Do you enjoy fruits and vegetables? About 75 percent of food crops benefit from pollinators. Pollination occurs from different methods, insects - bees, moths, wasps, flies - and hummingbirds, or the wind. Each pollinator has different requirements and habits; food, habitat and life cycle. Over the past 50 years, the bee population has declined by about 40 percent. Pesticides, parasites and colony collapse disorder are a few challenges of bees. There are benefits of using garden habits to attract bees and other pollinators that both farmers and homeowners can implement.
There are approximately 400 species of bees in Wisconsin. Most common are the honey bee and bumble bee. Other bee species include leafcutter, carpenter, sweat, long horn, mining, cellophane and mason. Most native bees are solitary insects making their nests in the ground, reeds or hollow twigs. Honey bees live in colony hives and are not native to the United States; they were brought over in the 1600s by settlers. The honey bees provided a source of sweetener and wax for candles. Honey bees pollinate 80 percent of the food crops. With proper pollination, fruits and vegetables will have a better quality, be larger in size and will have increased product yields. Pollination is also needed for seed production.
Farmers who need food crops pollinated will either have beehives or rent beehives to be brought in on trucks for the three to four weeks that the plants are in bloom. Home gardeners can support pollinators by providing a food source, nesting sites and limiting pesticide use. Each species of bee has preferred food sources. Here's what you can do to encourage bees: Plant a diverse variety of plants that are bright, fragrant and provide blossoms from spring until fall to invite pollinators to your garden. From flowers, bees harvest pollen and nectar which are used as an energy source and as food for bees and larvae. Next, provide a nesting site; solitary bees require open ground or tubes for nesting. Ground-dwelling bees - miner, digger, sweat bees - need bare ground with no mulch and undisturbed (no tilling) soil, so they can burrow, nest and winter over. Mason and leafcutter bees nest in hollow tubes or stems. Gardeners can provide a nesting house. The nesting house needs a variety of hollow reeds or bamboo shoots with various diameter openings and lengths to accommodate various species of bees. Place the nesting house on the east side of a building to provided more protection from the weather. The nesting house can be brought into a garage for the winter and taken back out in the spring. Bees will use mud to seal the ends of the tubes after they lay their eggs. The first bumble bees you see in the spring will be the queen. The queen is the only bumble bee to winter over in the ground. She will look for a food source - dandelions are the first food source for bees - and then she will start the colony. Honey bees and bumble bees (colony bees) will sting when protecting the hive, while native solitary bees rarely sting. Solitary bees are the only ones taking care of the nest and offspring, and they will only sting when provoked. A 1-acre apple orchard can be pollinated by 250 native mason bees compared to 20,000 honey bees.
Bees that come in contact with pesticides will then take residue back to the hive, causing more bee loss. If pesticides are needed, read the labels of pesticides and use products that are bee-friendly. Apply pesticides when plants are not in bloom and late in the day, when bees are less active. Consider using insecticidal soap or horticultural oils that are less toxic to pollinators.
Native plants are a good choice to incorporate into planting beds. Each species of bee has its own preferred food sources. Providing blossoms from early spring through fall will provide the diversity of plants needed for a variety of bee species. Additional information about pollinators and flowering plants for bees is available at hort.uwex.edu.
I have been observing the bees in my home garden for a number of years. I have noticed a decrease in the number of bees pollinating my fruit trees. Last spring, I could only count a small number of bees pollinating on each tree. I have been considering getting into beekeeping, but that's another subject. Beekeeping does run in our family. My great-aunt Maggie and Otto Barth had a bee house shipped from Switzerland. The bee house was reassembled and put to use here in Wisconsin. The family bee house was donated to the Swiss Historical Village in New Glarus.
Pollinators play an important role in food production, so please consider them when planting your garden space. Planting a diverse variety of plants that bloom from spring to fall, providing nesting options and limiting the use of pesticides will create an environment that is bee-friendly.
- Tamara Schulte is a master gardener with the University of Wisconsin-Extension. She can be reached at schulte1@tds.net.
There are approximately 400 species of bees in Wisconsin. Most common are the honey bee and bumble bee. Other bee species include leafcutter, carpenter, sweat, long horn, mining, cellophane and mason. Most native bees are solitary insects making their nests in the ground, reeds or hollow twigs. Honey bees live in colony hives and are not native to the United States; they were brought over in the 1600s by settlers. The honey bees provided a source of sweetener and wax for candles. Honey bees pollinate 80 percent of the food crops. With proper pollination, fruits and vegetables will have a better quality, be larger in size and will have increased product yields. Pollination is also needed for seed production.
Farmers who need food crops pollinated will either have beehives or rent beehives to be brought in on trucks for the three to four weeks that the plants are in bloom. Home gardeners can support pollinators by providing a food source, nesting sites and limiting pesticide use. Each species of bee has preferred food sources. Here's what you can do to encourage bees: Plant a diverse variety of plants that are bright, fragrant and provide blossoms from spring until fall to invite pollinators to your garden. From flowers, bees harvest pollen and nectar which are used as an energy source and as food for bees and larvae. Next, provide a nesting site; solitary bees require open ground or tubes for nesting. Ground-dwelling bees - miner, digger, sweat bees - need bare ground with no mulch and undisturbed (no tilling) soil, so they can burrow, nest and winter over. Mason and leafcutter bees nest in hollow tubes or stems. Gardeners can provide a nesting house. The nesting house needs a variety of hollow reeds or bamboo shoots with various diameter openings and lengths to accommodate various species of bees. Place the nesting house on the east side of a building to provided more protection from the weather. The nesting house can be brought into a garage for the winter and taken back out in the spring. Bees will use mud to seal the ends of the tubes after they lay their eggs. The first bumble bees you see in the spring will be the queen. The queen is the only bumble bee to winter over in the ground. She will look for a food source - dandelions are the first food source for bees - and then she will start the colony. Honey bees and bumble bees (colony bees) will sting when protecting the hive, while native solitary bees rarely sting. Solitary bees are the only ones taking care of the nest and offspring, and they will only sting when provoked. A 1-acre apple orchard can be pollinated by 250 native mason bees compared to 20,000 honey bees.
Bees that come in contact with pesticides will then take residue back to the hive, causing more bee loss. If pesticides are needed, read the labels of pesticides and use products that are bee-friendly. Apply pesticides when plants are not in bloom and late in the day, when bees are less active. Consider using insecticidal soap or horticultural oils that are less toxic to pollinators.
Native plants are a good choice to incorporate into planting beds. Each species of bee has its own preferred food sources. Providing blossoms from early spring through fall will provide the diversity of plants needed for a variety of bee species. Additional information about pollinators and flowering plants for bees is available at hort.uwex.edu.
I have been observing the bees in my home garden for a number of years. I have noticed a decrease in the number of bees pollinating my fruit trees. Last spring, I could only count a small number of bees pollinating on each tree. I have been considering getting into beekeeping, but that's another subject. Beekeeping does run in our family. My great-aunt Maggie and Otto Barth had a bee house shipped from Switzerland. The bee house was reassembled and put to use here in Wisconsin. The family bee house was donated to the Swiss Historical Village in New Glarus.
Pollinators play an important role in food production, so please consider them when planting your garden space. Planting a diverse variety of plants that bloom from spring to fall, providing nesting options and limiting the use of pesticides will create an environment that is bee-friendly.
- Tamara Schulte is a master gardener with the University of Wisconsin-Extension. She can be reached at schulte1@tds.net.
