North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Jim Fruth" <jfruth@tds.net>]

   Here in North Central Minnesota, the Yellow Jacket population is way 
down.  I haven't seen any Bald Faced Hornets and there are more Bumblebees 
than ever.  They all seem to prefer Gooseberry flowers but there are also 
adequate pollinators in the pears and currants.
   I have my own honeybees and most of them are foraging elsewhere but some 
do compete with the wild bees.  Curiously, my honeybees tend to ignore plum 
flowers until after the wild bees forage on them for a few days.  I suspect 
that the plum flowers don't produce nectar until late in their bloom.  My 
own honeybees are the most help when the raspberries bloom as there is a 
thousand times too many flowers for just the wild bees to perform the task.
   My apples are in the pink bud stage.

Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Farm
Pequot Lakes, MN  56472
For jams, jellies & syrups:
www.bberryfarm.com
(877)265-6856 [Store]
(218)831-7018 [My Cell]