Tag Archives: native

Forestry

Native tree harvest update

Last year held a gigantic bounty of persimmon fruits. It must have been a bumper crop because this year is promising much less fruit. I quickly manipulated the saturation and exposure to make the fruit more visible. Don’t worry, this image is not going into any photography portfolios!

IMG_20150922_141542

The walnuts on the other hand are showing a moderate yield:

IMG_20150922_141254

My one lone autumn olive tree is loaded as usual. I’ve never really kept track of its production in the past so I have no idea if this is more than usual or if my beehive 50 feet away had any effect. I also like to think I have a good handle on the tree population on the farm, and this is my only known autumn olive. It is pretty obviously self-fertile!

IMG_20150922_143009

Standard
Bees

Leonurus cardiac aka motherwort: Bee Sustenance

Last week I noticed this plant with a tall stock growing in the shady areas of the farm. The very numerous and tiny flowers that were developing made me think of the potential nectar sources for bees. Thus I posted on a plant ID forum and almost immediately had the genus and species: Leonurus cardiac, commonly known as motherwort. Currently, these stands of motherwort are crawling with bees, wasps, butterflies and some strange bugs I’ve never seen that look like a cross between wasps and mosquitos.

Native Carpenter Bee:

IMG_20150617_180556

 

 

One of my ladies excelling at her job duties (Honeybee):

IMG_20150617_180527

 

And these bugs are can be found everywhere that has drawn in the pollinators. Anyone know what it is?

IMG_20150617_180617

Standard
Bees

The power of observation

I’ve been researching the best plants to include that either sustain or create habitat for native pollinators. While the documentation on the subject is valuable and will certainly be the subject of some future posts, by getting out there and observing, I have learned quite a bit.

Trees are my thing. Wild grasses, flowers, etc. are not but I’m doing my best to learn what is out there. I’ve decided to prioritize my learning on those plants which the pollinators demonstrate an affinity. I’ll venture out with my phone or camera later today and try to capture some pollinators in action!

Standard