IN THE GARDEN THE BUZZ ON HONEYBEES.

Byline: JOSHUA SISKIN

Just the other day, while enjoying the fragrant white blossoms of my navel orange tree, I was delighted to see a few honeybees buzzing around. Across the U.S., including California, tens of thousands of honeybee colonies have mysteriously disappeared. No one knows why. Inside of old hives, there are no dead bees, but the number of colonies has shrunk dramatically from year to year. It is as though the honeybees have vanished into thin air.

Whether you have a commercial orchard or a backyard fruit tree or two, the crop you gather depends, in large part, on the pollination of honeybees. As bees forage for nectar, pollen grains adhere to their feet and, especially, their fuzzy bodies. These pollen grains are transferred onto sticky stigmas as the bees continue to forage for nectar in nectaries at the base of flower petals. Beneath the stigma is a tubular style, into which a pollen tube (growing out from a pollen grain) tunnels until it reaches the ovary and, finally, the ovule (egg) at the bottom of the style. The male genetic material is then released from the pollen tube and mixes with the female genetic material of the egg. As a result of this fertilization process, a seed or seeds begin to develop. The ovary then begins to grow into a fruit, which surrounds the seed (or seeds).

Many crops, from alfalfa to cherries to squash, depend on honeybee pollination. Avocados and almonds are more dependent on bees than any other tree crops, and bee hives are brought next to avocado and almond orchards in order to maximize their yield.

Apples, plums, peaches and apricots will also produce larger crops when hordes of honeybees take an interest in them.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG: Spring reveals roses in their entire splendor. There is nothing quite like the first roses of spring, since they are more or less unblemished, minimally tainted by insect pests and fungal blights that arrive in earnest with subsequent crops of roses that arrive in late spring and summer.

This year, however, there may be fewer soft-bodied insect pests for two reasons: the January freeze and the very dry winter that we just experienced. Normally, populations of many insect pests survive our mild winters and are ready to attack the tender new shoots and first flowers of early spring. Wet winters can also mean that new growth is more succulent than usual, which is an invitation to the sorts of sucking insects -- aphids, scales, mealy bugs, white flies and thrips -- that do the most damage in the garden. So far this year, I have not seen any of these pests.

When it comes to insect pests and fungi, my personal pest control philosophy is not to spray anything, ever. I have seen aphids clinging to some of my unopened 'Judy Garland' rose buds, but I do not think I have lost more than a handful of rose blooms, over the years, as a result. I once saw my 'Hot Tamale' miniature roses defoliate completely as the result of a foliar fungus, but they returned to complete health a short time later.

I maintain a diversity of plant species in my garden, including sages (Salvia species) of many types that attract hummingbirds, which are excellent insect control agents. It is known that most kinds of birds consume several times their body weight in insects every day, which is a good argument for bringing a bird feeder or bird bath into the garden.

TIP OF THE WEEK: Chinese lantern or flowering maple (abutilon) is one of the most misunderstood of all ornamental plants. It is a pity, too, since abutilon's delightful lampshade flowers have a unique charm, perfectly complemented by its miniature maple leaf foliage. The prime source of misunderstanding of abutilon (ab-YEW-ti-lon) culture is the vast difference in sun requirement among its various varieties. 'Fruit Punch,' the red-orange variety, needs excellent light on at least three sides of the plant for it to bloom virtually without interruption throughout the year. The yellow and white abutilons, by contrast, can do well half-exposed to the sun, while the burgundy and pink varieties grow best on the north side of a building and require excellent ambient light, but no direct sun exposure whatsoever.

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