Bees

All we are saying, is give Bees a chance!

- with apologies to John Lennon

Pretty much anyone with an interest in the natural world is aware that bees, both native and honey, are in decline.* Unlike many of our current environmental problems, this is one for which just about everyone can easily do something meaningful toward a solution. At a minimum, just plant some native flowers. And who doesn't like flowers?

Creating a garden of native plants will add beauty to a yard while supporting many species of pollinators, bees included. Followers of this blog know of our "War on Lawn", a multi-year effort to replace grass with gardens, providing habit for many species of wildlife, a key part of which is not using chemicals, especially pesticides.

Last year we decided to try our hand at beekeeping. Sadly, like many first time bee keepers, we were not successful. Honey Bees, while very important agricultural pollinators, have also been found to compete with native bees (although it is far from clear as to the impact of such competition). Thus, after some serious deliberation, we decided not to try again this year (but see below for a surprise ending).

Another way to support native bees is to install bee houses about one's yard. You may recall the one above from this Yard Critter of the Week post. Below is another store bought bee house.

You can easily create your own bee houses. Here are some Patty made this summer.

When were first moved here we had a number of trees removed, and for some we asked that the stumps be left standing. If you look closely at this stump, or at the close up image below, you'll notice holes. Lots of holes. Patty drilled these, using several different sized bits, creating an "apartment tower" for bees, wasps, and other insects.

Another option, should you not have any stumps available, is to drill holes in logs, as shown below.

Of course, you don't need a stump to hold them, a wooden frame or even just a simple log pile work just as well. As we live in a wooded area we have plenty of small logs, but if you don't you can use hollow plant stems, as Patty did to fill the bottom of the "V" in the stump, as you can see below.

Hollow stems can also be used to make a bee house similar to the teardrop shaped one in the second image in this post. Our stems are from the plants in our garden. Just leaving the dead stems up through the fall and winter into spring, instead of removing them at the end of the growing season, will provide greatly needed breeding spaces.

As noted above, almost anyone can add plants and bee houses, even if it is just some potted plants on a deck or balcony and a small bee house mounted on a fence post or tree (there are even table top models).

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Above I mentioned a surprise ending to our Honey Bee endeavors. A couple of years ago, when we discovered that we had Flying Squirrels in our woods, we built and installed a Flying Squirrel house.

While doing some recent tree trimming, Patty noticed bees buzzing about her. And she followed them back to the Flying Squirrel house.

Image courtesy Patty Rehn

It seems that the Honey Bees had taken up residence. At first, I thought they were just using the box as a temporary way station as the swarm searched for a new permanent home. It seems I was incorrect in that assumption ...

Image courtesy Patty Rehn

... if you look closely you can see honey comb inside the box. It seems these bees are here to stay.

And it seems the workers are busy in the garden.

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* If you're not aware or want to read more you can look here, here, and here.