[Pollinator] Video of bees foraging on Salix - filmed in England today

[Peter Bernhardt]

Good but would you please provide us with the Salix species and any
observation of bees visiting the more cryptic female catkins?  Willows are
used as examples of transitions from insect to wind pollination but the
hard data isn't terribly convincing.  Some say that some male catkins on
some Salix species secrete nectar while others say they don't.  Can you see
the workers insert their tongues into the bases of the individual florets?
Likewise, I'd really like to see some convincing footage of bees taking
nectar(?) on female catkins when the stigmas are receptive to pollen.  Here
in America, you can see certain butterflies (like mourning cloaks) coming
out of hibernation to forage on male catkins on warm February days.  I've
seen them on the European pussy willows (S. discolor?) that have escaped
from gardens and are growing wild in wetter areas.

Peter Bernhardt

On Tue, Feb 17, 2015 at 11:57 AM, Kevin Lindegaard <kevin at crops4energy.co.uk
> wrote:

> I took this video (
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi5cu5CSHt4&feature=youtu.be) today (17th
> Feb) showing several different types of bees foraging on a male willow
> plant. Salix species are a valuable source of pollen and nectar for bees
> during the late winter/early spring when there are few other abundant
> sources available. For more information see:
> http://www.crops4energy.co.uk/src-willows-abundant-source-pollen-bees/
>
>
>
> --
>
> *Crops for Energy Ltd*
>
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> E-mail:  kevin at crops4energy.co.uk
>
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