NativeBees

Habitat

and Nutrition

Most Important Ideas

Plant more flowers, shrubs, trees

Create more space for nesting bees

Be careful with pesticides

Where to Start?

Spend time with your bees and flowers

Notice variations in activity throughout the

day

Are certain bees in some flowers and

not others?

Are there variations in communities of

blooms?

Note odd behaviors of bees

Tongue length

USDA Flickr

Bees

Bees

USDA Flickr

Bees

Wilson and Messinger Carril

Bee pollen collection

Bees

Odd behavior

Flowers

Flowers

Anthers

(pollen)

Nectary

Ovaries

Mariana Ruiz LadyofHats

Flowers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Marktee1

Different Bees, Different Purposes

Come to flowers to feed

Collect nectar for colony and energy

Collect pollen for nesting

Collect other plant products

Come to flowers because

Floral Constancy

Different People, Different Purposes

Fruit and Vegetable Garden

Flower Garden

Farm/Field

Forest

Conservation Specific

Roadside/Powerline

E. Elle, T. Haapalainen, J. Wray

Garden Plants that Attract Bees

OSU Garden Ecology Lab

2017

2018

Why the Difference?It’s Complicated

Much shorter bloom season for most

flower species 2018

Perhaps due to a combination

Heat

Low rainfall

No supplemental irrigation second year

Pests and birds

Tips for a Pollinator Flower Garden

Flowers should bloom

Early – spring (Feb – April)

Mid – summer (May – June)

Late – fall (July - Sept)

Provide different colors, shapes, and sizes

Most bees like some sunlight and protection from wind

Overlap Flowering

OBA

Marion SWCD

Oemlaria cerasiformisOregon Plum

Ribes sanguineumRed-Flowering Currant

Hydrophyllum tenuipesPacific Waterleaf

Asclepias specioseShowy Milkweed

Solidago canadensisCanada goldenrod

Flowers

Plant in patches 3 ft sq

Surround vegetable gardens

Let some vegetables go to flower

Native plants attract native bees

Diversity is important to nutrition

Common Garden Flowers

Crocus

Winter Heather

Dandelion

Liatris

Giant hyssop

Blanket Flower

Rudbeckia

Echinacea

Cosmos

Globe thistle

Sunflower

Zinnia

Mint

Bergamot

Basil

Marjoram

Rosemary

Sage

Thyme

English

lavender

Borage

Parsley

Chive

Mustard

Broccoli

Collards

Carrot

Celery

Cilantro

Onion

Flowering crops

Don’t Forget the Trees

Most important in spring

Many native bees are just emerging

Critical time for Bumble Bees

Honey Bees need to build up their strength

Fall is also Important

Honey Bees and Bumble bees

Need good nutrition before bedtime

Some solitary bees are out late, too

Flowers

Flowering Lawns

Mowing

OBA

Flowers for Honey

Where do Bees Live?

Close to flowers

Honey bees can fly ~4 mi (range of 8)

Bumble bees fly ~7 mi (range of 14)

Halictid bees ~ .25 mi (medium sized)

Mason bees fly 100-300 ft

Lasioglossum only flies 50 ft (small sized)

Close to their nest

Close to nesting materials and water

Nesting Requirements

Ground Nesters – Bare ground

Stem Nesters – Available holes

Bumblebees - Burrows and bird nests

Honeybees - Cavities and boxes

Ground NestersHow Do You Know They Are There?

Ants

Halictid

Andrena

Ground Nesting Bees

The smallest bees don’t travel far (50 ft.)

Need open, sunny ground nearby

Don’t over mulch beds

New ways to decorate

Avoid plastic mulch

Take care in tilling

South and East Facing Slopes

Notice activity in open bare areas

Most appreciate packed areas near paths

Some nest at the edges of asphalt and rock

Ground NestingOpen Soil and Lawn

A Place to Get a Drink and Stay Cool

Stem nesting

Stem nesting - Ceratina

Opportunists – Osmia and Megachile

Bumble Bee Nests

Victoria MacPhail

Bumble Bee - Nest

Phelyan Sanjoin, Wikipedia, Flickr

Bumble Bee Nest

www.bumblebeeconservation.org

Bumble Bee Nest Box

Bumble Bee Favorites

Insecticides

PNW 591, Table 4

RT = Residual Toxicity

ERT = Extended Residual Toxicity, Residues

expected to cause at least 25% mortality for

longer than 8 hours after application

InsecticidesYou Cannot Judge a Book by Its Cover

OBA

Pyrethrin is

botanical but

alters nerve

function and

causes death

The Danger ?

Oregon Department of Agriculture

Photo credit:

Sam Droege/USGS

Laurence Packer

Bees, An Up-Close Look at Pollinators

Around the World

Megachile fortis

Sarah A. Taylor, Common Bee Pollinators of Oregon Crops, ODA 2016

ODA Postershttp://www.odaguides.us/posters.html

Bumble Bees of the Western UShttps://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/documents/BumbleBeeGuideWestern2012.pdf

J. H. Cane, 2015, Landscaping pebbles attract nesting by the native ground-nesting bee Halictus rubicundus (Hymenoptera: Halictidae). Apidologie. DOI: 10.1007/s13592-015-0364z.

Joseph S. Wilson & Olivia Messinger Carril, The Bees In Your Backyard, 2016

Sam Droege, Bees: An Up-Close Look at Pollinators Around the World

L. Hooven, R. Sagili, E. Johansen, How to Reduce Bee Poisoning from Pesticides; OSU, pnw591AND phone application

Plants for Pollinators in Oregon, NRCS, PM13

Attracting Native Pollinators, Xerces, 2011

Selecting Plants for Pollinators, Pacific Lowland Mixed Forest Providence, Pollinator Partnership, NAPPC

Pennsylvania Native Bee Survey, Citizen Scientist Pollinator Monitoring Guide, Xerces (though it is east coast, there is good Family level information)

References