Attracting Pollinators with Bee Balm by Jeffrey Blake

 

Scarlett Bee Balm 

All photos by Jeffrey Blake

Bee Balm (Monarda spp.), also known as wild bergamot or horsemint, is a popular garden plant that is excellent for attracting pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Here are several reasons why Bee Balm is a great choice for attracting these beneficial insects:

Rocky Mountain Bee Plant by Megan Snow

Photo by Author

Common names: Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, Bee spiderflower, Stinking-clover, Toothed spider-flower

Scientific Name: Cleome serrulata Pursh
 
I love my Rocky Mountain Bee Plant. The name caught my eye as I was looking for plants that attract pollinators to place next to my veggie beds in hopes of encouraging pollination.

A Bounty of Bees By Amy Longworth

Photo by author

One of the first things I planted was echinacea, which were being sold as a medicinal herb that spring. These perennial lovelies grow to about four feet tall and bloom prolifically from early summer until the first freeze in autumn.

First Ever Vaccine for Honeybees by Nancy Shepard

Photo: Kevin/Adobe Stock

Don’t roll your eyes because I know you want to know how they put a needle into every bee arm! The United States Department of Agriculture just approved a vaccine that aims to curb foulbrood, a serious disease caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae that can weaken and kill hives. There is currently no cure for the disease, which in parts of the US has been found in a quarter of hives, requiring beekeepers to destroy and burn any infected colonies and administer antibiotics to prevent further spread.

It’s Time to Arm Yourself Against Yellowjackets by Joyce D’Agostino

[Originally published June 2017]

Recently I assisted another Master Gardener at an information table at a public event. One of the people attending the event stopped by our table and saw materials about bees. She stated that she didn’t like bees and wanted none of them in her garden. One of her friends told her she was very mistaken, we all need bees to help with pollinating our gardens. This person insisted that the “bees” were very bothersome and she was concerned she could get stung. After talking with her for a few moments and asking her to describe what she was seeing, her description matched the Western Yellowjacket (Vespula spp.) Despite me telling her it wasn’t a bee, she still felt that it was part of the “bee family” and she wanted no part of any bees around her garden.

Is that flower pollinated? CSU Native Bee Watch

CSU - Native Bee Watch

"Bees are pollinating flowers only when they are visiting the reproductive flower parts. If the bee is on the petals, leaves, or stem, the bee is not pollinating. Look inside a flower to see the anthers and the stigma. Note the pollen on the anthers. That pollen needs to be transferred to another flower of the same species or the same plant."

Spring Bulbs for Pollinators by Vicky Spelman

Hiliary Halliwell - Pexels

All those bulbs you planted last Fall should be starting to pop up.  In March and April, we will still have some colder weather but the anticipation of Spring is here. As temperatures warm up pollinators will emerge from hibernation needing food sources.  Some of the earliest flowers to bloom are bulbs helping to provide the necessary nectar for hungry bees and pollinators.

Basic Buzz of Beekeeping 6: PACKET INSTALLATION (Video)

Basic Buzz of Beekeeping 5: NUC INSTALLATION (Video)

Basic Buzz of Beekeeping 4: BUYING Your BEES (Video)

Basic Buzz of Beekeeping 3: MORE GEAR (Video)

Basic Buzz of Beekeeping 2: THE HIVE—Parts & Purposes (Video)

Basic Buzz of Beekeeping 1: BEGINNING (Video)

Pollinator of the Week: Squash Bees

Squash bee, photo courtesy Holly Prendeville, University of Nebraska

This article is reprinted  from “Squash Bees” by Jim Cane, USDA ARS, Bee Biology and Systematics Lab, Logan, Utah. 

Got squash? If so, you have the chance to see the most important floral specialists in agriculture, native solitary bees of two genera, Peponapis and Xenoglossa, the so-called “squash bees”. Look at your squash’s flowers during the first few hours after sunrise. Male squash bees will be darting between flowers, searching for mates. By noon, they will be fast asleep in the withered flowers.

Pollinator of the Week: Leaf Cutting Bees

A female leafcutter bee collecting pollen. Image courtesy of Jim McCulloch.

This article is excerpted from Leaf Cutting Bees (Megachile spp.) by Beatriz Moisset, USDA Forest Service.

There are about 242 species of Megachile bees or leaf cutting bees in North America. They belong to a larger group that includes also other leaf cutting as well as mason bees; these are all very good pollinators with very interesting habits.

Megachile bees are black and furry. They vary in size, on average about the same size as a honeybee. Most bees carry pollen in baskets on their legs. However, Megachile is different; the underside of the female’s abdomen is particularly furry and is used for this purpose. If you see a black bee, about the size of a honeybee, with a yellow belly, you probably saw a Megachile.

Pollinator of the Week: Halictid Bees

Sweat bee on wild rose,  photo courtesy LuRay Parker, Wyoming Wildlife

In honor of the upcoming National Pollinator Week (June 19-25), we are highlighting a different pollinator every week. This week's pollinator is the Halictid bee, commonly known as sweat bees.  Thanks to Vince Tepidino, USDA ARS, Bee Biology and Systematics Lab in Logan Utah for the following information.

Pollinators have distinct foraging characteristics – some are specialists that collect pollen from flowers of just a few kinds of plants. Others, like the Halictidae (sweat bees), seem to be "anti-specialists". To paraphrase the early 20th century humorist Will Rogers, they have never met a flower they did not like, and they rarely find one whose pollen or nectar is unyielding. Such generalists visit a wide variety of flowers and often seem to do so indiscriminately. Variety seems to be the spice of their foraging lives. 

Colorado's Native Bees

 Leaf-cutting bee, Megachile fidelis, photo courtesy CSU Extension

The following information on native bees is provided by The Bees Needs, a citizen science project about native bees and wasps in the Boulder area. Take a look at the website for more information.

What is a “native bee”?

A native bee is a bee that occurs naturally in a region. Colorado has over 950 species of bees, and all but a handful of these are native. Most of the few introduced (i.e. non-native) species that now call Colorado home were brought in accidentally. The most well-known non-native bee is the honey bee. Honey bees were intentionally brought to North America. Today, honey bees are important pollinators of many of our agricultural crops, especially those that are also non-native.

Bumble Bee Identification Guide for Colorado

Bombus variabilis, Colorado's rarest bumble bee

Bumble bees have long fascinated humankind, at least since Carl Linneaus described six species in 1758 (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). Bumble bees are effective pollinators in urban, natural, and agricultural systems.The genus Bombus includes 250 bumble bee species worldwide, with 46 species present in North America, north of Mexico. Half of these—24 species total—occur in Colorado. 

How Honeybees Survive Winter by Audrey Stokes

Photo courtesy thetruthwins.com

When winter rolls around, bears hibernate and birds fly south, but what about the bees? Like every other creature on earth, bees have their own unique ways of coping with cold temperatures during the winter season. One way bees prepare for the winter is by gathering a winter reserve of honey.

How to Build a Native Bee Hotel

Native bee hotel, photo courtesy Modern Farmer

Some people think of bees as hive creatures with a nasty sting. But not all bees live in hives or have such an aggressive approach to self-defense. In fact, the great majority of native bee species live a solitary lifestyle and have puny stingers, which are virtually harmless and rarely used.