Good grief. This kind of response is ridiculous.
Neither apples or honeybees are native to North America
Really??
There are bees pollinating plants and crops everywhere.
How in the world did Thomas Jefferson manage to pollinate his gorgeous
gardens almost 200 years ago? Yes, the bees were brought from Europe, but
they adapted with no problem. There are bees, and yes people use pesticides
but there are other insects that pollinate as well. Not just honeybees.
You can actually hand pollinate also, but not knowing the size of your
trees, that may not be possible.
Becoming a bee keeper is completely another discipline, and falls into the
category of "the more you learn, the more you learn you don't know". My
advice would be to just plant the trees and let nature take it's course.
Don't overthink it.
What zone are you in?

"Steve Peek" wrote in message
...

"Ted Shoemaker" wrote in message
...
What pollinates apples, besides bees?

I'd like to plant apple trees -- only a couple -- in my yard.

If I must have honeybees, then I'll look into the details of that.
But honeybees, who wander far, are likely to run into insecticides. I
live in a city, next to lots of neighbors and even a school. There's
no way to prevent them all from using bug-killer.

Thank you!

Ted Shoemaker

You're going to need honeybees. Neither apples nor honeybees are native to
North America, so there's no specific pollinator for the apples. Other
insects will work the blossoms, so pollination may occur but I would
expect the fruiting to be spotty.

"Thos" wrote in message
m...
Good grief. This kind of response is ridiculous.
Neither apples or honeybees are native to North America
Really??


REALLY!!!! Then pray tell me why orchardists pay beekepers thousands of
dollars every blooming season.


There are bees pollinating plants and crops everywhere.
How in the world did Thomas Jefferson manage to pollinate his gorgeous
gardens almost 200 years ago?

Honeybees were first brought here by the pilgrams, by T. Jefferson's time
there were thousands of escaped "wild" colonies. If you do a tiny bit of
real research you'll find that almost all large fruit farmers at the time og
Jefferson were beekeepers as well.

Yes, the bees were brought from Europe, but
they adapted with no problem. There are bees, and yes people use
pesticides but there are other insects that pollinate as well. Not just
honeybees. You can actually hand pollinate also, but not knowing the size
of your trees, that may not be possible.
Becoming a bee keeper is completely another discipline, and falls into the
category of "the more you learn, the more you learn you don't know". My
advice would be to just plant the trees and let nature take it's course.
Don't overthink it.
What zone are you in?


Which book did you get your information from? Mine came from the "book of
life", I've actually done it. I wouldn't presume to comment had I not.
"Steve Peek" wrote in message
...

"Ted Shoemaker" wrote in message
...
What pollinates apples, besides bees?

I'd like to plant apple trees -- only a couple -- in my yard.

If I must have honeybees, then I'll look into the details of that.
But honeybees, who wander far, are likely to run into insecticides. I
live in a city, next to lots of neighbors and even a school. There's
no way to prevent them all from using bug-killer.

Thank you!

Ted Shoemaker

You're going to need honeybees. Neither apples nor honeybees are native
to North America, so there's no specific pollinator for the apples. Other
insects will work the blossoms, so pollination may occur but I would
expect the fruiting to be spotty.

Just for fun--

"Steve Peek" wrote:

-snip-

Honeybees were first brought here by the pilgrams,

Here's some history on honeybees getting here and spreading. [1621, in
VA is what they say with a citation]
http://www.orsba.org/htdocs/download...20America.html

Jim

In article ,
"Steve Peek" wrote:

Honeybees were first brought here by the pilgrams, by T. Jefferson's time
there were thousands of escaped "wild" colonies.

Which in fact means they weren't "native". Perhaps you mean invasive?

In article ,
"Malcom \"Mal\" Reynolds" wrote:

In article ,
"Steve Peek" wrote:

Honeybees were first brought here by the pilgrams, by T. Jefferson's time
there were thousands of escaped "wild" colonies.

Which in fact means they weren't "native". Perhaps you mean invasive?

Try "feral".
--
- Billy
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, 16 April 1953
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/8559254-11yearold-takes-on-genetically-modified-food-producers-video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_vN0--mHug

In article
,
Billy wrote:

In article ,
"Malcom \"Mal\" Reynolds" wrote:

In article ,
"Steve Peek" wrote:

Honeybees were first brought here by the pilgrams, by T. Jefferson's time
there were thousands of escaped "wild" colonies.

Which in fact means they weren't "native". Perhaps you mean invasive?

Try "feral".

Whatever you call them, you can't call them "native"

In article ,
"Malcom \"Mal\" Reynolds" wrote:

In article
,
Billy wrote:

In article ,
"Malcom \"Mal\" Reynolds" wrote:

In article ,
"Steve Peek" wrote:

Honeybees were first brought here by the pilgrams, by T. Jefferson's
time
there were thousands of escaped "wild" colonies.

Which in fact means they weren't "native". Perhaps you mean invasive?

Try "feral".

Whatever you call them, you can't call them "native"

What kind of brain damage am I dealing with here? If they were
domesticated, and escaped into the wild, they are ipso facto feral,
indigenous (native) or not.




"A garden is always a series of losses set against a few triumphs, like
life itself."
- May Sarton, novelist and poet, 1912-1995.
--
- Billy
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, 16 April 1953
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/8559254-11yearold-takes-on-genetically-modified-food-producers-video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_vN0--mHug

In article
,
Billy wrote:

In article ,
"Malcom \"Mal\" Reynolds" wrote:

In article
,
Billy wrote:

In article ,
"Malcom \"Mal\" Reynolds" wrote:

In article ,
"Steve Peek" wrote:

Honeybees were first brought here by the pilgrams, by T. Jefferson's
time there were thousands of escaped "wild" colonies.

Which in fact means they weren't "native". Perhaps you mean invasive?

Try "feral".

Whatever you call them, you can't call them "native"

What kind of brain damage am I dealing with here?

I don't know. Why don't you go to a doctor and upload the results of his tests
on you.


If they were domesticated, and escaped into the wild, they are ipso facto feral,

I've never heard the term used this way, but sure

indigenous (native) or not.

They may have become part of the ecosystem, but they were never indigenous and
still aren't. Do try to learn the difference

"Malcom "Mal" Reynolds" wrote in message
...
In article
,
Billy wrote:

In article ,
"Malcom \"Mal\" Reynolds" wrote:

In article ,
"Steve Peek" wrote:

Honeybees were first brought here by the pilgrams, by T. Jefferson's
time
there were thousands of escaped "wild" colonies.

Which in fact means they weren't "native". Perhaps you mean invasive?

Try "feral".

Whatever you call them, you can't call them "native"

Which was my point exactly, both honeybees (at least the ones typically
raised by American & European beekeepers) and apples are from the same
continent which IS NOT North America. Being from the same continent they
have evolved into a symbiotic relationship. Sure there are other insects
that will pollinate to some degree, but none with the efficiency of the
honeybee!