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In an ideal world, BOBs would be raised in the fields they pollinate. In Europe, farmers get a threefold to fourfold increase of European Osmia bees out of thei

In an ideal world, BOBs would be raised in the fields they pollinate. In Europe, farmers get a threefold to fourfold increase of European Osmia bees out of their orchards every year. Jordi Bosch, who used to work for the usda and is now at the Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications in Spain, says this happens because European orchards tend to be smaller, contain a mix of fruit species and have a variety of weeds that bloom around them at various times. Those factors help bees live out their full adult life span, so they can lay many eggs. In California, large, weed-free, monocrop orchards provide only two to three weeks of one type of bloom—insufficient for maximum egg laying. Fungicides and pesticides can further reduce the number of progeny that an orchard produces. So that is the real problem...

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Spivak 9y ago
I don't think anyone really disagrees with your assessment. But you seem to be implying a solution of the form 'well then stop doing that' which typically doesn't go anywhere. Which option do you think is more likely to happen politically? A: Convince/coerce a huge population of people to change their growing habits against their own personal interests. A system that by construction rewards cheaters and would be extremely expensive to enforce. B: Fund a concentrated series of research teams to help produce bees that can thrive in the current environment.
- ph0rque 9y ago
  Good point, but I don't think it's as hard as you suggest, and no personal interest sacrifice is required. For example, by growing clover, the orchards would not only attract bees, but also provide fertilization to the trees (when the nitrogen stored in the clover is released when the clover dies back a bit after each mowing). Are there additional costs? Sure, but if viewed as an investment, those costs pay for themselves eventually. I think there are orchards already practicing this, but I would bet the majority aren't aware of such practices (market education needed).

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

Spivak 9y ago

I don't think anyone really disagrees with your assessment. But you seem to be implying a solution of the form 'well then stop doing that' which typically doesn't go anywhere. Which option do you think is more likely to happen politically? A: Convince/coerce a huge population of people to change their growing habits against their own personal interests. A system that by construction rewards cheaters and would be extremely expensive to enforce. B: Fund a concentrated series of research teams to help produce bees that can thrive in the current environment.

ph0rque 9y ago
Good point, but I don't think it's as hard as you suggest, and no personal interest sacrifice is required. For example, by growing clover, the orchards would not only attract bees, but also provide fertilization to the trees (when the nitrogen stored in the clover is released when the clover dies back a bit after each mowing). Are there additional costs? Sure, but if viewed as an investment, those costs pay for themselves eventually. I think there are orchards already practicing this, but I would bet the majority aren't aware of such practices (market education needed).