Lots of pollinating insects working the Seneca plum and the pears today.
Stiff wind from the east. 75 F temperature, cloudy and high humidity. Rain expected tonight.
One school of thought is that the cadence of pollinating species and the cadence of plants supplying nectar and pollen "tango". If either one shifts too far in one direction than they will miss the boat. They will fail to reproduce and their genetic contribution will disappear.
Since most flowers will "hold" a reasonable amount of time if they are not pollinated, it makes sense for the prime pollinating insects to slightly lag the flowers.
The queen bee produces eggs based on the availability of pollen, so to a degree you are correct. If there is a late-frost that wipes out spring blossoms, some queen's will stop laying, and the growth of the hive will be delayed, thereby missing the bigger bloom season later in the summer. Late season frosts have been responsible for a lot of dead hives in the fall.
ReplyDeleteIt is easy to assume "honeybees" when somebody mentions "pollinators".
DeleteHoneybees are the species that is most amenable to industrial production. There are, however, hundreds if not thousands of species of insects that can pollinate food-producing plants.
Those swarms of species/genra/families can be the basis for extreme anti-fragility if we foster them. They are like a piccolo peeping in the background of the symphony every 8 notes. Should the composition demand it, its role can grow and it can recruit second and third chair piccolos.
For a small-holder, fostering those piccolos is a matter of making very minor concessions to their biological requirements.
Bravo to the main Conductor!
ReplyDeleteThe other day when my pears were blooming the neighbors honeybees were working the dandelions.
I counted 5 other bees and tiny flies working the pears.