Did you know that bees of all types are important for pollination? That’s right, while honeybees provide us with their delicious honey, bumblebees are the only ones who can consistently pollinate this farm favorite: eggplant! Bumblebees can disengage the muscles in their wings and vibrate at a very high frequency. This is called sonication or buzz pollination, unique to bumblebees! All that excited bee wiggling knocks a lot more pollen loose from the blossom, covering the bee. The bee travels from plant to plant, coated in pollen, aiding in the eggplant’s reproductive cycle. The large amount of pollen produces a high rate of successful pollination, higher than other pollinators. So let’s say a Big Thank You to the bumblebees! Check out this short video (credit to Farmer Eric) of this eggplant pollination in action on the Farm! All the wiggles!
