The Bee Buzz

I have been interested in the news of Colony Collapse Disorder over the last year. It's both sad and scary to think that 30% of the honeybee colonies in the US have died since 2006. I just read a hopeful article called "The Bee Crisis" in Organic Gardening. To summarize some practical tips for encouraging native pollinators like bumble bees and sweat bees:

1. Offer a flower buffet. Include a variety of flower types and colors. Bees favorite colors are blue, purple, violet, white and yellow. Plant both annuals and perennials because some types of bees prefer one over the other. Include native wildflower which can be up to 4 times more attractive than exotics.
   
2. Skip the "poodles." Showy flowers with ruffly doubled petals are a bust for bees because they either don't produce nectar, or the bees can't get at what nectar is there. The best flowers for bees have the carpels and stamens visible.
   
3. Go for a continuous three-season bloom. Bees have a tough time in the spring and find bulb flowers unattractive for some reason. Fruit trees or flowering shrubs are good for the spring. Summer is easier. For the fall consider sedum, asters, and goldenrod.
4. Plant clumps. Bees stay longer in gardens at least 3-4 feet in length and may ignore smaller displays, no matter how good the nectar supply and quality are.
5. Add water. Bees need water and having a birdbath or drip irrigation line makes one's garden a one-stop-shop.
6. Leave the ground bare. Most native bees live alone in the ground. Plastic weed barriers and heavy mulches can keep native bees from making a nest and laying eggs. Alternatively, one can create nesting areas with wood blocks or tubes. Native bees naturally nest in abandoned beetle tunnels found in wood.