My zucchini crop is nonexistent. The plants bloom beautifully, but that's about all happens. My hypothesis is that the blooms are not getting pollinated, therefore fruit does not develop.
I decided to do a little investigative work, so camera in hand, I toured the yard. After nearly 15 minutes I had discovered only one bumble bee and one honey bee. Usually the sedum are covered. Here is a picture of the bee on a morning glory.
In the spring the power plant had an infestation of wild honey bees that had swarmed on a portion of fencing. It was not in a location where people would be bothered by the bees, but the poor things were sprayed and killed anyway. How foolish the men were to have killed such helpful creatures! I have learned that it was not illegal for them to do so. Their reasoning was that it was better to loose the life of a colony of bees than for one bee to terminate the life of one allergic human. (Depends on the human!!!!)
Our wild colonies that were in the woods behind us are gone. I don't know if they succumbed to the virus that is destroying many of the colonies that beekeepers own, or if it was the extremely wet spring & summer that caused a fungus. There's no aardvarks or bears (supposedly) in the area so I have to rule out the natural predator thought. Birds just wouldn't be able to wipe out so many colonies.
I hope that I just picked a bad bee observing day. Since I will be outside painting the yucky fence in back...I hate that fence...I will keep my eyes and ears open for my buzzy friends.
Happy gardening,
shel
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