Hey all!
I am looking for some help.
A friend of mine is a wine maker that has a small vineyard. He lets me use the vineyard as a bee yard. He is thinking on having me remove the bees because he believes the bees are damaging the fruit. I know this is not so. It is probably hornets opening the grape up and then the bees going for the juice. But I could really use a link to somewhere to dispute his ideas. Or something more then just opinion.
Thanks
my view - bees might lick moisture off the grapes but won't eat them - most likely damage caused by wasps, hornets or birds
regards
s
do a google search. you will find plenty of the same complaints with plenty of answers. i grow grapes also. the honey bees do get into them AFTER the yellowjackts and birds break them and cause juice to come to the surface.
your friends problem is not with the honeybees. they are taking advantage of what the other insects have already done. he will end up with many honeybees in his grapes as soon as they realize that there is an easy source of food.
No links to provide sorry, but I agree with the others, the bees are just scavenging what the main culprits started.
Besides, no bees-no grapes, unless they are of the self pollinating variety.
...JP
My two cents:
I have never seen bees puncture or damage grape vines. Only wasps and European wasps damage grapes from my observations. My uncle's had an apiary of about 50 hives in an orchard about 300 yards from my grandfather's vines with no problems. However, I saw bees trying to get the sweet juice out of already punctured grapes in a dearth.
-Rodni
No worrries - bees do not damage grapes. I have many hives sitting out by my vineyard of Cynthiana wine grapes and have never seen any damage. Bees do not aid in the pollination of grapes - grapes use the wind and gravity. so the bees are not necessary. Of course as has been pointed out - if the grapes are damaged the beens will feed on the juice.
Yeep they will also go after watermelons that have been broken open-RDY-B
Quote from: hpm08161947 on March 07, 2010, 10:00:55 PM
No worrries - bees do not damage grapes. I have many hives sitting out by my vineyard of Cynthiana wine grapes and have never seen any damage. Bees do not aid in the pollination of grapes - grapes use the wind and gravity. so the bees are not necessary. Of course as has been pointed out - if the grapes are damaged the beens will feed on the juice.
My barber grows grapes and muscadine. Are you familiar with muscadine? He says he has done research on them and muscadine needs bees for pollination.
Asked me if I would place some hives for help and I told him certainly, we can give it a try.
...JP
What's a "barber"? :-D
Scott
Quote from: JP on March 07, 2010, 10:30:03 PM
My barber grows grapes and muscadine. Are you familiar with muscadine? He says he has done research on them and muscadine needs bees for pollination.
Asked me if I would place some hives for help and I told him certainly, we can give it a try.
...JP
Hundreds of acres of muscadines surround me here in SE NC... all Duplin WInery contractors.... not calls for pollination contracts - now blue berries thats a different story. But I would not doubt that bees aid in there pollination - its just that over cropping is often more of a problem in vineyards than under cropping.... For a good wine grape we may drop more than half the fruit.
www.beeculture.com/content/pollination_handbook/grape.html (http://www.beeculture.com/content/pollination_handbook/grape.html)
See section under pollinators last paragraph
http://books.google.com/books?id=CtxGAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA457&lpg=PA457&dq=bees+damaging+grapes&source=bl&ots=N07AtOCncW&sig=sbOqgQloZmcyvVR2OZ-LTf42dPk&hl=en&ei=VXOUS5PAN4OVtge0pIXxCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CBYQ6AEwBjgU#v=onepage&q=&f=false (http://books.google.com/books?id=CtxGAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA457&lpg=PA457&dq=bees+damaging+grapes&source=bl&ots=N07AtOCncW&sig=sbOqgQloZmcyvVR2OZ-LTf42dPk&hl=en&ei=VXOUS5PAN4OVtge0pIXxCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CBYQ6AEwBjgU#v=onepage&q=&f=false)
Page 457 right column middle ways down
http://books.google.com/books?id=i0PoSYNEsh0C&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=do+bee+damage+grapes&source=bl&ots=hrd3NoIh3b&sig=iKpJW1Rk_w7QhqPo7Tk7FxPDAgA&hl=en&ei=5HWUS7OpKJKYtgeZ3tDUCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CA8Q6AEwBDgU#v=onepage&q=do%20bee%20damage%20grapes&f=false (http://books.google.com/books?id=i0PoSYNEsh0C&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=do+bee+damage+grapes&source=bl&ots=hrd3NoIh3b&sig=iKpJW1Rk_w7QhqPo7Tk7FxPDAgA&hl=en&ei=5HWUS7OpKJKYtgeZ3tDUCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CA8Q6AEwBDgU#v=onepage&q=do%20bee%20damage%20grapes&f=false)
See page 70
Maybe some help.
I get ants on my grapes, they'll wreck 'em all if left alone.
It is possible that the wasps or ants are causing small wounds that the bees are opening, and making the situation worse than it would have been. I would think, though, that even if there is a small wound on a grape that it would spoil quickly, bees or no bees.
Even if honeybees aren't aggressive when collection, who want to gather in the grapes when they have a lot of bees on them?
I'm just speculating......
Rick
we live in berry country. last year is was fighting with all kinds of bees, wasps, etc just to pick marion berries. they were pretty ripe and all the nectar gathering critters were in there with me.
If the vineyard owner is having significant wasp damage before harvest he can spray with liquid sevin up to about 10 days before harvest (best check PHI - withdrawal interval). This will keep the wasps at bay - which is what damages the grapes to begin with.
Thank you everyone for your help, and insights. Thank you very much to sc-bee for the links. It is deeply appreciated.
The problem with Sevin is it will also kill any bees gathering the grape juice and the larvae fed on food derived from that sevin contaminated juice. Nasty stuff.
SH