Silent Spring Revisited

[John Shuey]

My Father kept bees, so I've been watching as wild honey bees collapse out of
the Midwest US.  Except in areas near known hives, I simply don't see honey bees
any more - they are gone as a wild species.  The up side seems to be a rebound
in native bees.  Where once you saw honey bees swarming over flowers, now you
see a variety of species of bumblebees swarming.  My gut feeling is that the
decline of exotic honey bees in the US has been a major boost to native species.

As an aside, we're building out a 120 acre native forb seed nursery to support a
prairie restoration in Indiana.  We were worried about pollination and seed set
(which we want to maximize of course).  Our cursory analysis is that the native
bees are doing fine as pollinators on our forbs, and that maintainiung a colony
or two of honey bees will not be required at this site.  Native species seem
more than adaquate to do the job for us.

John Shuey



MWalker at gensym.com wrote:

> Just curious, but what impact have the introduced pollinators had on the
> native species of pollinators?  While living in Vermont a year ago I heard a
> native farmer tell me that he has noticed a significantly reduced native bee
> population over the years.  If one believes that a Vermont farmer pays
> attention to beez by species.
>
> Of course, none of this probably matters when we're talking about introduced
> crops anyway.
>
> It would seem that man just doesn't fit into the natural way of things.  I
> suppose the whole problem would be solved if we would just stop eating
> plants.  Then we wouldn't need to tear up natural habitat to plant crops
> that would attract pests that we would need to spray with Malathion.  I
> still say we should just Nuke the whole lot of us...
>
> I guess we need to eat more fish.  Just not Swordfish!
>
> Mark Walker
> Mission Viejo, CA
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: pollinator at aol.comnospam [mailto:pollinator at aol.comnospam]
> > Sent: Friday, October 15, 1999 9:27 AM
> > To: leps-l at lists.yale.edu
> > Subject: Re: Silent Spring Revisited
> >
> >
> >
> >    Thanks, but please don't go hide, or whip yourself (at
> > least not TOO long
> > ; o)
> >
> >    You are in company with the majority of Americans, who do
> > not realize the
> > seriousness of the dwindling of this environmental resource.
> > We need not just
> > an occasional bee, but good pollinator populations. You can
> > help bring folks
> > attention to this dwindling, but vital resource.
> >
> > To Chris and all others on the board:   I have asked on this
> > board, and other
> > butterfly places for resources on butterfly pollination, and
> > almost none is
> > forthcoming, other than the mention that butterflies do
> > pollinate. I watched a
> > beautiful butterfly in obvious distress in the mosquito
> > spraying area the other
> > day, and it no doubt was dying.
> >
> >    There is massive environmental damage from this kind of
> > aerial application
> > over wide areas. The localized applications that normally
> > occur in populated
> > areas still leave reservoir areas from which pollinators can
> > repopulate. These
> > massive emergency aerial spraying projects, which are
> > becoming ever more
> > frequent, also wipe out the reserve pollinator populations.
> >
> >    In order to deal with this, I need concrete information.
> > It is true that
> > the label directions only deal with bees, but I believe that
> > compliance will
> > also protect other pollinators.
> >
> >    Can anyone give me leads to good studies on the economic
> > impact of butterfly
> > pollination?  Are there any works on butterly pollination of
> > specific plants
> > that are important as food sources for humans or wildlife?
> >
> >    I am a layman, not a scientist, but this is a vital area
> > of environmental
> > protection. You will note that there is little reference to
> > butterflies on The
> > Pollination Home Page, as I simply don't have it.
> >
> >    Help!
> >
> >
> >
> > Pollinator at aol.com     Dave Green  Hemingway, SC  USA
> > The Pollination Scene:  http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
> >
> > Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop    (Varietal Honeys and
> > Beeswax Candles)
> > http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm
> >

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