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| Bees and other pollinators work hard for you (March 2005) |
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Man’s other best friend
Native plants enhance the beauty and environmental benefits of a garden—and so do native bees. Thousands of species of North American bees help farmers and gardeners reap more squash, better cucumbers, rounder apples, and grander eggplants. But like the flowers they visit, native bees need some tending.
There’s a payoff that extends far beyond better garden bounty. A few minutes of blossom-watching reveals a busy, bright world where familiar orange and brown honeybee stripes are joined by demure blondes, racy jet blacks, shocking greens, lacy wings, hairy legs, and buffed armor. “Once you start watching bees, you can’t help but get hooked,” says Jim Cane at the USDA’s Logan Bee Laboratory in Logan, Utah. “By helping protect them, you get a feeling of satisfaction that you’re doing the right thing for the environment.”
Many of North America’s 4,000 species of native bees are feeling the sting of habitat loss, the wide-scale use of insecticides, and the steep decline of local sources of nectar and pollen. And honeybees—which the early colonists ferried across the Atlantic to produce honey and beeswax—are threatened by a twin plague of parasitic mites and disease.
That makes native bees more important than ever to gardeners and farmers, as well as to the birds and wildlife who feed on them or rely on the plants they help propagate.
Still a thrill
Fortunately, creating a safe haven for native bees can offer an exciting challenge. “Bringing insects to your garden adds a whole new level of intricacy and complexity,” says Matthew Shepherd, director of the pollinator conservation program for the Xerces Society in Portland, Ore.
The world of bees is rarely dull. Ron von der Hellen has managed thousands of alfalfa leafcutter bees every year since 1969 to pollinate his alfalfa seed crops in Central Point, Ore. But nothing he had done with the white and black leafcutters prepared him for the thrill of discovering their shimmering green cousins, Osmia aglaia, which moved into his bee-collecting boards a few years ago.
No more tears
Osmia aglaia and alfalfa leafcutter bees—and, in fact, most native bee species—rarely deliver a painful sting. Unlike honeybees, which have hives full of tasty honey to protect from hungry mammals, solitary native bees didn’t develop the potent venom that makes honeybee stings so dissuasive to marauders, notes Cane.
“I’ve had these bees at 30 to 50 locations for maybe 30 years and have yet to have anybody tell me they got stung,” adds von der Hellen, who hangs 4-foot-long bee boards on friends’ barns. He then collects the bees to release in his fields the following spring.
Bee boards, or smaller bee blocks, are a great way to explore the world of native bees. They’re simply pieces of untreated lumber drilled with holes from 3/32” to 3/8” in diameter on 3/4” centers—perfect for an array of solitary bee species that nest in holes. Bee blocks are sold in many garden centers and via the Internet, and they are also easy to make at home, notes Shepherd. Don’t like the look of lumber? Drill holes into a stump or large tree limb and “plant” it in your garden to provide natural-looking nesting habitat.
Good homes
A bundle of bamboo, reeds, or drilled-out twigs 6 to 8 inches long can be mounted horizontally to a tree or sturdy fencepost to host dozens of bee species. Make sure the bundle is closed at one end; point the open side to the east or southeast to provide morning warmth and afternoon shade.
As many as two-thirds of North America’s native bees are ground nesters, Shepherd adds. Gardeners can encourage populations to build by keeping some south-facing patches clear or lightly vegetated. A well-drained sandy patch about 6 feet on a side provides a compact bee sanctuary; a few rocks provide perches that allow bees to sun themselves in the morning. Slopes and flat areas attract different species, so try sculpting a variety of grades. Even a pile of sand will help.
Flower power
Of course, flowers are a vital component of any bee habitat. Hundreds of garden plants welcome bees, though native species are a good bet—after millions of years of co-evolution, native plants and pollinators tend to fit each other like locks and keys.
Shepherd suggests mixing species, flower shapes, and colors to nurture a variety of bees. Keep your garden in bloom from early spring to late fall to keep the pollen coming. And stick to heirloom varieties, if possible.
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