[Pollinator] Sugar the bee's knees for pollination

[Ladadams at aol.com]

From: theage.com.au
 
 
Sugar the bee's knees for  pollination
    *   May 15, 2009 
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THE honey bee is a more efficient pollinator when fed sugar, according to  
research that could boost Australian agricultural production. 
Scientists from New Zealand's Plant and Food Research institute have found  
that providing a honey bee colony with sugar syrup promoted a change in  
behaviour in forager bees, which began collecting pollen over nectar. 
Honey bees are essential to pollination of fruit and seed crops. "Pretty 
much  all of horticulture and just about all of cropping requires honey bees 
for  pollination," apiculturalist Mark Goodwin said. "By feeding them sugar, 
the bees  in the hive are too busy using the sugar to receive nectar from 
the workers.  This gives the signal that nectar is not needed, so the workers 
switch to  collecting pollen, increasing the amount transferred between 
plants," Dr Goodwin  said.Sugar the bee's knees for pollination 
    *   LDA at pollinator.org

_www.pollinator.org_ (http://www.pollinator.org/) 

_www.nappc.org_ (http://www.nappc.org/) 

National Pollinator Week is June 22-28, 2009. 
Beecome  involved at _www.pollinator.org_ (http://www.pollinator.org/) 
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