You may be hearing buzzing around your tomato or blueberry plants, that buzzing is the sound of “buzz pollination”.
Your Garden is humming with activity, but what’s with that buzz? That buzzing is the sound of bumblebees pollinating your plants. The fuzzy bumblebees are looking for nectar and pollen. When a bumblebee comes to visit your flowering plants, its buzzing or sound vibrations are caused by the fight muscles. This vibration causes flowering plants such as tomatoes to drop their pollen on the bumblebee. When the bumblebee moves to forage for more nectar, it pollinates the next flower, causing more pollen to fall onto its back, pollinating the next flower and the next. More pollination = more fruit! Although tomatoes can be wind pollinated some studies have shown a 30-50% increase in their garden yields when pollinated by bumblebees.
Many people are afraid of bees, but I have never been stung by a bumblebee, bumblebee mimics, yes. My son who is somewhat of a bumblebee whisperer. He handles them with ease, even petting their furry backs. I DO NOT recommend handling any wildlife including bumblebees. My point is that if you respect the bee, most unprovoked bees are docile. (There is the exception to the rule, bees who have mated with escaped African honey bee tend to be very aggressive, stay away from those if found in. your area!) Solitary bees such a Mason Bees are usually too busy pollinating your flowers to even notice you!
So put down the pesticides and herbicides and fill your garden with life. Let the your garden hum and buzz with activity!
