Bees are good pollinators?

[LSBees]

http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/...profile=search

I know that honeybees aren't the best pollinators for every crop however this article seems skewed?

[zhiv9]

I think it looks ok. Honeybees aren't the best pollinators individually, but make up for it in their vast numbers. Bumblebees are better pollinators and fly in much colder weather, but their colonies are so much smaller.

[rwurster]

The best thing about honey bees is that they can live in a box and you can ship them wherever they are needed at any time. There are plenty of pollinators that do much better jobs at pollination than honey bees but are constrained to certain types of blooms that they like to frequent and life cycles which don't necessarily coincide with the timing of crop bloom. I pollinate my neighbor's orchard with mason bees and they do a superb job at pollination. Bumble bees work great in greenhouses, squash bees for gourds, and don't forget about nocturnal moths etc. The article is dead on correct in my experience. There's a much larger picture that needs to be looked at outside the realm of honey bees when considering what type of pollinator to use, most aren't convenient where honey bees are very convenient at just about any time.

[cerezha]

I think, it is good that honey bees are not the best pollinators - it gives the space to other native pollinators! Sergey

[thenance007]

I planted lots of herbs and flowers in my front yard for the honeybees. At first I was disappointed that very few took advantage of them. But as I sat on my front porch and walked around the garden all summer, I realized that the garden was absolutely ALIVE with probably 25 - 30 varieties of bees, flies, wasps, etc. Each seemed to have a niche, depending on the size and scent of the blossoms. I've never seen a garden so alive, and very quickly forgave the honeybees.