Wild Bees Are Delightful - Series 5 Article 4 - What Can Be Done to Help Bees in Decline?

By Bonnie McNamee 

Native Plants and Wildflowers - Many non-native plants and ornamentals provide very little nectar. By planting a variety of natives and wildflowers in a range of colors that bloom from spring through fall, you will attract more bees.

Planting natives and wildflowers is a good way to start. Nearly any sunny spot in the garden is ideal for growing these plants because they are already well adapted to your area. While there are many plants to choose from to attract bees and also butterflies, some well-known and readily available varieties are: Black-eyed Susan, butterfly weed, blazing star, Joe-Pye weed, aster, coneflower, blanket flower, daylily, daisy, hyssop, black and blue salvia, and goldenrod. While bees mostly prefer single flowering varieties the bumblebee has a long throat and is far more efficient and is able to vibrate pollen from high up in the flowers, a behavior the honeybee lacks. A rare plant called monkshood (Aconitum species) depends entirely on bumblebees for pollination. Always read the label inserted in the container to see if a plant is bee or butterfly friendly. 

                                                    Coneflower. Photo by Gary Bachman/MSU Extension Service

Native species and wildflowers are important because the bees rely on the plants for pollen and nectar. Even if you have a few potted plants or a window box, you can attract bees.

­Water - Providing water for bees is very important from the spring through the fall. I found an interesting website showing a method that I’m going to try. It’s called, “Building a Bee Waterer” – The Walden Effect. Fill a pie pan with marbles and then water. The marbles give the bees a spot to land so that they don’t drown when they come to drink. www.waldeneffect.org/blog.

Another website to try is the Southern Oregon Bee Keepers Association, “How Can I Attract Bees to the Water I Provide”. In a September 2015 article, “The Classroom” by Jerry Hayes (a well-respected bee keeper – now deceased),  recommends adding a drop of vanilla extract or lemon flavoring to the water very early in the season so that the bees will ‘imprint’ on the location. A shallow bowl full of pebbles and rocks will prevent drowning.

Pesticides – Rutgers University says there is a growing awareness that the bee population is declining. Multiple pressures contribute to bee decline, such as decreases in the amount of flowering habitat, and increased exposure to parasites, pathogens, and certain pesticides.

Nesting Boxes – A bumblebee nesting box – there are many books to provide specific plans for building and maintaining a next box. You can also find plans on-line.

Bees are in Trouble – There is a great book called, “The bee-friendly Garden”, by Kate Frey and Gretchen LeBuhn. In it they say, “bees, both honeybees and native bees, are under many pressures from nonnative pests, diseases, pesticides, and lack of forage.  All of these factors have contributed to declining bee populations”.

“While home gardens can provide habitat for bees, there is still much room for improvement. Many of our gardens tend to be under-planted with few bee-friendly flowers in a given area. Plantings are often sparse, with less than a quarter of the soil covered by plants.  Mulch or lawn may cover most of the ground, preventing ground nesting bees from finding a site to next. A garden that is primarily lawn cannot be filled with life. Native plants, essential for many native organisms, such as moths and butterflies, are all too rare in our gardens”. 

Bees need our help and this is something we can all do. So when I buy plants this year, it will be many of the ones mentioned in this four part series. I hope you will do the same.

This is the final article in a four part series on bees.