Why Every Gardener Should Know About Beneficial Bees.
If you are blessed enough to have a home garden, you want the very best for that garden. You till the soil, fertilize, care for the seeds and tiny plants until you have a mature and thriving garden. But did you know there are different beneficial bees for your home garden? What’s more, they are an integral part of the garden’s productivity.
When you have carefully plotted out the land, turned the soil, planted the seed, cares for the seedlings, and kept the weeds from invading, the last thing you may want is an insect invasion. But beneficial bees are the invasion you want and need.
In this article, join us to learn the types of beneficial bees for home gardens and why you need to know all about the bees.
Seven Beneficial Bees for Your Home Garden
Pollinators for our plants, crops, and native vegetation are vital to those plants’ growth and sustainability. Did you know there are over 4,000 North American bee species, according to the USGS? Some of these bees are smaller than a grain of rice, while others are as large as kumquats. And they all play a part in pollination.
The crops they pollinate are diverse, such as squash, tomatoes, blueberries, cherries, and cranberries. They also care for over 80% of flowering plants worldwide. The honeybees have crops that are dependent on them, such as the lemon and the almond tree.
So what bees are in your garden? Have you ever stopped to watch and learn the flight of the bumblebee or the dance of the honeybee? As important as they are to your garden you have worked diligently on, you may want to learn more.
Here is a list of the beneficial bees for your garden. We have focused on seven, but there are plenty more. Some of these you may know, and others may be new to you.
1. The Bumblebee
2. Blueberry bees
3. Squash bees
4. Miner bees
5. Alkali bees
6. Mason bees
7. Carpenter bees
The Bumblebee: There are many categories within the bumblebee species. However, we are talking general terms here. The bumblebee is a social insect with a round body covered in hair. Their nests are located on the ground, in holes, rodent burrows, and in fallen logs. They gather nectar with their curled proboscis, which extends to collect the golden juice. Then they feed the pollen collected on their hind legs to their young and deposit uneaten nectar in the hive.
The bumblebee pollinates crops such as tomatoes, strawberries, and peppers. They also care for wildflowers and are uniquely useful in the pollination of greenhouse plants. However, as far as honey is concerned, bumblebees do not produce as much as the honeybee will.
Blueberry Bees: These bees look quite like the bumblebee. They utilize buzz pollination and pollinate, you guessed it, blueberries as well as flowers. They place their nests in sandy soil in open areas. The female creates a tunnel system then fills the system with pollen, sealing the tunnels off when full and eggs are laid.
Squash bees: These are a non-social bee that each builds their own nest in the soil. Squash bees are excellent pollinators of zucchini and butternut squashes, among others. If there are large numbers in an area, they pollinate all available flowers, as well.
Miner Bees: Sometimes called the Chimney bee, these bees are smaller than the honeybee but stout and furry like a bumblebee. And they don’t sting or bite. They will pollinate almost any flower, including the milkweed, iris, and more. They are thought to be pollinators of other crops such as cranberry, tomato, blackberry, asparagus, persimmon, clover, and raspberry. However, more extensive research is needed.
Alkali Bees: Another ground-nesting bee, these are small with very distinct yellow and black stripes. Between the lines is a streak of iridescent scales. One of the varieties is critical for the pollination of alfalfa fields. They like to nest in salty soils, where other bees do not prefer, making them perfect for their native soils.
Mason Bees: Mason bees are appropriately named as they use muds and masonry to build their nests in cracks in the stone and wood holes. They are typically a greenish-blue or a blackish with red. Mason bees are essential to fruit and nut pollination.
Carpenter Bees: Another appropriately named bee, this one lives in wood, and they are the largest in the United States. The female bodies are all black, and the males are gold with green eyes. Carpenter bees have large mandibles for chewing through the wood. In your garden, they forage on many different flowers and crops, such as eggplant, tomato, and others.
And the list could go on. There are so many bee pollinators in our world; these are only a few. But why bring attention to the bees? Well, you have probably heard, but let us elaborate.
Why Gardeners Should Know About Beneficial Bees.
The beautiful and graceful bees are the indicators for our environment that something may be going wrong. When the balance of people, plants, natural habitat, and environmental concerns is off, the bees decline.
But why should we be concerned about the bee population numbers?
1. The more bees we have, the more beautiful the landscape of our fields and gardens will be. Flowers and bees need one another.
2. Bees pollinate fruits and allow them to grow.
3. Growing plants provide food for other creatures, including humankind.
4. Helping to establish the balance of life on our planet is our job, as the earth’s caretakers.
That said, the most essential part of bee conservation is the cultivation of plants that the bees love.
Planting for the Beneficial Bees
If you want to help the planet, help the bees, and have a successful garden, you can add the following plants to your home garden. They will create the ideal habitat with nectar and pollen for all.
- Apple, pear, and other fruit trees are an excellent start.
- Marigold
- Milkweed
- Goldenrod
- Black-Eyed Susan
- Mountain Mint
- Anise Hyssop
- Flowering Thyme
- Lavender
- Blanket flower
- Bee balm
- Borage
- Coneflower
- Sunflower
- Poppies
- Aster
- Blueberry
- Elderberry
- Zinnia
- Chive Flowers
And that is just a list of 20. If you research your growing zone, you can find which will do best for the region you are in and the bees in your location.
Bee Removal Service
So, now you understand the significance of bees on the crops and flowers of the planet and the critters and people. But, if honeybees take up residence in your yard or home, you may want them out as soon as possible. For all the good they do, when they are not where welcomed to be, they can be quite destructive. When they build a nest, there can be 10,00 to 60,000 bees in a colony and around your home.
Since these bees are endangered and so valuable, the proper removal and relocation of these hives are imperative. A professional wildlife removal company should be notified of the hive and called to come out and remove it. They have the tools and gear to get the hive relocated with as little damage to the hive as possible and without injury to humans.
Should you need honeybee or any bee’s nest removed, call on the team’s experience at Covenant Wildlife Removal to take care of the hive or nest for you and your family.
You can count on the professional and friendly team at Covenant to remove the bees and other pests safely and humanely from your property and relocate them ethically.
Contact Covenant Wildlife Removal for bee removal today.
