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

Ted Shoemaker wrote:
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

I do not have an such an item so i cannot tell you how well they work.
However google "Mason Bee house". This may bee what you are looking for.
Mason bees do not sting.

--
Enjoy Life... Nad R (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)

"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.

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.

Ted Shoemaker wrote:
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

Honey bees are the best and most common pollinator but American native bees
also work. Wind pollination is insignificant.

D

"David Hare-Scott" wrote:
Ted Shoemaker wrote:
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

Honey bees are the best and most common pollinator but American native
bees also work. Wind pollination is insignificant.

D

You do not need honey bees just for pollination. Just hang a mason bee
house in your tree sorta like a bird house.

http://www.gardeners.com/Mason-Bee-H...FQnrKgode2YjDQ


--
Enjoy Life... Nad R (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)

"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

"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!

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

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

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"
I never tried to call them native, and invasive isn't the antonym of
native. The antonyms of native would be foreigner, immigrant, imported,
or acquired.

Antonyms for invasive would be noninvasive, confined, defensive, and
unintrusive.

What kind of brain damage am I dealing with here?
Thanks for clarifying the situation. It is truly heroic (or stoopid) to
engage in a contest where you don't have a tinker's dam of a chance to
win.

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

I'll do this slowly so that even someone as intellectually infirm and
challenged as yourself may have a chance of understanding.

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

Now take your hand out of your pants, think really hard, and at the
first clause in the sentence that Steve quotes. "Honeybees were first
brought here by the pilgrims". What are our interpretations of this
clause? That the bees covertly concealed themselves from the members of
the ships company, much as in the manner of rats, in order to infest the
ship, (or were they just too cheap to buy tickets)? Or, were they the
property of one of the ship's passengers? Do you have another
alternative? Hmmmm?

That brings us to the second clause, "by T. Jefferson's time there were
thousands of escaped "wild" colonies."

Escaped from who, or what, or where? Hmmm? Any ideas?

If they weren't in the "Wild", from where would they have escaped? Hmmmm?

Let me venture the proposal that, "Escaped to the wild" would of
necessity imply that they had been domesticated (an antonym of wild;O).
What do you think? Hmmmm?

A domesticated species that has reverted to the wild
IS THE DEFINITION of feral.

QED

I hope that wasn't too stressful for you. I know that these kinds of
things can be difficult for you precambrian types (anencephalic), but
you are now on the road to actual thoughts.

Congratulations ;O))

Thanks for the opportunity to practice my pedagogy.

I think it is time for you to run outside and play in the street now.


If you like weekends (8 hr./day & 40 hr./week), then thank a labor union.
They paid for it in blood. Real working class heros.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket_affair


=
--
- 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