Pollination Redefined: Non-Apis Bees in Greenhouse Tomatoes and Emerging Global Research Trends

Abstract

This review concentrates on the importance of non-Apis bees such as bumble bees, stingless bees, and other bee species in enhancing tomato, Solanum lycopersicum Linnaeus pollination within greenhouse environments. Due to the limited presence of natural pollinators in controlled environments, non-Apis bees significantly improve fruit yield, weight, seed count, and overall fruit quality. Among these, bumble bees are the most effective buzz pollinators, enhancing fruit weight, fruit set, external diameter and seed production while stingless bees excel in seed production and fruit weight in tropical regions and blue-banded bees specialized in fruit weight improvement. This firmly establishes the advantages of non-Apis bees over mechanical and manual pollination methods.  Based on a bibliometric analysis of forty-eight peer-reviewed research papers, this review identifies key trends, influential contributors, and significant knowledge gaps. These emphasize the need for further research to improve pollination management, enhance mass-rearing techniques, and study the behaviour of non-Apis bees in greenhouses. It highlights the important role of these bees in sustainable greenhouse tomato cultivation and their value for commercial pollination services.