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Author Topic: high humidity or light fog  (Read 1059 times)

Offline Carol

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high humidity or light fog
« on: October 16, 2013, 03:26:34 pm »
How does high humidity or a light fog affect nectar. 

Offline Finski

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Re: high humidity or light fog
« Reply #1 on: October 16, 2013, 05:29:32 pm »
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I have seen several times that nectar absorbs night mist and nectar will become so watery that bees or bumblebees do not forage the nectar.
When nectar dry up in sun, bees start to forage nectar during afternoon. (Canola, phacelia and fireweed)

It happens too that honey dew, made by aphids,  dries up during day  so much that bees do not mind  lick the stuff. But night mist dilutes it and bees forage it enormous amounts. It is easy because, bee need not to fly "from leaf to leaf". They just need lick big droplets and get full load in one minute.

Himalayan balsam nectar is protected against night mist and bees forage it very early, even if phacelia field is covered with thin mist up to midday. There are other tube form flowers too which is protected against mist.

Here is one plant where bumblebees visit, but at same time no one pick fireweed nectar.
Bumbles bite a hole to the tube and take the nectar.



Here are holes
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