[PCA] Fwd: Bees need quality habitat to survive - making the case for native plants

[Robert Layton Beyfuss]

Does anyone but me find it odd that NATIVE plants are so important to the welfare of EXOTIC honey bees? Or that exotic plants provide the overwhelming majority of calories we all consum?  Americans could survive quite nicely without Exotic European honey bees, but we would be hard pressed to survive without exotic foods.


From: native-plants [mailto:native-plants-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org] On Behalf Of De Angelis, Patricia
Sent: Friday, November 29, 2013 11:00 AM
To: native-plants
Subject: [PCA] Fwd: Bees need quality habitat to survive - making the case for native plants

Forwarding a message from a colleague.

Patricia S. De Angelis, Ph.D.
Botanist, Division of Scientific Authority-US Fish & Wildlife Service-International Affairs
Chair, Medicinal Plant Working Group-Plant Conservation Alliance
4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 110
Arlington, VA  22203
703-358-1708 x1753
FAX: 703-358-2276

Promoting sustainable use and conservation of our native medicinal plants.
<www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal<http://www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal>>

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
This article is written by two Iowa State university researchers, published in Iowa Farmer Today, "Bees need quality habitat to survive".  It discusses results of research to find plants that attract pollinators, but not pest insects, in the midwest.

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Excerpt:
"Midwest researchers have focused on native plants as a food source for bees and other beneficial insects. These plants include flowering perennials commonly found in prairies."

Full story:
http://www.iowafarmertoday.com/news/regional/bees-need-quality-habitat-to-survive/article_b5df92ee-52cf-11e3-b66f-0019bb2963f4.html

The results of the work can be found at:
http://nativeplants.msu.edu/

See, for example, plant facts at: http://nativeplants.msu.edu/plant_facts
which from what I can tell focuses on attractiveness to bees (as opposed to all pollinators). Of course, the results could be different for different parts of the country with different native faunas.

and discussion on native vs. non-native, which explains in simple terms why selecting natives is best, at: http://nativeplants.msu.edu/about/native_plants

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