permaculture

[Kelley <amaranth@uninets.net>]

Do they produce honey?  Or just pollinate?

Thanks for all of the explanations.

Kelley

Guy Clark wrote:

> Kelley-
>         The Orchard Mason Bee is a bee that is tons more efficient in 
> pollinating
> than the honey bee. Their scientific name is Osmia Lingaria Propinqua
> Cresson and it is native to the U.S. and Canada West of the Rockies; East
> of the Rockies its cousin, Osmia Lingaria Lingaria Say is widespread. There
> is a wonderfully informative and fun book called The Orchard Mason Bee: The
> Life History, Biology, Propagation and Use of a Truly Benevolent and
> Beneficial Insect by Brian L. Griffin. They are amazing pollinators, "Greg
> Dickman, in his brochure, Orchard Bees", states that the Orchard Mason
> visits more blossoms each day than the honey bee, and pollinates a much
> higher percentage of those blooms visited. He states that the honey bee
> visits an average seven hundred blooms daily. It pollinates only thirty of
> them, a mere five percent success rate. He further claims that our Orchard
> Mason pollinates 1600 flowers per day, a pollination success rate of
> ninety-five to ninety-nine percent." A fully scientific study has not been
> done, but there is little doubt that the Orchard Mason be is an extremely
> efficient pollinator. And they begin much earlier in the spring.
> Namaste',
> Guy Clark
>
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