Fireweed honey is made in the clear mountain air.
Honey & Espresso will make your day.What plants need pollination by insects?
People often wonder about how much pollination really does. After all, their garden always seems to have fruit. There are a number of factors to consider about pollination. First, their are many wild insects that are also responsible for pollination (e.g. bumblebees, solitary bees, butterflies, flies, ants and wasps as well as wild honeybee colonies). In small plots, with lots of natural habitat around for these species, there is often no need for any additional pollinators.
Another factor is that plants have differing pollination needs. A plant such as corn is entirely wind pollinated. However, kiwi fruit is entirely dependent on insect pollination. The need for pollination is recognized by growers throughout the world. In the large-scale plantings that responsible for feeding the world, pollination is becoming a big business. In California, 500,000 honeybee hives are moved into the state to complement the existing population during the almond pollination period resulting in over a million bee hives in the state. Almond growers will pay beekeepers upwards of $150US because the pollination is so important to them. Here in the Fraser Valley, blueberry growers are dependent on honeybees. Good use of honeybees can double their fruit output. It is estimated that commercial pollination results in over $20 billion of food in North America.
Pollination doesn't just result in more fruit, it also results in bigger, better quality fruit. Insects will visit a flower multiple times resulting in greater transfer of pollen and increased seed set. This is especially noticeable in plants where there are multiple seeds in each fruit, such as raspberries and blueberries.
To find out which fruit benefit from insect pollination see this link.
