Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange
Abstract
The alfalfa leaf-cutter bee, Megachile rotundata (Fabricius), was introduced into South D a k o t a from Utah in 1962 for alfalfa pollination testing. This leaf-cutting bee, because of its pollen collecting activmes, has shown considerable promise as a means of increasing yields of alfalfa seed. A native of Eurasia, it was introduced into eastern United States in the mid-thirties and by 1958 had moved across the country into Oregon. There is some indication that the alfalfa leaf-cutter bee may have become established in isolated locations in South Dakota during this initial cross-country movement
