Bees arrived in garden this year
- Thread starter scotkat
- Start date
The honey bee population is on the decline due to several factors one of them is the use of pesticides. Planting plants and trees that bees like will help to keep them safe and producing more eggs. Good to see you have seen them in your garden hope they stay for awhile.
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2012
- Messages
- 5,313
- Reaction score
- 1,843
- Hardiness Zone
- 7a
- Country
So far, I've seen only one bee this year and it was tiny. I hope that soon we'll see more of them. The nights are still rather cold, maybe this is why they prefer to hide.
Looking at bees always puts me in a good mood
Looking at bees always puts me in a good mood
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2014
- Messages
- 118
- Reaction score
- 37
I made a point of planting a few spring flower bulbs around the fruit trees in order to encourage the bees. Some years it seemed that the trees would blossom before any insects came out. The flowers see to do the job as the trees have been pollinated ever since. Of course a difference of a degree or two in the temperature may also play a role.
While searching for plants that will attract more bees to the yard to help with pollination I saw this little blurb about ants, who knew?
"Pollination by ants is relatively rare, but it does occur. Most pollinators can fly, enabling them to distribute pollen grains over a wider area, and thus promote genetic diversity among the plants they visit. Since ants walk from flower to flower, any pollen exchange conducted by ants will be limited to a small population of plants. In addition, ants produce an antibiotic called myrmicacin, which is thought to reduce the viability of the pollen grains they carry. So overall, ants may not be the most effective pollinators.
Still, ant pollinators exist. Formica argentea worker ants have been observed carrying pollen grains between flowers of Cascade knotweed (Polygonum cascadense). Other species of Formica ants distribute pollen among the flowers of elf orpine (Diamorpha smallii, a compact herb that grows on granite outcrops. In Australia, ants pollinate several orchids and lilies effectively."
"Pollination by ants is relatively rare, but it does occur. Most pollinators can fly, enabling them to distribute pollen grains over a wider area, and thus promote genetic diversity among the plants they visit. Since ants walk from flower to flower, any pollen exchange conducted by ants will be limited to a small population of plants. In addition, ants produce an antibiotic called myrmicacin, which is thought to reduce the viability of the pollen grains they carry. So overall, ants may not be the most effective pollinators.
Still, ant pollinators exist. Formica argentea worker ants have been observed carrying pollen grains between flowers of Cascade knotweed (Polygonum cascadense). Other species of Formica ants distribute pollen among the flowers of elf orpine (Diamorpha smallii, a compact herb that grows on granite outcrops. In Australia, ants pollinate several orchids and lilies effectively."
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2013
- Messages
- 3,375
- Reaction score
- 943
Oh my G-d! I'm so happy to read there still are bees out there! I haven't even seen bees in a long time, yes, not even when I still had a garden.
I'm so worried because the bee population seem to be decreasing more and more, I noticed first hand, because back in 2009 I used to see bees in the garden... visiting my flowers and also drinking some water from the bird's fountain! Now they no longer come I really hope their population increases, because the work they do is really important for the whole humanity. I once read we'd only survive two years max if bees disappear completely.
I'm so worried because the bee population seem to be decreasing more and more, I noticed first hand, because back in 2009 I used to see bees in the garden... visiting my flowers and also drinking some water from the bird's fountain! Now they no longer come
I really hope their population increases, because the work they do is really important for the whole humanity. I once read we'd only survive two years max if bees disappear completely.