In a message dated 97-04-10 20:40:38 EDT, [log in to unmask] ((Thomas) (Cornick)) writes: << I am wondering if an orchard floor of clovers would attract enough bees to be a pollination aid if the clover was mown when the fruit trees come into bloom. Or would the flower fidelity of the honeybee just send them elsewhere looking for clover? >> This would not work; moreover it is a dangerous idea. The fruit trees bloom earlier than the clover, so there would not be any advantage here. But the clover WOULD be blooming when the broad spectrum insecticides were applied a little later........leading to a lot of bee mortality. Of course this is a label violation for most insecticides, but it is done more often than you'd think, because clover is a constituant of the orchard floor in many orchards. Orchardists are advised to get rid of the clover, or at least mow it close before the insecticide application, but this is often forgotten or ignored. It causes especially bad kills if highly residual materials such as Penncap M (trademark) or Sevin WP (trademark) are used. Bees carry home the poison with pollen and brood and young bees may die for weeks. The contaminated pollen can even be covered with fresh pollen, then uncovered during winter, causing winter loss. I highly recommend that this thought be quickly abandoned. There are other tricks to get better pollination from the bees, though, as Dr. Roger Morse says, "There is no substitute for strong beehives." There is a short course on fruit pollination on the pollination web page. [log in to unmask] Dave Green, PO Box 1200, Hemingway, SC 29554 (Dave & Jan's Pollination Service, Pot o'Gold Honey Co.) Practical Pollination Home Page Dave & Janice Green http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html