Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

VB......when pollination becomes an issue, start reading about Australian native bees.....they are stingless little bee that should be up to the job and they could probably live in your greenhouse.

I use the thumb/forefinger method of pest control but I've inserted my fish into the equation. I only do the finger thing enough to render the leaf hoppers unable to hop and then the fish do the rest.

Small grubs and caterpillars go the same route......without the finger thing.

Gary, that is an awesome idea.... having native bees in the greenhouse... from what I remember the hives are quite small eg. Hollow log. I wonder how fast they reproduce, you wouldn't want them swarming in there so it wouldn't matter if some got out or if they where able to leave the greenhouse and just have the hive in there... Are they the same as the leaf cutter bee?

I'm not far behind you Gary. What I have been wondering is whether I could have a native bee hive with an entrance either side of the greenhouse (ie on inside and outside of greenhouse).

There is a honey place down south that has a glass hive inside the shop, you can see the bees and they sometimes give you a free jar of honey if you can spot the queen. That would be an awesome setup inside a greenhouse. Pluse honey as a by-product. Only problem with a newly established hive is that they can be invaded by normal European bees and kicked out.

What has BAP become? Bee's, what next? I LOVE it!

Native bees good luck for 10 years i was a bee keeper we tried a number fo times to get one for show very difficult to move and as far as 2 openings the bees in the green house side would get trapped out of the hive what they do is fly against the walls and then get disorientated it would be better to put one near the door as long as it was onen all the time and let them choose where they want to go

Thanks F & F rules that out then - as an open door means that the insects can get in also. I knew european bees would not do work in a greenhouse (not like bumble bees, which are used extensivelly overseas to do the job, being released into the greenhouse and then replaced after they die 24 or so hours later) but hoped natives might be different.

Thanks for the info.

I get a kick out of hand pollenating the capsicums and cucumbers. See the fruit set really quickly and grow even quicker. Just counted 6 cucmbers on one vine powering on due to hand pollenation. Any bees that get in my greenhouse are useless, they fly against the plastic and end up dying. Without hand pollenation of capsicums and cucumbers I would have no fruit set. Toms seem to take care of themselves. I am lucky, working oinly 3 days a week gives me a lot of time to muck around down in the GH, and hopefully allows me to catch any problems early

Its things like strawbs that I am thinking about.

My strawbs are setting fruit in the greenhouse with no help

Excellent to hear.

F&F what if the bee hive was inside the greenhouse. I have been researching leaf cutter bees quite a bit and they seem to live in small hives with a lower population. I have emailed a guy in QLD for more info... native bee society or something. It is still a possibility but your past experience is duly noted, I am trying to think of a good way for them to enter and exit the hive.

The thing is with a hive in the green house there wont be enough flowers out at the same time to keep the hive

Leaf cutter bees apparently do not breed easily here (at least in the SE of S.A.). There are a few people looking to use them to pollenate lucerne crops as they perform the job much better than european honey bees.

I have swarms of bees (feral honey bees) around my house and sheds and they have started to try and get water from the gravel beds, dripping fittings and tanks. If I cannot persuade them to get water elsewhere (I will set up a tank for them away from the house) they will be a real problem on the hot days. I fished about 20 or 30 dead bees out of my temporary fish tank last night.

Nova

Hi Nova,

Have you considered the possibility of using the dead bees for fish food (assuming your fish are big enough to eat them)?

I've read about an aquaculture set up where a hive was mounted with its entrance over the fish tank. When the bees died in the hive, they would be carried to the entrance and chucked over the edge.....by the other bees.

If this idea has appeal, let me know and I'll try to find more info on this system.

Gary

Hi,

Here's some articles that deal with Native Bees in greenhouses.

http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=gr ... sp080f6101

I don't know if they had to leave the doors open or not.......but they do speak at length abou using native bees as pollinators for greenhouse tomatoes and capsicums.

Gary