We know well humans adore weed for ages, but what we don’t know until now, bees are also fans of the plant. A recent study found that bees love to throng on taller hemp plants.
Anew study carried out by the researchers at Cornell University and published in Environmental Entomology shows that weed is being equally loved by the weeds. The outcome of the study supports the findings reached by another study carried out at Colorado state University last year.
The study found that plant’s plentiful stores of pollens attract bees, the scientists believe that bees’ affinity with cannabis can help to determine ways to bolster their struggling population.
The study discovered that the likelihood of bees swarming an area depends upon the area covered by hemp. Additionally, the study found the height of the hemp tree also matters for bees to flock. The tallest plants were noted to attract a stunning 17 times more bees than the shortest ones.
The researchers associated with the study observed a greater number of bees visited hemp cultivated area with the passage of time. This phenomenon can be explained by word of mouth effect among humans, where people share their good experiences with others.
The findings of the study revealed that hemp supports over 16 types of bees in the Northeastern United States.
Despite the fact, cannabis does not produce sweet, sugary nectar that typical floral varieties produce, it may seem strange that bees swarm to the hemp plants. The weed also lacks a dazzling array of bright colors that insects find highly attractive. The research pointed out pollen produced by male flowers attract 16 varieties of bees for unknown reasons.
Female flowers that are popular among humans for their intoxicating and soothing effects, fail to attract bees.
“The rapid expansion of hemp production in the United States… may have significant implications for agroecosystem-wide pollination dynamics.As a late-season crop flowering during a period of seasonal floral dearth, hemp may have a particularly strong potential to enhance pollinator populations and subsequent pollination services for crops in the following year by filling gaps in late-season resource scarcity,” noted one of the authors.
The findings of the study are important as they can be used to support the suffering bee populations across the united states.
Bees serving as vital pollinators spread male sex cells of flowers to their female counterparts constitute a highly crucial natural process of plant reproduction.
UN Food and Agricultural Organization estimates pollinators contribute from $235 to $577 billion worldwide by playing a pivotal role in the production of global crops. In the USA alone, pollinators contribution to domestic crop production is $20 billion. Without bees, we can not see almonds, blueberries, watermelon, and other crops flourishing.
The authors of the study have made it clear that bees and hump interaction does not make honeybees to produce THC enrich honey. Nor THC in hemp pollen affects the bee due to the absence of cannabinoid receptors in insects.
We know that cannabis can deliver medicinal as well as recreational benefits, the findings of the study show that the weed can help nature and agriculture in a stunningly important way.
