Ersatz polinators?
 

We see almost no real honey bees in our garden 'til late summer, early
fall when the sedum blooms, when they practically swarm.

However, we see lot of other bugs doing what appears to be exactly the
same things that the honey bees do.

Are they actually performing a useful function in the sense of
pollination, or are they just taking stuff for their own use?

--
St. Paul, MN

Ersatz polinators?
 

On Tuesday, August 5, 2014 10:23:05 AM UTC-4, Bert wrote:
We see almost no real honey bees in our garden 'til late summer, early

fall when the sedum blooms, when they practically swarm.



However, we see lot of other bugs doing what appears to be exactly the

same things that the honey bees do.



Are they actually performing a useful function in the sense of

pollination, or are they just taking stuff for their own use?



--

St. Paul, MN

Honey bees are not native to North America, so, native pollinators are far more efficient in pollinating native plants. By the time honey bees visit the squash and cucumbers the squash bees have been there and gone. Don't get me wrong, honey bees do help a lot now that native bee populations have been devastated by pesticides, pollutions, etc.. Right now the honey bees are collecting pollen from my sweet corn and I'm sure that helps pollinate the corn.

Ersatz polinators?
 

On 8/5/2014 7:23 AM, Bert wrote:
We see almost no real honey bees in our garden 'til late summer, early
fall when the sedum blooms, when they practically swarm.

However, we see lot of other bugs doing what appears to be exactly the
same things that the honey bees do.

Are they actually performing a useful function in the sense of
pollination, or are they just taking stuff for their own use?


Any insect that is even slightly fuzzy that visits more than one flower
of the same species is polinating the flowers. Actually, this also
applies to humming birds, certain small bats, and a few other non-insect
creatures.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

Ersatz polinators?
 

Bert wrote:

We see almost no real honey bees in our garden 'til late summer, early
fall when the sedum blooms, when they practically swarm.

However, we see lot of other bugs doing what appears to be exactly the
same things that the honey bees do.

Are they actually performing a useful function in the sense of
pollination, or are they just taking stuff for their own use?

Yes, hornets/wasps, etc. perform the same function as honeybees, even
hummingbirds and butterflys pollenate.