Flowers pollinated by native bees produce fitter offspring than flowers pollinated by honey bees, according to a new study carried out in San Diego, California.
Flowers pollinated by native bees produce fitter offspring than flowers pollinated by honey bees, according to a new study carried out in San Diego, California.
Compared with native bees, honey bees visit twice as many flowers on each plant before moving on to the next plant, with the result that honey bees tend to deposit pollen on the same plant they gathered it from, while native bees spread their pollen to other plants. When pollinated by native bees, plants produce more diverse offspring.
Examining the seeds of plants pollinated by honey bees and those pollinated by native bees, scientists said the latter were two to five times fitter, as judged by how likely they were to germinate, grow, and reproduce. Their findings were published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Read more at: Yale Environment 360
A California carpenter bee alights on a Cleveland sage. (Photo Credit: Dillon Travis)
