Interest In Native Pollinator Species Growing As Honeybee Populations Falter

[hatrack]

EDIT

The problems plaguing commercial honeybees have attracted a lot of attention since late 2006, when roughly one-fourth of U.S. beekeepers lost about 45 percent of their hives, he said. Mites, protozoan parasites and the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder threaten honeybees -- and thus crop pollination -- but native species, like several types of bumblebees, are also in trouble, said Shepherd.

Diminished habitat, disease, improper pesticide use and other factors have reduced the populations of such native pollinators, according to the Xerces Society. This is bad news for pollinator-dependent farmers, since native species can greatly improve crop production, said Shepherd. Each year they contribute about $3 billion to the U.S. economy, according to the Xerces Society.

Studies on sunflowers and cherry tomatoes, for example, have linked native pollinators with a doubling and tripling in yields, respectively, he said.

(EDIT - No way! :silly:)

Native pollinators are unlikely ever to replace commercial hives, but they can obviously be a useful supplement, said Shepherd. As demonstrated in sunflowers, their presence during pollination compels honeybees to fly among a larger number of flowers instead of lingering amid just a few, he said. "The native bees kept the honeybees moving," Shepherd said. Whereas honeybees might not venture from the hive in cooler temperatures, native pollinators are more apt to collect pollen and nectar in spite of the weather because they don't have a honey supply to fall back on, he said.

EDIT

http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/265950/

[XemaSab]

1. The Xerces Society

Named after the extinct Xerces Blue, a small butterfly endemic to the Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco.

[kestrel91316]

2. I saw MILLIONS of native and non-native pollinators last weekend

on my hike in the Santa Monica Mountains (where I sunburned/blistered the part in my hair and now it's peeling -- but I digress). Hummingbirds galore.........lots and lots of butterflies (mostly this medium-sized black with yellow spots guy but also a white with orange wingtips and a bright yellow guy and a teeny weeny lavender guy, and of course a monarch or viceroy)........and in addition to the BILLIONS of honeybees (apparently all our feral bees here are now africanized, but they are not a problem when feeding) there were TNTC bumblebees and hoverfly thingies and tiny little waspies, and it was just the most amazing whirlwind of activity.

Near the patches of wild mustard the buzz was almost deafening (and we have LOTS of wild mustard). A swarm of bees, heading off to new digs, passed right over my head (swarming bees are full of honey and very passive so no problema).

And apparently the reptiles are doing pretty well, too. The lizards (western fence lizard and alligator lizard) are just THICK - you can't step anywhere without almost stepping on one. Then a California Black Racer (snake) chased a lizard out of the brush right in front of me on a fire road, and narrowly missed getting him...........but that has nothing to do with pollinators, lol.

[depakid]

3. It's pretty easy to make a "bee house"

Just get some hardwood scraps and drill some varying sized holes in it and pop it up off the ground on a fence or post or something near your garden or potted plants.

After a while, you'll notice that the little holes have a silk cap on them. Those are native bee larvae.

There are tons of different kinds.



http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/nativebee.html