Bees and Bananas

[KeyLargoBees]

I know this isn't goign to apply to a majority of you.....I planted some banana plants last year when I got my bees because I read they were huge nectar producers and the bees loved them....well I can say they do produce copious amounts of nectar...so much that it is hanging in visible drips from the flowers  and dripping down on the leaves below making the ants happy....and I can taste it and its wonderful stuff....but ever since they opened (for the past 3 days) the bees have ignored it....its probably 20 feet from the hives in the home yards and they come out and head up to flight level and take off and are ignoring it ;-(

Any ideas or just let nature take its course and they will eventually discover it?

[GSF]

They found something else first?

In the fall my bees have goldenrod starting about 20 yards from the hives. Unfortunately there's some about 300 yards away that opens up first. I don't think they've ever visited the field by them.

[KeyLargoBees]

probably the case...we are still in a pretty major spring flow for other trees....oh well Bananas don't rely on pollination for the fruit to set and taste good....if they find it they find it and since they don't always bloom in the spring maybe next time around they will get some use out of it.

[Dallasbeek]

We had banana trees in a yard when I was young.  Never saw bees on the flowers.

[Hops Brewster]

My (as far as I know)  bees ignore the dandelions, fruit trees, and catalpa in my yard.  But when my allium, Virginia creeper and Russian sage bloom, every bee from miles around (it seems) are on my flora.  I guess the "happenin' place" rotates around the neighborhood!

[Flycaster]

It seems to take about a week around me of something in flower before bees start taking an interest in it.

Even then it needs to be a decent sized amount of flowers. Anything less than about 1m2 of flowers and they ignore it.

Bumble bees on the other hand seem quite happy to go from random flower to random flower.

[Dallasbeek]

Honeybees are specialists.  Individual bees work one kind of flower or get water or whatever on a specific trip out of the hive.  Don't know about bumblebees, but since they aren't social (or as social, anyway) they may not specialize.

[Jim134]

Never saw a honey bees on bananas. The only experience I have bananas growing  is on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.



                BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

[Wombat2]

Been told bees cannot communicate to the hive distances under 50 feet (or is that meters?)  all they can say is "close by"

Move your hive next door ;)

[GSF]

Wombat2, I've always heard that as well. Then the question begs to be answered; What about robbing? They'll rob a hive 5 feet away. Don't know just an observation.

[Jim134]

Would not the last two post be better under a different subject and subtitle. You are going to get very little exposure here. This is just my observation.



                         BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)