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Tag Archives pollination

““We’ve discovered that butterflies and moths accumulate so much static electricity when flying that pollen is literally pulled through the air towards them as they approach a flower.”
Crops, News

Static electricity attracts pollen to insects

Science Notes: Butterflies, moths pull pollen to them without touching plants

By
Butterflies and moths collect so much static electricity while in flight that pollen grains from flowers can be pulled across air gaps of several millimetres or centimetres. The finding, published recently in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, suggests this likely increases their efficiency and effectiveness as pollinators. The study opens the door to […] Read more
An artist’s rendering of the interior of the new HBRC.
Livestock, News

U of G hits sweet spot with honeybee research centre

New centre to operate as hive of community engagement

By
The University of Guelph is abuzz with anticipation now the ground has broken for a new $16 million honeybee research facility. The 15,000-square-foot Luckevich Pinchin Honey Bee Research Centre (HBRC) should be operational by 2025 and house North America’s most significant number of honeybee research colonies. Why it matters: The HBRC has operated since 1894, […] Read more
honeybee
Livestock

Ontario beekeepers reeling from triple-season hit

Poor weather and varroa mite extract heavy toll on colonies

By
A tough fall, unstable winter temperatures and a cool spring have conspired to take a major toll on honeybee populations in Ontario and throughout Canada. Populations of varroa mite, a parasitic pest that attacks honeybees, have also been high this spring. With limited means to control varroa, Canadian beekeepers could face losses even greater than […] Read more
The 2B mechanical pollination unit, produced by Israeli start-up Edete.
Crops, News

How viable is mechanical pollination?

Pollen collection, not just distribution, is a major hurdle for those trying to help insects

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An Israeli start-up company has developed a mechanical pollination system that it says will help ensure the continued production of nutritious food. There is concern about the decline of pollinators and its effects on food production. Pollinators play a critical role in moving pollen from male to female parts of the plant that result in […] Read more
CBOT September 2020 wheat with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)
Crops, Markets

U.S. grains: Wheat futures top two-month high on global harvest worries

Corn, soybeans firm as U.S. weather looks hotter, drier

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Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures on Thursday leapt to their highest prices in more than two months as the latest crop estimates in major exporting countries like Argentina, France and Russia raised questions about global supply. Corn and soybean futures also strengthened, as weather forecasts predicted more heat and dryness […] Read more
Mike Donnelly-Vanderloo, right, explains the family’s Operation Pollinator plot to tour participants on July 3 near Thorndale.
News

Pollinator plots open eyes and create conversations

Sixty plots will be established at the edges of farms after two years of the program

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Across Ontario’s farm country over the past two years, small patches of fields have been transformed into a mix of flowering plants ideal for attracting bees and other insects and birds, as part of Operation Pollinator. There’s no confirmation on whether the global agricultural input company that created and supported the project, Syngenta, will continue […] Read more
A bumblebee on a strawberry flower.
Crops, News

Bee-based disease prevention

Inoculating flowering plants with insect-delivered fungus can help limit disease

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Fungi that can inoculate crops against disease can be applied using insects — bumblebees, to be specific. According to Bee Vectoring Technology (BVT) — a Canadian company with offices in the United States and Europe, and in the process of commercializing such a service — Bombus-delivered inoculants offer fruit farmers another way to augment their […] Read more
A corn crop in the RM of St. Andrews in Manitoba’s Interlake region on July 5, 2018. (Greg Berg photo)
Crops

Ontario, Manitoba corn crops need rain

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CNS Canada — Corn development in key growing areas of Ontario and Manitoba remains highly variable as the crop nears its yield-determining phase. “The pollination stage is the critical part of the corn-growing period and I would say probably within the next three weeks we will know what yield is going to look like,” said […] Read more
The red-belted bumblebee, shown here visiting a lupine, is among the species shown to be “responding very badly” to climate changes across continents. (Jeremy Kerr photo)
Livestock

Study of bumblebee decline points to climate ‘vise’

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A study of the shrinking range of bumblebee habitat suggests farmers relying on those species to pollinate crops may soon have to look elsewhere, barring a reversal of climate change — or, perhaps, an “assisted migration.” An international study of specimens from 31 species of bumblebees in North America and 36 such species in Europe, as […] Read more

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