Lack of bees

[the_donger]

I was reading a different thread where the topic of home grown tomatoes was brought up. I am having some trouble with my tomatoes - the blooms are dieing without being pollinated, I have about 10 ripening tomatoes on 6 plants. Anybody else having that problem? I have not seen a honey bee this year, literally. Bumble bees yes, honey bees, nada.

So, my question is this. If I get a QTip and swab multiple flowers myself, will this work? Can I be my own honey bee?

[bassin_bug]

I was reading a different thread where the topic of home grown tomatoes was brought up. I am having some trouble with my tomatoes - the blooms are dieing without being pollinated, I have about 10 ripening tomatoes on 6 plants. Anybody else having that problem? I have not seen a honey bee this year, literally. Bumble bees yes, honey bees, nada.

So, my question is this. If I get a QTip and swab multiple flowers myself, will this work? Can I be my own honey bee?

____________________

Have you looked it up on some Horticulture websites to see what is recommended?

There does appear to be a shortage of bees in my area but I still get my plants pollinated in a weird sort of way. If there are only a few bees, you may not see them and you might consider doing this. I like watermelon and so do honey bees, so when I'm finished with it, I place the rind out just off the edge of the patio and after a day or so I'll see a bee sitting on it. Within a few hours the whole rind will be covered with happy honey bees. I move the rind, bees and all, to a less conspicuous area and just leave it there. Amazingly, they will eat the whole thing after which I toss the green part into the garbage. The next day there will be a small swarm hovering over the spot looking for more watermelon. I don't use smoke, or any type of protective clothing not even gloves. I just make sure the bees are not in the place where I will injure or touch one, move SLOWLY so the bees won't feel threatened and I don't get stung. I don't know if they are wild bees or if they are coming from a hive some distance away but they are not agressive.

If you feel brave enough you may give it a try at the edge of your garden and see what happens. I doubt a Q-tip will work because you could bruise the bloom and lose whatever chance you may have had. I'm no horticulturist so I'm just expressing my opinion.

[bassin_bug]

Sorry but I forgot to tell you that bumble bees are also pollinators.

[Tim_T]

I haven't seen any bee's, but I have 16 tomato plants and all of them are doing well. I have tomatos on every plant and have already picked several cherry tomatos and I shopuld have ten or tewleve that will be ready for picking before the week is out.

[the_donger]

Taking your advice, I looked up some gardening sites. Honey bees do not pollinate tomato plants, bumble bees do. The tomato plants also self polinate. I will just need to go and gently shake my plants and that should do the trick, I hope.

[Bobby Headrick]

I have seen more honey bee's this year than the past few, we have a lot of white clover and they loveit. I raise tomatoes and other produce to sell, for extra money, bumble bee's polinate tomatoes, like mentioned above, once visited an indoor tomatoe operation and he used bumbles to polinate his crop, he bought his bees. You could go out and swab your plants if you do not have many, and also DO NOT USE pest control when flowering, 7 kills bees and other polinators.

[the_donger]

I have tons of white clover in the grass, still no honey bees. I am in Gilbertsville, west side of KY Lake. No bees in the flowers beds either.

[Bobby Headrick]

They have been very spordic, like I said earlier these are the first I haveseen in the last couple of years, there is a big tree down the road from my hse and there is a swarm in there,my neighbor tried to get them but they are too high and fairly aggressive, as far as I know they are still there. All this pesticide has finally taken its toll, no matter how much chemicals you put on a crop it will not produce without bee's.

[jcb]

While buying a jar of honey at the Farmer's Market Saturday I asked the bee dude about the decline in honeybee populations. He said most of it can be attributed to a nasty virus.

This is probably it: http://www.earthsky.org/article/viru...-disappearance.

[Bobby Headrick]

There were several on my cantalope flowers today several hundered,hopefully they are making a comeback, we cannot lose bee's if we want to eat. I am thinking about putting up a hive any suggestions and info I need to know to get started.?

[kyfanatic]

There were several on my cantalope flowers today several hundered,hopefully they are making a comeback, we cannot lose bee's if we want to eat. I am thinking about putting up a hive any suggestions and info I need to know to get started.?

Here's a good place to start :
http://www.ksbabeekeeping.org/

Contact the Local Beekeepers Association nearest you and I'm sure they will help set you up with what you need to know,have,and do.
Good Luck,
Glenn Pennington

[Bobby Headrick]

Thanks Glenn,