>I have been
> getting a lot of feedback about the lack of bees on fruit trees in
> western Washington. I looked around myself and the problem is real.
> Now I wonder if other parts of the world that has Varroa has the same
> problem? We have lost many of our hobby beekeepers do to varroa and
> they don't want to start up again. This could affect wildlife that
> lives off of berrys and nuts. The real gold that the honeybee does
> for man is pollenation.
 
The honeybee is not native to North America.  I wonder how the
various natural plants and trees made out before they came?
 
Are all the bees that are capable of pollination large enough that
they are obvious to the casual observer?  What about the role of
ants, butterflys, and small animals?
 
I know that my father grew apple trees in Sudbury Ontario (Canada)
for years without more than an occasional malformed apple until he
got some bees, after which time he had ample set and yield.
 
I realise many plants and trees we have are not native either, so I
can assume there is the possiblity that they particularly will
suffer from lack of honeybees, however what about the native bees?
Have they been lost, or will we see a comeback now that there is less
competition? Were there ever sufficient numbers before sprays and
destruction of nest sites?
 
Or have we upset and changed the environment so much that even
'nature' is dependant on the bees that are provided, protected, and
managed by man?
 
I don't know the answers to any of these questions, but I'm sure
there are some who do make this their specialty.  Moreover I've read
that people in some parts of the world are claiming that the honeybee
has upset their ecology and caused some plants to dominate areas
where they 'should' not.
 
I wonder....
Regards
 
Allen
 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                                         VE6CFK
RR#1, Swalwell, Alberta  Canada T0M 1Y0
Internet:[log in to unmask] & [log in to unmask]
Honey. Bees, & Art <http://www.internode.net/~allend/>