North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Kristina & Bruce" <herenorthere@lycos.com>]

There might be some buzzing, but wild bees have serious problems with modern 
agriculture.  While waiting for research potatoes to sprout in Maine in 1990, 
I helped a professor do pollinator studies for a few weeks.  We collected in 
heavily sprayed "wild" blueberry barrens across the state.  I was surprised 
(he wasn't) to find wild bees were almost nonexistent, except in smaller 
barrens where unsprayed native vegetation was nearby.

We returned to an area a few days after the first post-bloom spraying and 
happened to see a little Andrenid bee peering from her burrow.  We watched 
that bee for several minutes to see what she was up to.  We finally realized 
she was dead.  Unfortunately, wild bees remain behind as rented honeybees are 
hauled away before spraying begins again.  Wild pollinators also aren't well 
suited to monocultures, where all blooming is limited to a few days a year.
Bruce W
Zone 6 CT

>Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2003 22:17:17 -0500
>From: "Sam Brungardt" <sam739is@hotmail.com>
>Subject: [NAFEX] Article about farmers using wild bees
>To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
>Message-ID: <BAY7-F369lHiu3fQtYd0000dbb0@hotmail.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
>
>
>New farming buzz: wild bees
>With honey bee populations way down, some researchers are promoting
>wild bees as prolific pollinators. By Robin White
>http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0828/p11s01-sten.html



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