From: pollinator@aol.com (Pollinator) Newsgroups: rec.gardens.edible Subject: Re: Small bluebarries for warm areas Date: 1 Feb 1999 01:26:59 GMT ef: newsfeed.atl rec.gardens.edible:1030021 From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <> Your area is in the overlapping of the northern types (highbush and lowbush) and the southern rabbiteye. A wide variety of bees work blueberries. Honeybees are extensively used for northern blueberry pollination. Maine uses about 50,000 hives, mostly trucked from out of state to pollinate blueberries. The rest of New England, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey probably use nearly as many again. Honeybees can pollinate rabbiteyes, but not as efficiently as the bee species that "sonicate" or buzz pollinate, vibrating muscles to shake loose the pollen. For an interesting article on solitary bee pollination of blueberries, see the Pollination Scene, under alternative pollinators. Dave Green SC USA The Pollination Scene http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html