permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lfl@intrex.net>]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Pollinator availabilty for small growers
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 09:48:16 -0800
From: Matthew Shepherd (Xerces Society) <mdshepherd@XERCES.ORG>
Reply-To: mdshepherd@xerces.org
To: SANET-MG@LISTS.IFAS.UFL.EDU

Hi,

Here at the Xerces Society we are looking for information on pollination
for small growers, i.e., those people who grow small areas of crops and
who probably only need two or three hives for pollination. Some people
say it is increasingly difficult for these people to get bees when they
need them but we have little evidence one way or the other, hence my
email today.

We're trying to find out how these growers get bees when they need them
and what hurdles they may have to overcome. A few of the things we have
been pondering include:
Do beekeepers find it difficult to provide a small number of hives to
small growers?
Is the fact that these growers only need a handful of hives a barrier to
them getting them?
Does demand for hives from large growers mean that there are no hives
available?
Is is mainly hobbyist or part-time beekeepers who can help?
Do growers tend to keep a few hives themselves?
What alternatives to honey bees have people tried to provide crop
pollination?

Any information or illumination that SANET members can offer will be
gratefully received. We're beginning to gather information that may help
small growers get reliable pollination, whether from honey bees or other
bees (or flies and beetles), managed or wild, and this sort of
information will be very helpful in helping us to understand better the
current situation.

Thanks,
    Matthew

______________________________________________________
Matthew Shepherd, Pollinator Conservation Program Director
The Xerces Society
4828 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97215, USA
Tel: 503-232 6639 Fax: 503-233 6794
Email:  <mailto:mdshepherd@xerces.org> mdshepherd@xerces.org
______________________________________________________
The Xerces Society is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to protecting the diversity of life
through the conservation of invertebrates.

For information and membership details,
see our website at www.xerces.org <http://www.xerces.org>