Without bees, no apples! Is that actually true? We answer important questions about flowers and bees in this article.
How do bees pollinate apple blossoms?
Apple blossoms are pollinated by bees by searching for nectar and picking up and distributing pollen. Honey bees and wild bees are effective pollinators, with honey bees pollinating over 90% of flowers. Encourage bees through a variety of flowering plants, nesting opportunities and insect-friendly garden design.
How are apple blossoms pollinated by bees?
Bees search fornectarin an apple blossom, come to the pollen-bearing stamens and dust their thick fur with the pollen. When they visit a second flower, they brush thepollenon the stigma of this flower in their search for nectar. The pollen fertilizes thefruit node, from which the apple fruit then develops. Since our cultivated apples are self-sterile, they require pollen from other apple trees (“pollinator varieties”) for successful fertilization. In this way, pear trees are also pollinated by bees.
Which insects pollinate apple blossoms best?
In gardens without honey bees, wild bees pollinate most of the fruit trees. In addition to wild bees, hoverflies and butterflies are also important. In cold weather, bumblebees work better than honeybees because they heat up by shivering their muscles. Honey bees do not fly at temperatures below 15 degrees.
How do I attract bees as pollinators for apple blossoms?
Honey bees from the neighborhood will discover your apple trees on their own and fly to the blossoms. Wild bees complement honey bees in pollinating apple trees. The moredifferent flowering plantsgrow in the garden, the more comfortable the furry insects will feel in the garden. Many native wild bees suffer from too fewnesting opportunities An insect hotel in the garden can help. The nature conservation associations give tips on building or buying good insect hotels and on establishing wild bees in the garden.
How effective is bee pollination of apple blossoms?
Honey bees work extremely effectively. According to the German Beekeepers Association, honey bees pollinate more than90% of theflowersof aapple trees. Without honey bees, only about 30 to 40% of all flowers are fertilized.
How do I promote pollination of apple blossoms by bees?
Bees love warm places and a diverse range of flowers. Plant densely leafy,flowering trees as windbreaks. Wild bees like to overwinter in dry shrubs, clay walls, holes in the ground or dead wood; Such structures characterize an insect-friendly garden. An insect hotel also promotes the settlement of wild bees. A shallow drinking bowl is often used by insects and birds. This is how you create optimal conditions for the busy crawlers.
Tip
Experiment: Play bee yourself
In Sichuan (China), fruit trees are pollinated by humans because there are too few pollinator insects due to the massive use of pesticides. Workers use brushes to spread the pollen from the apple blossoms of one tree onto the stigmas in the blossoms of the other tree. Maybe you would like to try this out on your apple tree.
