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Date: | Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:17:58 -0000 |
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Steve Noble:
> I have no doubt whatsoever that without bumblebees, a lot of things would
> suffer a lack of pollination.
Here in the UK I see mainly honeybees on our apple, bumblebees and median
wasps pollinating the raspberries (never seen a honeybee on them), but the
plums and gooseberries seem to be pollinated almost exclusively by the
solitary mining bee, Andrena fulva which should start to appear in the next
week or two.
Although there are concerns about bumblebees, we seem to have very large
numbers this year - I counted 15 queens (all Bombus terrestris) on a small
patch (perhaps 15'x8') of Ericas yesterday, and they are also working Ribes,
Viburnum, Pulmonaria and Hellebores - the garden is alive with them.
Although we have other species which will appear later, terrestris
dominates - possibly because of escapes of (imported) bumblebees from
polytunnels.
Best wishes
Peter Edwards
beekeepers at stratford-upon-avon.freeserve.co.uk
www.stratford-upon-avon.freeserve.co.uk/
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