What insects pollinate when it is cool and cloudy

[WSimpson]

My Citrumelo is loaded with flowers but with this cool weather and soon rain too , what insects pollinate in those conditions ? The temperature is about 60F and cloudy . .

I'm worried that the flowers will not get pollinated  and fall off before  the insects have a nice sunny day to do their job . Do citrus flowers get pollinated by wind or self pollinate as well as through insects ?

Thanks for any knowledge on the subject . 

 

If you look close or zoom in you can see hundreds of flowers on my Citrumelo but I don't see any insects buzzing around which I normally would under better weather conditions  . 

 

Overview :

 

 

[Silas_Sancona]

12 minutes ago, WSimpson said:

My Citrumelo is loaded with flowers but with this cool weather and soon rain too , what insects pollinate in those conditions ? The temperature is about 60F and cloudy . .

I'm worried that the flowers will not get pollinated  and fall off before  the insects have a nice sunny day to do their job . Do citrus flowers get pollinated by wind or self pollinate as well as through insects ?

Thanks for any knowledge on the subject . 

 

If you look close or zoom in you can see hundreds of flowers on my Citrumelo but I don't see any insects buzzing around which I normally would under better weather conditions  . 

 

Overview :

 

 

60F and cloudy shouldn't be an issue for most pollinators..  Here, i have euro. honey bees out doing their thing when it is in the 40s and sprinkling..

Activity from them actually decreases as it gets hot ( ..during the day / from late spring - thru the summer. )

...Is when various natives, inc. various solitary bee sps like carpenter, cutter, digger, furrow, orchard, etc clock in for pollination duty. Wasps that also pollinate stuff as well. All of those pollinate neighborhood citrus specimens with ease.

[WSimpson]

On 4/10/2025 at 1:26 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

60F and cloudy shouldn't be an issue for most pollinators..  Here, i have euro. honey bees out doing their thing when it is in the 40s and sprinkling..

Activity from them actually decreases as it gets hot ( ..during the day / from late spring - thru the summer. )

...Is when various natives, inc. various solitary bee sps like carpenter, cutter, digger, furrow, orchard, etc clock in for pollination duty. Wasps that also pollinate stuff as well. All of those pollinate neighborhood citrus specimens with ease.

Thanks for the input . 

[Rivera]

Warm days bring the bees and butterflies here, but a lot of our plants would be in trouble if no insects were active at 60F and cloudy! 

The warmest days bring lots of dragonflies, but they're not primary pollinators. Winter is quieter, but activity the rest of the year seems more influenced by what's in bloom for us.

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Rivera said:

Warm days bring the bees and butterflies here, but a lot of our plants would be in trouble if no insects were active at 60F and cloudy! 

The warmest days bring lots of dragonflies, but they're not primary pollinators. Winter is quieter, but activity the rest of the year seems more influenced by what's in bloom for us.

Definitely seasonality to what bees are out..  Honey bees are around all year, while you can separate out the seasons by which solitary bee types are present at A or B time of year..

Diggers are always out first, right as the Phacelia reach peak bloom,  followed by Furrow types that pollinate the Globemallows, and the Carpenters.

Alfalfa / Leafcutter, Cactus, and Resin Bees just started emerging, right as the Mesquites, Palo Verde, Agave, and var. Cacti ( Opuntia sps esp. ) start flowering.

..Squash, later season Furrow bee sps, various Cuckoo bees / wasps,  which also pollinate various things,  and our locally native Sweat bees can usually be found hanging out by mid May, roughly when the Mud Daubers, and Cricket Hunters start showing up.

Have seen all except the specialist Furrow bee types visit neighbor's citrus, other fruit trees..

Not sure if its the heat but atm, very few Honey bees out, even right after sunrise.. Diggers and Leaf Cutters are what you see buzzing everything flowering in the yard right now.