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

[Kevin Lindegaard]

Peter,

I'm assuming you haven't watched the fim or else you would see that the
species is Salix aegyptiaca. It's non native from the middle east. I'm no
bee expert but there are bumble and honey bees on this willow and possibly
others as well. If they're not feeding I don't know what they're up to.

By the way S. discolor is native to North America.

Kevin Lindegaard.

On Tue, Feb 17, 2015 at 6:42 PM, Peter Bernhardt <bernhap2 at slu.edu> wrote:

> 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/
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>> E-mail:  kevin at crops4energy.co.uk
>>
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Tel: +44 (0)117 9089057 Mobile: +44 (0)7989 333507



E-mail:  kevin at crops4energy.co.uk

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