Live data from Hacker News

Magnolias are so old that they're pollinated by beetles, not bees (2025)

mymodernmet.com

101–105 of 105 posts

Re: Magnolias are so old that they're pollinated by beetles, not bees (2025)

#101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will try to check later in the year! I planted a few of my own actually, but considering they are still saplings, it will take some time before i get any fruit myself. I also managed to find some at a park nearby, but I don't think those are producing anything either.

If they're not grafted varieties, it can take 10 years to get any fruit at all. And it's recommended to get multiple different types for pollination to be more successful. Recommended for Ontario: https://www.grimonut.com/ (NoTL area) Bare root seedlings that you'd plant in the spring. Though it is not clear to me if what they're selling are grafted or not, I've never been 100%.

the ones I have are from https://onplants.ca/shop/asimina-triloba/ They claim to be grown from seed and so should be viable for producing fruit (as long as you have multiple plants). We will see in multiple years time how they do. The ones on the site you linked seem to be grown from seed as well, and seem to offer 100-180cm sized seedlings, I'm guessing those are 2 maybe 3 years old, mine are much smaller, about 50cms. Probably a better place to purchase from if you don't want to wait so long to mature them!

Re: Magnolias are so old that they're pollinated by beetles, not bees (2025)

#102
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting. I never thought worker bees retained any mating instincts.

AFAIK worker bees are female. Drones are male and don't actually gather any honey, but just go around looking for a queen to mate with.

Right but do they pollinate significantly?

Re: Magnolias are so old that they're pollinated by beetles, not bees (2025)

#103

These are the original articles this re-heat was created from: - https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/magnolias-be... - https://gardens.si.edu/learn/blog/the-botany-of-magnolias/

Thanks. The first article has more info, e.g. that those beetles are flightless. But that makes me suspect that they spend a lot of time on one tree, only pollinating that tree, which would be pointless because there is no exchange of genes.

The second article says they can fly.

Re: Magnolias are so old that they're pollinated by beetles, not bees (2025)

#104
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a reason the average spider sleepwalks into 8 human mouths a year.

One spider, 8 mouths: what are they pollinating?

Is that how the mother gets the seed from the father?

Re: Magnolias are so old that they're pollinated by beetles, not bees (2025)

#105
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should plant clover. You'll get plenty of bees.

Lavender is what we see swarms and swarms of bees come grab in the Pacific Northwest.

Also good, but clover has the advantage it can replace grass and survive mowing.
Post reply on HN