of the alkali bee, Nomia melanderi Cockerell, and the alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata F, tripped 81 and 78\% of visited flowers, respectively. Males of these species are significantly less effective (61 and 51\%, respectively), but still significantly superior to the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. (22\% of visited flowers tripped). These relationships are supported by field data for tripping frequencies. One candidate pollinator, Osmia sanrafaelae Parker, shows promise (44\% tripped), but not the congeneric O. aglaia Sandhouse (13\% tripped)},
	keywords = {APIDAE, APIS, Apoidea, FABACEAE, FRUIT SET, Halictidae, MEDICAGO, MEGACHILE, Megachilidae, NOMIA, OSMIA, POLLINATION, POLLINATION EFFICIENCY, POLLINATOR, SEED, SEED SET},
	author = {Cane, J. H.}
}
@article {1614,
	title = {The alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata: The world{\textquoteright}s most intensively managed solitary bee},
	journal = {Annual Review of Entomology},
	volume = {56},
	year = {2011},
	note = {doi: 10.1146/annurev-ento-120709-144836},
	month = {2011/12/06/},
	pages = {221 - 237},
	abstract = {The alfalfa leafcutting bee (ALCB), Megachile rotundata F. (Megachildae), was accidentally introduced into the United States by the 1940s. Nest management of this Eurasian nonsocial pollinator transformed the alfalfa seed industry in North America, tripling seed production. The most common ALCB management practice is the loose cell system, in which cocooned bees are removed from nesting cavities for cleaning and storage. Traits of ALCBs that favored their commercialization include gregarious nesting; use of leaves for lining nests; ready acceptance of affordable, mass-produced nesting materials; alfalfa pollination efficacy; and emergence synchrony with alfalfa bloom. The ALCB became a commercial success because much of its natural history was understood, targeted research was pursued, and producer ingenuity was encouraged. The ALCB presents a model system for commercializing other solitary bees and for advancing new testable hypotheses in diverse biological disciplines},
	keywords = {BEHAVIOR-FORAGING, BEHAVIOR-NESTING, DISEASE, EXOTIC, FABACEAE, MEDICAGO, MEGACHILE, Megachilidae, POLLINATION, POLLINATOR, REPRODUCTION},
	isbn = {0066-4170},
	url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-120709-144836},
	author = {Pitts-Singer,T.L. and Cane, J. H.}
}
