Hello Peter & All,


> Honey bees and Native pollinators.

As a person which keeps both I will give an opinion.


> The result is that natural populations of native pollinating insects are
unable to cope.

I agree with Peter on his evaluation but in certain areas of the U.S.(
Wash,. Utah and Oregon)  native bees do wonderful while in others the native
bees are disappearing (Southern U.S.).

>
> Even when other " more efficient pollinators" attuned to a particular task
are employed (such as the  use of leaf cutters in Alfalfa pollination) -
they are still unable to replace the honey bee in the  overall picture.

Actually the Alfalfa leaf cutter has displaced the honey bee in most U.S.
areas *for commercial Alfalfa seed production* (source USDA Utah, USA.).

However most  Alfalfa hay growers want honey bees on their fields because
they can go longer without redrilling in the field but not if they have to
pay to get the bee hives. .

Most honey Midwest honey producers prefer Clover fields to Alfalfa for honey
production. Why? Because Alfalfa can be sprayed a couple times. Clover
fields are never sprayed.

 In the Southwest the main crops are from irrigated Alfalfa & cotton. Both
make large crops of honey because there is little else for the bees to work
*but* risky business when you factor in sprays. A hive sprayed at the start
of a honey season is out for the year. A fact the USDA has never wanted to
reinburse for.Only replacing the bees themselves issimply  not enough.

> Native pollinators are essential - maintaining bio diversity levels, but
at >present, have little  strategic role that is comparable to our honey
bees.

So far Peter is correct *but* many researchers at the USDA lab in Utah
believe the situation will change  in the future. Could a beekeeper with a
pickup load of solitary bees  pollinate the same  orchard as a truck load of
honey bees? Research sent to me by researchers say  yes (in theory on
paper).

I am going to be very honest about my findings concerning Osmia lignaria. I
am four years into the experiment. I find that  although I put out the
nesting sites ( five sixteenth reeds)  that Osmia L. prefers  beetle holes
in trees. I suspected as much last year so this spring I simply did not put
Osmia L. in the orchard at king bloom. The orchard was still full of both
male & female Osmia L. proving to me my hypothesis was correct. Those Osmia
L. could only have came from tree nesting sites.

I was told by the USDA of Utah that I would end up with a triple fold
increase in bees each season. I did at first but soon noticed less and less
came back to nest in the tubes (expensive) I provided. Many of the  solitary
bees decided to simply nest in the trees. I actually think it's pretty neat
I have helped get the native bee going again in my area but see a problem
with getting  enough Osmia  to do serious pollination with. My experiment
started with only a hundred live females from Utah/ Oregon.  Only a
experiment. I at present keep far more  Osmia L. than the original 100
females *but* I do not keep the number of Osmia L I should have had
according  to my estimates for this time.

Maybe another Osmia .L. raiser can show me the error of my ways ?  Comments?

Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
Odessa, Missouri