Do Bees Pollinate Trees? – 1 curious bee!

Last Updated on March 24, 2023 by Jeremy

As per Wikipedia, pollination is the process of moving pollen from the ‘anther’ to the ‘stigma’, either in the same flower or in another flower. The process requires a carrier for the pollen. Which can be by wind, animal, or human intervention (hand-pollination).

So we have to ask, do bees pollinate trees? That answer is YES!

Pollination of Fruit Trees

Bees are one of the main pollinators of fruit trees, which the pollination of fruit trees has been around for hundreds of years.

Pollination is very important to maintain healthy plants that will produce either fruits or nuts. If you remove the pollinators and the bees, the Earth will die of its vegetation. No new generation; no life.

For a bee to pollinate a flower, they go into the flower to collect nectar to take back to make honey. When in the flower, the pollen attaches to the bee’s feet & underbelly/back end.

When buzzing from flower to flower, they cross-pollinate.

Without bees, we wouldn’t have:

• Apples
• Pears
• Plums & Prunes
• Peaches & Nectarines
• Cherries
• Grapes
• Nuts – Almonds
• Bananas
• Pineapples
• Papayas
• Passion Fruit
• Avacado
• Mango
• Apricots
• Figs
• Olives

Check out How Bees Pollinate Almond Trees in the Video below:

~ Hazelnuts, Walnuts, Pecans and Chestnuts are all wind-pollinated. Birds and bees have no effect on pollinating. ~

As busy as bees are, they do not pollinate all the non-fruit trees, only some of them. The rest is done by the wind, or wind-pollination.

Most deciduous and all coniferous do not produce flowers; therefore, there is no attraction for bees looking for nectar for honey.

Leafcutter Bees

The leafcutter Bee cuts circles about 1/4″-1/2″ on smooth, broad leaves from deciduous plants like azaleas, ash, roses and others. The leaf circles are utilized as a nursery.

The female bee will roll the leaf into a tube, depositing pollen and one egg. This continues until done ‘laying’ eggs; about 30-45 egg tubes.

With a radius of 100 meters from its nest, leafcutter bees fly from flower to flower eating nectar and pollen. They do not make honey, only use it for nourishment.

This makes the leafcutter bee less protective of its nest, which can be made in a hole, wood, pithy plant or plant stems.

Why Do Bees Pollinate Flowers?

Bees pollinate flowers looking for food, as explained above. They spend their lifespan flying around flower to flower collecting nectar whilst having pollen adhere to its feet, dropping off pollen before collecting more.

Almost 80% of worldwide food production relies on bees.

Without bees, we wouldn’t have these specific fruits:

• Citrus
• Berries
• Orchard Fruits
• Squash
• Pumpkin
• Melon
• Cucumber
• Zucchini

And of course, without bees, these vegetables would disappear:

• Broccoli
• Brussel Sprouts
• Cauliflower
• Collard Greens
• Cucumber
• Eggplant
• Peppers
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Musklmelon
• Mustard
• Okra
• Parsley
• Rutabaga

Fruits and vegetable industries are not the only industry reliant on bees and pollinators.

The agricultural industry needs bees for feed crops such as: wheat, barley, corn, and soy. Without the pollinators, there wouldn’t be enough feed crops to withstand the demand from farmers.

The construction/infrastructure industry will suffer because the trees species used in the production of furniture, building and lumber material will dwindle if pollinators aren’t around to assist.

The cotton industry, which supports medical supplies, clothing, linens, etc. will be affected if bees disappear. Plants, like the willow, poppy and aspen, that are used as derivatives in over-the-counter medicines, will be eliminated if the world kills of the bees and pollinators.

Other Pollinators

Most people associate pollinators with bees, and they would be correct. However, bees aren’t the only ones contributing to the cause.

Here’s a quick list of other pollinators:

• Hummingbirds
• Bats
• Butterflies and moths
• Ants
• Wasps
• Hoverflies
• Mosquitoes
• Humans
• Flies
• Beetles

In other areas of the world, some other birds, like the Sunbird and Honeyeaters assist with pollination.

On the island of Madagascar, lemurs and other primates pollinate many flowers by sticking their whole faces into the flowers to drink nectar. They move from flower to flower pulling petals apart consuming nectar.

Conclusion

We know how important bees, and other pollinators, are to our survival on Earth. To ensure their survival, there are ways to attract pollinators into your yard and garden area.

Learning about beekeeping and getting your own apiary will add new populations. Planting flowers guarantee a food source, and pending on the plant, may become a host plant (for young).

Planting more pollinating trees will also help keep these insects thriving, because yes, they do pollinate them!

Spraying chemicals should be avoided as it kills pollinators and has carcinogenic ingredients to humans.

For example, this is why we should never spray dandelions. There is an abundance of dandelions and bees love them, plus it is a pollinators first food source of the season! You can also read more about the Dandelion Plant Benefits – Everything Nature and More in this article.

Putting up birdhouses and bee houses will attract, whilst existing debris like fallen branches, logs and leaves ensure protection, especially over the winter months.

I have always heard that the color red attracts pollinators like hummingbirds and butterflies, so if a perennial flower bed is in the works or the patio only holds a couple pots, go for red.

And most importantly, let them buzz around in your garden plot, garden boxes or garden towers to pollinate the fruit and vegetable flowers.

The more we do on our part, the more bountiful our planet will be for future generations.

As always, throw your 2 cents in about bees in the comments section below.

Earth is Heart!