[NatureNS] bees and industrial white clover

From: "Roland McCormick" <roland.mccormick@ns.sympatico.ca>
To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
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Date: Sun, 24 Jun 2007 14:14:54 -0300
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When you talk about white clover I think of two kinds - one is a few inches 
high and seems to be a native plant, the other is two or three feet high, 
and I have only seen it in an area where someone has a bee hive. Which are 
we talking about here?

Roland.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Wild Flora" <herself@wildflora.com>
To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
Sent: Sunday, June 24, 2007 1:12 PM
Subject: RE: [NatureNS] bees and industrial white clover


> Planting a white or "Dutch" clover lawn is probably one of the best things
> you can do for honeybees. It is primarily pollinated by honeybees and is
> probably the commercial crop most heavily used by honeybees worldwide, so
> much so that "white clover honey" is a recognized type of honey, with
> lighter colour and milder flavor than other honeys. (Whether it's the best
> honey is a matter of taste--I prefer the darker honeys myself.)
>
> Just like honeybees, white clover isn't native to North America (it's from
> Europe). Our native bees would probably prefer the plants they have
> co-evolved with. That having been said, however, white clover has been in
> North America for a long time and it appears that quite a lot of native 
> bees
> and other wildlife have adapted to using it. Bumblebees and some other
> native bees are quite fond of it, also bee flies, some butterflies, and
> skippers. It's reported to be a larval food plant for the caterpillars of
> several moths and butterflies including the clouded sulfur. (Judging from
> the number of sulphurs I saw fluttering over my neighbour's pasture when 
> the
> clover was blooming last summer, I'd say that must be true.) White clover 
> is
> also eaten by ruffed Grouse, ring-necked pheasant, some songbirds, some
> small mammals, and white-tailed deer. (Some strains contain a glycoside 
> that
> can be poisonous if a grazing animal eats too much, but evidently they 
> have
> to eat an awful lot before they experience any ill effects.)
>
> The only harm to bees that I'm aware of is when flowering clover attracts
> them to an area where pesticides are going to be used. This is a 
> recognized
> problem in nonorganic apple orchards, where white clover is often regarded
> as a weed.
>
> The biggest concern about white clover from a gardener's point of view is
> that it does tend to be spread quite aggressively both by seed and by
> runners. The seed can persist for years in soil, so getting rid of it once
> you've planted it is very difficult.
>
> One possible problem is that selection and breeding of white clover are
> constantly producing new strains, particularly ones that are more
> winter-hardy, and whenever a new cultivar is introduced there is always a
> risk that some quality needed by pollinators will have been lost. However,
> I'm not aware of any reports of cultivars of white clover that have lost 
> the
> ability to support pollinators.
>
> In short, if you want a lawn, are fond of bees, and don't mind using
> nonnative plants, white clover is probably an excellent choice.
>
> Wild Flora
>
>
>
>
> -- 
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> 8:33 AM
> 

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