BELTSVILLE FREEBIES

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By Peter Hemingson

Summer's sun shimmers. Baked in heat, you sucker tomatoes . . . handpick bean beetles . . . weed by fall crop shoots . . . and side-dress budding peppers. The first drops of a thundershower hiss as they strike shingle and asphalt.

Toil till the storm bursts full force . . . then sprint for cover, find a cool spot, and feed your mind with a good garden book.

Imagine a docile insect whose sole aim in life seems to be pollinating fruit trees .. . and which does so almost 80 times as efficiently as the common honeybee Well, you've just conjured up a mental image of an important Insect recently introduced from Japan: the horn faced bee. Dr. Suzanne Batra, of the USDA Beneficial Insect Introduction Laboratory at Beltsville, Maryland, has been studying the little critters for several years . .. and her enthusiasm for their ability as pollinators is boundless. It seems that the horn faced bee loves the nectar and pollen of fruit trees (peaches, plums, pears, and especially-apples), while the common honeybee often would rather visit a dandelion than the pink and white blossoms of a McIntosh. Horn faced bees are not honey producers, but they seem perfectly designed for their role as pollinators. They emerge from winter dormancy when the cherry trees bloom ... mate, lay eggs, and collect nectar and pollen-with a passion-for four to six weeks . . . and then die! All summer long, the new larvae prow inside the reeds (or cardboard tubes) the insect uses as a nest. Shortly after this next generation evolves into adults in the late summer or early fall, the bees still in the nests) become dormant, remaining quiet all winter long. (The bees have a freezing requirement similar to that of hardy plants.) Finally, in the spring as the cherries bloom again-the little insects emerge and go to work.

HELP FROM MOTHER'S READERS

A good deal has been learned about the horn faced bee, but additional information concerning their adaptation to differing climates is still needed. Dr. Batra would like to give small colonies of the insects to some of MOTHER's readers ... those who meet certain requirements and who would agree to report back on their successes (or failures). She's Interested in folks who (1) are organic growers (sprays -especially Serving, but others as well-devastate the bee colonies) . . . (2) have fruit tree orchards ranging in size from a couple of trees to several acres . .. and (3) have kept bees In the past, or are familiar with beekeeping. If you'd like to receive a colony of horned bees, drop a postcard to Dr. Suzanne Batra, Beneficial Insect Introduction Laboratory, Dept. TMEN, Building 417, USDA-BARCE, Beltsville, Maryland 20705. Mention the size and kind of your orchard, and give information on your beekeeping experience. Also, describe your climate: Horned bees thrive in the moisture of the eastern half of the country as well as the coastal Pacific Northwest, but are unsuited to the dry western states. This fall, Dr. Batra will contact the readers she has chosen to participate in her experiment, and dormant bees will be shipped in late fall or winter. And don't be disappointed if you're not selected: The people at Beltsville will be using the list Dr. Batra compiles to seek out test sites for other experiments, too. If you are fortunate enough to flat some bees, though, prepare to bet a bumper crop of apples!