Re: Orchard Mason Bees

Thanks very much for clearing up that misconception, Dave.  I had understood
that the verroa mite carried a virus.

What else do you suggest for attracting pollinators, especially mid-season
during squash and cucumber fruit set.  I know dozens of gardeners who
complained of mal-formed fruit or fruit that seemed to set but ended up
rotting.  I assumed this was a pollination problem rather than a blossom end
rot problem since most grew on raised beds.

Arzeena

P.S. Would you mind if I posted your comments in our next newsletter?
------------------------
Terra Viva Organics
Your organic gardening resource
www.tvorganics.com
January's Newsletter includes Seed starting tips, organic seed sprouting,
and Hot Pepper recommendations
http://www.tvorganics.com/main.cfm?action=showNewsletterTips
------------------------


----- Original Message -----
From: <Pollinator@aol.com>
To: <veggie-list@eskimo.com>
Cc: <hanna@direct.ca>; <arzeena@tvorganics.com>
Sent: Monday, January 17, 2000 4:25 AM
Subject: Orchard Mason Bees


> I've been looking over the Terra Viva newsletter.
>
> a couple of clarifications/corrections are needed in the December issue:
>
http://www.tvorganics.com/main.cfm?NewsletterID=7&action=showNewsletterTips#
2
>
> The article "Attract Pollinators" states:
> <<For the last couple of years, home gardeners have been finding poor
fruit
> set because of the lack of pollination insects. The population of
honeybees
> has been steadily declining due to a highly infectious virus that has
> attacked the bee population across North America. Additionally, areas
where
> other pollinating insects seek refuge through the winter have been
destroyed
> from urban sprawl or agricultural spraying practices.>>
>
>     Not only poor fruit set, but small and deformed fruits is due to lack
of
> pollinator visits.  To make perfect cucumber needs about a eight to ten
> bumblebee visits or fifteen to twenty honeybee visits. Fewer visits may
> produce a fruit but it will be misshappen, tough and slow growing.  The
> article in Terra Viva has identified one of the most serious environmental
> issues of the day -- the decline of pollinator populations
>
>    But the reference is to varroa mites, a parasite rather than a virus.
> There are bee viruses, and the parasitic mites may or may not be vectors
of
> viruses (a hotly debated question among bee researchers).  There is also
> another new parasite, the african hive beetle, which may turn out to be
worse
> than varroa mites. This beetle also is parasitic on bumblebees, so it will
> impact pollination even more than varroa, which afflicts only honeybees.
>
> <<For any gardener who grows fruit trees or plants squashes and cucumbers,
> pollinating insects make a great deal of difference in the amount of food
> they can harvest. To overcome the problem, gardeners can attract the
solitary
> Orchard Mason Bee. These bees are super-pollinators and their solitary
nature
> has allowed them to withstand becoming infected with the virus. The bees
are
> highly active early in the season, before most honeybees even come out of
> their hives.>>
>
>     Yes, they are highly active early in the season, which makes them
> valuable for backyard fruit trees, but they are NO HELP in the garden,
> because they are dormant when the squash and cucumbers are blooming.
>
>     The inplication that the Orchard Mason bees are more resistant to
virus
> needs qualification. These bees do have their own viruses, fungus
diseases,
> parasites, and preditors. While their solitary lifestyle may give some
> protection from some problems that afflict honeybees, they have other
> problems that can be as bad or worse.
>
>     I support Terra Viva in advocating providing homes for these
pollinators
> (and will add Terra Viva to the list of suppliers), but I think it is
> misleading to promote them as a cure-all for all pollination problems.
For
> our midseason pollination we have honeybees, bumblebees, squash bees, and
> some other solitary species, but orchard mason bees are simply not going
to
> be of any value for curcurbits and other midseason bloomers.
>
>     Some folks love to point out that honeybees are not native to North
> America (as if they ought to be exterminated, perhaps?), but conveniently
> forget that many of our food crops are not native either.  We are
becomming
> so short of pollinators, that we need to encourage ALL the available
> pollinators. With commercial crops that need pollination, the shortage has
> been met by beekeepers becomming migratory, so they can concentrate the
> pollinators at appropriate times and places where their services are
needed.
> Most commercial beekeepers today make more of their livelihood from
> pollination service than honey.  If this migration is disrupted, there
will
> be serious food shortages.
>
>     Migratory beekeepers may not be of much help to gardeners, though,
> because they aren't going to be willing to bother with rentals of one or
two
> hives. Even if they have a nearby location for keeping bees, the bees may
> actually be far away on a pollination contract at the precise time the
> gardener needs them.  For this reason, thousands of gardeners have become
> hobby beekeepers, to augment their garden pollination.  Others work to
> improve habitat and forage for bees of all species.
>
>     Supplying bee nests, may or may not be successful in attracting
nesters,
> depending on whether they are present in the neighborhood.  (Orchard mason
> bees are only one of several kinds that can be cultured.)
>
>     It may be necessary in some areas to establish a population by
bringing
> these gentle pollinators back.  The deadline for sale/shipment of these is
> generally about the end of this month, so gardeners need to be planning
their
> pollination needs as they decide about their seed purchases.  A list of
> suppliers, as well as a wealth of information about honeybees and
alternative
> pollinators is available at http:pollinator.com   The Pollination Home
Page.
> If you aren't sure whether you have adequate pollination, check the
article:
> http://pollinator.com/whymanage/whymanagepol.htm
>
>     Another valuable pollinator that is under attack is the carpenter bee,
> which to many looks like a giant bumblebee. These are not aggressive at
all,
> yet many people are terrified of them.  Each spring you will see articles
> from garden "experts" on how to exterminate these bees, which can do quite
a
> bit of spring pollination. This double standard is quite frustrating, to
see
> those who should be helping to protect pollinators, instead advise people
on
> how to kill them.
>
>     If your local "experts" do this, please take them to task for it.  The
> females, which can sting, but rarely do, will completely ignore humans, as
> they go about their work. The drones, which cannot sting at all, will
> investigate anything that moves. They will hover in front of you, and
often
> will move back and forth in a mirror motion. You could even "dance" with
> these drones.  Their curiosity is fueled by their desire to mate. They
will
> sometimes chase birds, as well. If you have a drone carpenter bee hovering
> about you, toss a pebble for some entertainment.
>
>    As we look over those lovely fruits and veggies in the catalogs, let's
> remember that without good pollination, we will have blossom drop, fruit
> abortion while small, or puny, malformed fruits and vegetables.  Plan your
> pollination needs right now for the upcoming season.
>
> Dave        The Pollination Home Page
> http://pollinator.com
>
>
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