Tundra Insects

Hi Robert,

Thanks for tuning in.  I'm afraid I'm not goiing to 'bee' much help for the lack of bees in your area.  I am essentially a novice when it comes to keeping bees and continue to learn.  Let's hope it's just a temporary population decline.

I see two dominant flowerng plants right now.  One is yellow and resembles a small buttercup.  It may be in the family of saxifragaceae.  I will find out the common and scientific names for you.  The other is called pedicularis and is a beautiful small flowering plant.  I have some pictures posted.

As for pollinators...it seems the flowering plants are able to survive and reproduce without relying on pollinators.  They either have ability to reproduce clonally by rhizomes, bulbils,
or by seeds that are genetically identical to the parent plants.  They can self-pollinate but will cross pollinate with the occasional bumble bee or two species of flies.  I atually saw a bumble bee come by one day and was completely caught off guard.  The site I visited in researching your question said that observations by researchers found that pollinators visiting a colony of primrose showed up only once every two hours, leading them to conclude that pollinators were not critical for the survival of the species.

I have only seen a few mosquitoes, that is perfectly ok with me. 

I have seen many different birds species: arctic tern, parasitic jaegers, phalaropes, golden plovers, snow buntings, snowy owl, tundra swans, lapland longspurs, loons, long-billed dowitchers, several species of sand pipers, dunlins, glaucous gulls, Canada geese, and pintail ducks.  Check out my pictures in the photo gallery.