Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Fruit blossom and pollination
Two years ago, our plum crop never materialised because pigeons pecked off all the buds before they had even flowered. This had never happened before but I wasn't about to allow it to happen again so I invested in anti-bird netting and covered both trees before the buds appeared. However, the first signs of blossom coincided with some very cold days and I worried that the bees which usually pollinate our trees, would not fly. The plum blossom has all gone now and I am anxiously waiting to see how many of the dead flowers harbour the tiny start of a plum.
The plum blossom was followed after a week or so by the pear trees and then the apple trees and finally, yesterday, by the quince tree. Happily the recent sunny afternoons got the temperature up a bit and on Monday I sat watching bees working the flowers on a small apple tree. Oddly, I didn't see a single honey bee. Most of the busy bees I saw were like this one:
and a few were like this:
These are clearly not honey bees; in fact they may be hairy footed flower bees (females black, males patterned).
For a couple of years in the 1980s, we used to have bee-hives and I seem to recall that there were many people keeping bees. Even after we stopped keeping them, I recall that in warm weather our fruit trees were abuzz with honey bees for days on end. I hope we are not witnessing the decline of the honey bee or is it still too cold for them? Are there any bee keepers out there to reassure me?
Tags for Forum Posts: bees, gardening, pollination
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by EMC2 on
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It's been too cold for them recently Dick. Bumblebees will fly in colder weather but honey bees need a minimum 10C to forage for food, usually. As to the decline of honeybees, if anything there are too many people keeping bees in London, particularly in Central London with the very limited forage there, and they will be out-competing many of our other pollinators. We need something akin to the Dutch approach... Last year there were over 260K honey bee hives registered in GB, but this is merely indicative as many beekeepers don't register. As to plums, I just looked at mine and there seems to be plenty of nascent fruit, how many make it is in the lap of the Gods...
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Permalink Reply by Esther Little on
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https://www.countryliving.com/uk/wildlife/countryside/a30746964/dan...
Apparently dandelions are great for bees. I've decided to leave all the ones in our garden this year.
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Permalink Reply by as on
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Hello! Lovely pictures. My friend who keeps bees says it’s too early for honey bees as it’s a little cold for them. Bumble bees are bigger and better insulated and are out and about earlier on in the year.
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Permalink Reply by Dick Harris on
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Thanks everyone for the advice and information. I am still anxiously awaiting convincing evidence of successful pollination. My small pear tree has sprung straight into life:
But the damson is more hesitant:
And the plum is even worse:
But I live in hope.
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