Cotoneaster for bumble bees and honey bees

Regular monitoring between May and August 1988 of a collection of 22 taxa of Cotoneaster in the UK showed that the bumble bees Bombus pratorum and B. pascuorum preferentially visited species in the section Cotoneaster. The short-tongued bumble bees B. terrestris/lucorum and honey bees visited species in both sections of the genus, concentrating on the section Cotoneaster in the dearth period of early summer and on Chaeno-petalum after mid-June. The section Cotoneaster is recommended as particularly valuable for bee forage. This phenological survey should make it possible to select groups of species for amenity plantings to give a seasonal spread of flowering, enhancing the availability of nectar plants.