Subject: Attracting bees to raspberries

From: [email-masked] (Steve Sashihara)
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 08:34:19 GMT

I am not a beekeeper.  I grow raspberries.  Two years ago, my raspberry
canes did a super yield -- they were covered with honeybees from some
unknown hive.  That hive must have been moved or destroyed by a
homeowner; since then, I've had few bees and a poorer yield of berries.
How do I attract bees, or create a bee-friendly environment, other than
becoming a beekeeper myself?

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From: [email-masked] (Pollinator)
Date: 6 Oct 1994 23:05:13 -0400

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked]
(Steve Sashihara) writes: concerning missing bees and raspberry
pollination.

You've put your finger on a problem that many are experiencing: the bees
are disappearing.  
Reasons? Clearcut logging, pesticide misuse, new diseases and parasites.
One especially bad parasite, varroa mite has decimated wild honeybees
wherever it has become established. I was just reading Michigan extension
reports that indicated that a few years ago half the fruit pollination was
by wild honeybees. So they are upgrading the hive per acre recommendations
to adjust for the missing wild bees.
With so much that you are up against, as far as trying to enhance wild
bees, it is probably a losing battle. You could try feeding them if you
have some spare acreage. You probably would help bumblebees and solitary
bees more than honeybees. Suggest sweet clover, sunflowers, buckwheat,
goldenrod, canola - all rich nectar sources and some good quality pollen.
Another avenue if you don't want to keep bees: Rent them. If you have a
significant acreage, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a
beekeeper who would place bees in the fields during bloom for a fee. It
ranges from $25 to $40 per hive. With the awful honey market, more and
more beekeepers are doing pollination service to survive.
   That's how I make my living.
[email-masked]
Dave Green, Eastern Pollinator Newsletter, PO Box 1215, Hemingway, SC 
29554