Honeybees are busier than we thought

Did you know that a good part of your honey may have come from insect poop. Yes, you heard that right, and I apologize if you’re drizzling honey on your cereal right now. A study of the DNA in honey carried out by Noah Wilson-Rich, an entomologist who founded The Best Bees Company, revealed that fact and other valuable information. The study sampled urban hives in major cities across the US and the preliminary results are surprising

AnatolianAuthentic Honey

We naturally assume that honey bees are busy collecting nectar and pollen from flowers, and we know they do because we watch them doing it. It’s a biased perception, however, as it’s easy to see the plants that bees are visiting in our gardens. We’ve not been paying attention to what they do at higher altitudes, and that’s one of the major discoveries that was made when the DNA in honey was studied.

The main sources of sugar in the honey tested did not come from wildflowers, but from trees, and not only from the blossoms; it also came from the excretions of sap-sucking insects, particularly aphids, those pesky critters that drive gardeners wild when they find them munching away on plants.

What goes in one end of a hungry aphid is the sap that the plant depends on to grow and flourish. Too many aphids and the plant can die. It’s what comes out of the other end of the aphid that attracts the bees. It’s a sweet, sticky substance called honeydew. Besides nectar from flowers, honeybees are slurping up honeydew, and there’s often plenty of it. We might see only a few aphids on plants in our gardens; up in the treetops there can be tremendous numbers — easy picking for bees, and there’s even more food available when a tree is in bloom, far more than in a garden below.

Whether from nectar or from honeydew, the study determined that 75% of the sugar collected by honeybees came from trees and not from wildflowers, especially in an urban setting. Although more native wildflowers than ever are being introduced into urban gardens to benefit pollinators, there’s often a far wider range than is present in a natural, rural area. In Boston, where interest in urban beekeeping has grown dramatically, the honey sampled contained the DNA of 411 plant species. Because of this larger diversity of plants, the hives there appeared to be healthier and more productive than rural ones.

Another discovery made by the researchers was regarding the types of trees and flowers the honeybees
preferred. Surprisingly, the flowers and trees favoured by them are not necessarily native ones. Honey bees don’t seem to care where lunch comes from. Even though coniferous trees are predominant in Seattle, the bees there favoured non-native linden and cypress trees.

Preferences varied from city to city because of the popularity of particular plants in a specific region. For instance, in New York, where even luxury hotels keep rooftop hives, the top three plants were locust and linden trees, and the flowers of sedum. In Portland, Oregon, known as the city of roses, no surprise that roses were in the top three along with begonias and sweet chestnut trees.

In San Francisco, where non-native eucalyptus trees have become an invasive species, there’s currently a debate going on whether to fell them or give them protection. The honeybees are not fussy. They’re such generalists, they don’t care that the trees are from Australia. They love them. Making up their top three favourites there are pine trees and rosemary.

Next time you hear buzzing in your garden, remember to look up, way up.

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Does your garden have winter interest? Unless there’s a fresh coat of pristine snow on mine in February, it’s as likely to be covered in grubby slush.

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Sick Seedlings

Starting seeds indoors is always fun, but sometimes it can be disheartening, especially for beginners when newly sprouted seeds begin to grow and then overnight the seed tray looks like a mini tornado swept through. Seedlings are left horizontal, dead and dying, and appear to have had their stems pinched right at the soil level.

What happened is a disease called Damping Off. It’s caused by any of a number of fungi that occur in all soils and tends to attack slow-growing or weak plants. As the name suggests, the disease prefers damp conditions, exactly what is required for growing seedlings. There used to be commercial fungicides designed specifically to control damping off but they are no longer available to home gardeners.  A few precautions, however, can reduce the likelihood of damping off. 

Use clean containers and a soill-free potting mix for starting seeds. Fill seed trays or pots right to the brim with the soil and avoid spreading seeds too densely. This allows for more air movement at the surface. A small fan blowing across seedlings can be helpful, but keep in mind this can rapidly dry out the soil.

If you start your seeds under a plastic cover, which is the usual way, remove the cover as soon as germination has taken place as fungal growth loves the high humidity under the cover. For the same reason don’t overwater and avoid watering from above as this ensures the soil surface remains damp and conducive to fungal growth.

Many untested suggestions such as sprinkling cinnamon on the soil surface have made the rounds online, and though cinnamon does have anti-fungal properties, the only hard evidence is on cinnamon oil, rather than the powder (which may not be pure cinnamon), so I’d save it for the hot chocolate and apple pie.

Starting Seeds

For seed starting, keep it clean and simple. When looking for a suitable medium, first, to clarify, there’s potting soil, and potting mix, and the terms are used interchangeably and not always accurately. Those brightly coloured plastic bags with bragging labels can be confusing. The difference is potting soil contains soil, often only a little, sometimes a lot. It’s more suitable for use outdoors. There are, however, mixes specifically formulated for seed starting.

Peat Moss

 Most products on the shelf are potting mixes, sometimes referred to as soil-free. They can contain any number of ingredients, with the usual claims for best results, but the ingredients aren’t always on the label. They can contain coco coir, wood fibers, peat moss, vermiculite, clay, pumice, or perlite. 

All have their uses, but not all are essential for starting seeds. Seedling grow best in a lightweight medium that provides a balance between moisture and air. Most potting mixes are made up of finely shredded peat moss. Perlite is usually added to improve drainage, and it also helps retain moisture. Perlite is a naturally occurring siliceous volcanic rock that after processing looks like tiny bits of popcorn.

Perlite

Cheaper, no-name brands might even contain tiny beads of polystyrene as a perlite substitute (in my darker moments, I’ve often thought potting mixes would be a handy way to dispose of industrial waste). Some mixes also contain vermiculite, a spongy, gold coloured volcanic mineral added to help retain moisture.

 

Vermiculite

Lime might be added to neutralize the slightly acidic peat moss, and other ingredients may include wetting agents to promote absorption of moisture, slow-release fertilizers, and charcoal, which is a natural filter that absorbs decaying plant odours. The problem with added fertilizer is you have no control over the amount, and since we all use our preferred fertilizers as well, there’s a danger of over-fertilizing. I prefer to be in control.

For seed starting, keep it clean and simple, and I'd avoid the $1.99 bags from that other store.