In a message dated 95-08-29 11:09:25 EDT, Dr. Wenner responds to a query by
Clarice Sakamoto:
>Subj: Re: Pheromone and pollination
>Date: 95-08-29 11:09:25 EDT
>From: [log in to unmask]
>To: [log in to unmask]
>
>From: [log in to unmask] (Adrian Wenner)
>>I'm in Ribeirao Preto city, Sao Paulo state, in Brazil and I would
>>like to
>>receive any information about pheromones and scents in >>pollination crops.
>>I'm Clarice Sakamoto, a post-graduate student and just now I'm
>>begining a pollination research in farm crops and in green-house. I >>would
be pleasured to maintain contact with somebody or any lab >>who sells
bee-here or other kind of pheromone.
> Before you purchase any such product, you should read an article
>that appeared in the April issue of the AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL >("An
evaluation of selected commercial bee attractants in the >pollination of
cucumbers and watermelons"). One of their >conclusions: "Neither product
significantly
>increased bee activity on the subject vine crops when compared to >an
untreated control nor did they increase the value of the >subsequent
harvest." (in their abstract).
>
> Our experience so far has been that there is no such thing as a
>general honey bee attractant chemical, which is good --- colonies >can then
switch from one crop to another with relative efficiency.
I concur, Dr. Wenner, as this is borne out in my own experience as a
commercial pollinator. Several of my clients have tried Bee Scent
(trademark), (on watermelons and cantaloupes) and generally have concluded
that the benefits do not justify the cost.
Dr. Roger Morse, in an article a couple years ago in Bee Culture, reviewed
some of the latest trials, and commented, "There is no substitute for strong
hives."
One of the saddest things I have seen, is the use of bee attractant
pheromones by growers, on the assumption that bees are *out there* and will
come. Bees are not out there, especially in this part of the country, and
they have completely wasted their money, by making a false assumption. Bee
scents can only be used when one is certain there are bees in the area, and
that usually means deliberately placed.
When I have investigated complaints of bees working poorly, it usually
boils down to one of three things:
1. Beekeeper fraud -- Two frames of bees with a caged queen do not a
pollination hive make. 'Nuff said.
2. Sick bees -- Bees are neglectfully managed, and have mites or foulbrood.
I know one commercial beekeeper in the southeast that was running about 75%
AFB, which takes a LOT of neglect. He is out of business now, but sadly,
abandoned a lot of equipment. Thank God for wax worms.
3. Bees not managed for pollination. Sometimes it is just a case of
beekeepers trying to make honey, and pick up a pollination fee on the side.
Since the management practices are different for each purpose, one or the
other must suffer.
I've also seen bees provided (for free) for growers who thought they were
getting a marvelous deal. You'd see dead hives right alongside hives that
were honeybound. Beekeepers, who show up twice a year.....
If a grower calls me and says the bees are not working up to par, you'd
better believe I am there the next day, and the problem gets fixed pronto.
Generally it involves something that stops the queen from laying. Hives
that are honeybound or hungry will stop the queen. Excessive heat, or
drought, or a rainy spell, can stop nectar sources and shut down the queen.
Sometimes we even need to feed syrup to keep the queen going. Whatever it
takes; that is what a good pollinator has got to do. I must keep as much
open brood as possible, as that is what demands more pollen collection, and
keeps the field bees deliberately gathering pollen.
I have not had experience with greenhouse pollination. I only know from a
friend who has done some, that honeybees used for this purpose will decline
and have to be replaced frequently. More and more bumblebees are being used
in greenhouses.
[log in to unmask] Dave Green
PO Box 1215, Hemingway, SC 29554
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