Regular monitoring between May and August 1988 of a collection of 22 taxa of Cotoneaster in the UK showed t.hat 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 Chaenopetalum 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.
