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Eric Swanson

In article . com, says...

On Jun 3, 1:55 pm, wrote:

I haven't seen a honey bee this year! But the numerous species of
bumble bee seem to be reproducing at a much higher than normal level
since there is no competition for food. IMHO, they are taking up much
of the slack for the missing honey bees. Maybe not enough for
commercial growers, but certainly enough for the rural/urban gardens.

-Red-

I've seen six (6) bees all year..when I used to see six in one minute.

Agree on the wild and bumble bees..a lot more of them around.
...

I have crepe myrtle trees in bloom and there are literally hundreds of
bumble bees dancing from bloom to bloom, and not a honey bee among
them.

I've been looking around at the local bee population the past couple of
days. There are several plants flowering at present, including laurel,
blackberry, clover and some wild flowers. I found no honey bees and no
bumble bees anywhere, just some small (~3/8 inch) bees. This may be a
hangover from the warm temperatures in March, followed by a hard freeze
in early April, or, it might be some effect of local pesticide use.
We've had very dry conditions lately, but some rains in the past week.
I do recall seeing some bumble bees a few weeks ago, but zero yesterday
and today. I'll keep looking...

--
Eric Swanson --- E-mail address: e_swanson(at)skybest.com :-)
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