<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class="">I’m not too strong on insects and can’t id too may bees, however I can see the despairing dearth of pollinators. On one of my cherry shrubs, that normally has had, up until this very year, thousands, literally, of ripened cherries, there are only 15 ripening berries. Nary a pollinator in sight earlier this spring and stems of withered and brown petals instead. <div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">And a visit to a barrier beach last Saturday provided thousands of <i class="">Prunus maritima</i> flowers with barely a pollinator.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Profoundly distressing.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div style="margin: 0px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Lucida Handwriting'; color: rgb(56, 144, 80);" class="">Karen </div><div style="margin: 0px; color: rgb(94, 144, 35); min-height: 14px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">Karen Blumer</div><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">Author, <i class="">LI Native Plants for Landscaping: A Source Book</i></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""> <i class=""> 2016 Revision (barring plague and further chronic lyme obstacles)</i></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">Growing Wild Publications</div><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">15 Dickerson Drive</div><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">Shoreham, NY 11786</div><div style="margin: 0px;" class="">631-821-3337</div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><a href="mailto:growingwild@optonline.net" class="">growingwild@optonline.net</a></div><div style="margin: 0px;" class=""><a href="http://www.growingwildpublications.com" class="">www.growingwildpublications.com</a></div><div style="margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;" class=""><br class=""></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""><div><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On May 20, 2015, at 5:57 PM, Addsum-Tony Frates <<a href="mailto:afrates@addsuminc.com" class="">afrates@addsuminc.com</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><br class="">Right along with all of those pesky global warming lobbyists no doubt . . . and the worst of all are those aggressive and completely out-of-line Bombus proponents.<br class=""><br class="">(But I imagine, Bob, that you haven't heard of Bombus franklinii, nor the plight of Bombus in the western U.S. generallly - and no doubt in the East as well, and the increasing infrequent sightings of Bombus occidentalis, none of which has anything to due with commercial bee keepers.)<br class=""><br class=""><br class="">Tony Frates<br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class="">Quoting Robert Layton Beyfuss <<a href="mailto:rlb14@cornell.edu" class="">rlb14@cornell.edu</a>>:<br class=""><br class=""><blockquote type="cite" class="">Interestingly, with the very obvious decline of feral honey bees in upstate NY, we have seen a huge increase in the observed populations of bumblebees. These bees seem to be doing a fine job pollinating fruit trees as well as small fruit such as blueberries etc.<br class="">The commercial bee keeping lobby is a powerful force in Washington.<br class=""><br class=""><br class="">From: native-plants [<a href="mailto:native-plants-bounces@lists.plantconservation.org" class="">mailto:native-plants-bounces@lists.plantconservation.org</a>] On Behalf Of James, Rosalind<br class="">Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2015 9:20 AM<br class="">To: Kwong, Olivia; <a href="mailto:native-plants@lists.plantconservation.org" class="">native-plants@lists.plantconservation.org</a><br class="">Subject: Re: [PCA] <a href="NEWS:You're" class="">NEWS:You're</a> Worrying About the Wrong Bees<br class=""><br class="">Most of the losses seem to be with bumble bees. Not a lot of losses have been found for the solitary bees, not that we have especially accurate measures.<br class=""><br class="">The best documentation for bee declines are certain species of bumble bees. There are 49 species of bumble bees native to the US. Well, there were. Now is probably 48. like Franklin?s Bumble bee in Oregon is probably extinct.<br class=""><br class=""><br class="">Rosalind James<br class=""><br class="">From: native-plants [<a href="mailto:native-plants-bounces@lists.plantconservation.org" class="">mailto:native-plants-bounces@lists.plantconservation.org</a>] On Behalf Of Kwong, Olivia<br class="">Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2015 9:48 AM<br class="">To: <a href="mailto:native-plants@lists.plantconservation.org" class="">native-plants@lists.plantconservation.org</a><br class="">Subject: [PCA] <a href="NEWS:You're" class="">NEWS:You're</a> Worrying About the Wrong Bees<br class=""><br class=""><a href="http://www.wired.com/2015/04/youre-worrying-wrong-bees/" class="">http://www.wired.com/2015/04/youre-worrying-wrong-bees/</a><br class=""><br class="">You're Worrying About the Wrong Bees<br class="">Gwen Pearson<br class="">Date of Publication: 04.29.15.<br class=""><br class="">"Save the Bees!" is a common refrain these days, and it's great to see people interested in the little animals critical for our food supply around the globe. But I have one quibble: you're talking about the wrong bees.<br class=""><br class="">Honey bees will be fine. They are a globally distributed, domesticated animal. Apis mellifera will not go extinct, and the species is not remotely threatened with extinction.<br class=""><br class="">The bees you should be concerned about are the 3,999 other bee species living in North America, most of which are solitary, stingless, ground-nesting bees you've never heard of. Incredible losses in native bee diversity are already happening.<br class=""><br class="">See the link above for the full article text.<br class=""><br class="">________________________________<br class="">No virus found in this message.<br class="">Checked by AVG - www.avg.com<http://www.avg.com><br class="">Version: 2015.0.5941 / Virus Database: 4347/9820 - Release Date: 05/19/15<br class=""><br class=""></blockquote><br class=""><br class=""><br class="">_______________________________________________<br class="">native-plants mailing list<br class=""><a href="mailto:native-plants@lists.plantconservation.org" class="">native-plants@lists.plantconservation.org</a><br class="">http://lists.plantconservation.org/mailman/listinfo/native-plants_lists.plantconservation.org<br class=""><br class="">Disclaimer<br class="">Posts on this list reflect only the opinion of the individual who is posting the message; they are not official opinions or positions of the Plant Conservation Alliance.<br class=""><br class="">To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to native-plants-request@lists.plantconservation.org with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line.<br class=""></div></blockquote></div><br class=""></div></div></body></html>