California Buckwheat

(Or Eriogonum fasciculatum)

Abiotic requirements:
- Sunlight, macro-nutrients, water,
and well-drained soil

Biotic requirements:
- Insects, fungi, and native grass
Disease:
- Can overcrowd, out-compete
other plants

Africanized Honey Bee

(Apis Mellifera Scutellata Lepeletier)
Highly adaptive and nest in
varying places.
Primary nutrition comes from
pollen and nectar.
They are very aggressive and
highly competitive for resources.
Focused on brood rearing and
colony growth, rather than honey
production.

Hypothesis:
As a result of the interaction between California Buckwheat and Africanized
Honey Bees to perform pollination, California Buckwheat thrives better in an area
where Africanized Honey Bees are present because this bee concentrates on
brood rearing and colony growth, which will lead to higher rates of fertility for the
California Buckwheat, through more pollination.

Evidence:

Future Research:
There is little-to-no current research for this interaction.
However, this dearth of research provides a plethora of opportunities for
future research.
A key-piece of information that should be studied is the population and density
of both species, over a specific period of time in a region of Southern
California.