From: Peter L Borst
Sent: Monday, February 20, 2012 12:33 PM

>> Are they not assisting the pollination by dislodging pollen from the male 
>> flowers, some of which will then drift onto the female flowers?

>Maybe, but what they do is nothing compared to a nice strong wind. That is 
>to say, wind borne pollen (grasses, various trees) doesn't need bees to get 
>the job done.

There are often times when the wind does not do it. I know of a helicopter 
pilot in Illinois who makes good money during corn pollen shed by zigzagging 
over area cornfields, as a custom service to farmers, who apparently find it 
worthwhile to pay him.

As Jerry says, bees will dislodge a lot of pollen when they are gathering 
from the tassels. Since corn is so closely planted, it doesn't have to move 
horizontally very far to do a lot of good. I've seen honey bees on both 
sweet and field corn, creating quite a shower of pollen. Corn pollen is best 
seen, looking toward the sun in early morning light. Or you can look on the 
tassels and see the adhering grains.

Tiny bees (Lasioglossum or Ceratina) gather pollen from grass flowers here, 
and I'm sure they accomplish come pollination. If you aren't watching, you'd 
never notice them.

Dave Green 

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