North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[list@ginda.us]

I almost never see honey bees anymore.  When I was a kid, there used to be thousands of them working the dandelions and apples.  But the mites have really done in the wild populations.  Last year I may have seen one.

Nonetheless, I get good pollination -  mostly bumblebees, but also an assortment of tiny flies.  A bad winter for honey bees may translate into higher prices for produce, as giant sterilized farms need to import pollinizers during bloom.  I doubt it will affect the zucchinis in your back yard.

Ginda

On Feb 12, 2005, at 9:02 AM, DocKW@aol.com wrote:

> Thought I'd pass this along from my friend the beekeeper....
> Seems like the little 'ladies' are having a bad year...and we may find out 
> just how bad that can be when we go to pick a zuke or cuke....
> Karl Olson, zone 5 south west connecticut 
>
> From: Beekeeperc@aol.com
> Date: February 12, 2005 8:11:52 AM EST
> To: sergeboy@optonline.net
> Cc: pharring@worldnet.att.net, MaddieFarm@aol.com, LJHuston@charter.net, SarahKowitz@induscap.com, DocKW@aol.com
> Subject: Bee info
>
>
>
> Honey Bee Pollination Crisis: Shortage of Bees May Reduce Crop Production
> JESUP, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 11, 2005--Unprecedented losses of honey bees to a parasitic mite are threatening U.S. crop production, with impacts ranging from almonds to zucchinis. The American Beekeeping Federation estimates that about 50 percent of the honey bee colonies in California have been killed or severely weakened.
>
> _______________________________________________
> nafex mailing list 
> nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
>
> **YOU MUST BE SUBSCRIBED TO POST!**
> All other messages are discarded.
> No exceptions.  
> ----
> To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to the bottom of this page (also can be used to change other email options):
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/nafex
>
> File attachments are NOT stripped by this list
> TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM COMPUTER VIRUSES!
> Please do not send binary files.
> Use plain text ONLY in emails!
>
> Message archives are here:
> https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/nafex
>
> NAFEX web site:   http://www.nafex.org/