going native: it’s not just about the honey bee · going native: it’s not just about the honey...

Going Native:It’s Not Just

About the Honey Bee

Heather Holm

Going Native: It’s Not Just About the Honey Bee

BEE NUMBERS 20,000 species world wide4000 species of bees in North America

300+ species of bees in MN

Honey bee = 1 species


HONEY BEES Highly social

Nest in managed hives

Perennial colony

Produce honey

NATIVE BEES Majority (90%) solitary

Nest in the ground or in cavities

Annual life cycleAdults live 2 - 6 weeks

Do not produce honey

70% Ground Nesting 30% Cavities, Stems, RocksBare soil (sparsely vegetated)

Well drained sandy soils (easier excavation)

Abandoned beetle burrows (tree snags, downed logs)Cavities in stems, twigs, or rocks

Old potter wasp or mud dauber nests

Native Bee Nesting SitesGoing Native: It’s Not Just About the Honey Bee

Nests vary from a single short tunnel to complex, branching tunnelsFemales apply resin, oil or gland secretions on cell walls (structural, waterproofing, prevent fungal/bacterial growth)

Ground-Nesting Bees

Native Bee Nesting SitesGoing Native: It’s Not Just About the Honey Bee

Cavities are dry, warm and offer protection from predators.Tunnels are divided with leaf pieces, leaf pulp, tree resin,pith or mud to create separate brood cells.

Cavity-Nesting BeesNative Bee Nesting SitesGoing Native: It’s Not Just About the Honey Bee

Habitat Degradation and FragmentationConversion of natural habitat

Intensive agricultureHousing developmentRoadsLawns

Threats to Native Bees

Outcompete native plants

Reduce plant diversity, quantity of floral resources over the growing season

Invasive Plants


Wild fires

Drought

Extreme cold or heat

Mismatched emergence of flowers and pollinators

Climate Change

Pesticides

Eliminate forage plants

Eliminate larval host plants forbutterflies and moths

Herbicides = Kill plants

Insecticides = Kill insects including pollinators

Systemic and contact insecticides

Threats to Native BeesGoing Native: It’s Not Just About the Honey Bee

Introduced PathogensDecline of bumble bee populations believed to be from the introduction of a pathogen (Nosema bombi) when bumble bees reared in Europe were reintroduced into North America for greenhouse crop pollination.

Family AndrenidaeMining Bees, Andrena spp.

Family ApidaeBumble Bees, Bombus spp. Small Carpenter Bees, Ceratina spp. Digger Bees, Anthophora spp. Long-Horned Bees, Melissodes spp. Cuckoo Bees, Triepeolus spp.

Family MegachilidaeMason Bees, Osmia spp. Leafcutter Bees, Megachile spp. Cuckoo Bees, Coelioxys spp. Wool Carder Bees, Anthidium spp.

Family HalictidaeSmall Sweat Bees, Lasioglossum spp. Green Sweat Bees, Agapostemon spp. Sweat Bees, Halictus spp.

Family ColletidaeYellow-Faced Bees, Hylaeus spp. Cellophane Bees, Colletes spp.

Bee Families and Common GeneraGoing Native: It’s Not Just About the Honey Bee

Nest Pithy Plant StemsPollen Collection Fine hairs on hind legs

Appearance Hour glass shaped abdomen

Metallic blue - green

Often with white patch on face

Size - Extra Small

Family ApidaeSmall Carpenter Bees, Ceratina spp.


1

Hoary Vervain Verbena stricta

Active Early Spring - Fall


White Upland Aster Solidago ptarmicoides

Ohio Spiderwort Tradescantia ohiensis


1

Plant Stems



1

Nest GroundFlat bare ground or slopes

Nest Soil TypeLoam, Sandy Clay-Loam

Pollen Collection Long hairs on hind legs

Appearance Robust, hairy

Size - Medium

Family ApidaeDigger Bees, Anthophora spp.


Anthophora terminalis visiting blue lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica

2

Smooth Beardtongue Penstemon digitalis

ActiveJune - August

Family ApidaeDigger Bees, Anthophora spp.


2

Nest Ground

Pollen Collection Long hairs on hind legs

Appearance Robust and hairyPale bands on abdomen

Males - long antennae

Size - Medium

Family ApidaeLong-Horned Bees, Melissodes spp.


3

Common Ironwood Vernonia fasciculata

Gray Headed Coneflower Ratibida pinnata

Male

White Turtlehead Chelone glabra

Asters Symphyotrichum spp.

Female Female

July - September

ActiveFamily ApidaeLong-Horned Bees, Melissodes spp.

Male


3

Leafcutter Bees, Megachile spp. Family Megachilidae


4Nest Cavities in wood, plant stems, rocks, garden hoses, and electrical outlets

Pollen Collection Abdomen

Appearance Dark gray/blackFemale - large mandibles Upturned abdomen

Size - Small to medium

Wrap brood cells in leaf or petal pieces

Prefer leaves that are smooth on one side (face inwards)

Different shapes are cut for different parts of the cell (oblong vs round)



4

MALE

FEMALE



4

Nest No nest

Lay eggs in leafcutter bee nests

Appearance Pointed abdomen (female)Spined-tip abdomen (male)

Relatively hairless

Size - Medium

Male

Female

Cuckoo Bees, Coelioxys spp. Family Megachilidae


5

Females use the spine on their abdomen to puncture a hole through the leaf pieces in a leafcutter brood cell

Cuckoo Bees, Coelioxys spp. Family Megachilidae


5

Nest Ground - bare, flat ground

Nest Soil Type Sandy Loam

Pollen Collection Hind legs

Appearance Bright green head and thorax

Female: green or black and white striped abdomen Male: green and yellow striped abdomen

Family HalictidaeGreen Sweat Bees, Agapostemon spp.

Male

Female


6

Ohio Spiderwort Tradescantia ohiensis

Purple Prairie Clover Dalea purpurea

Pollen collection June - July

Family HalictidaeGreen Sweat Bees, Agapostemon spp.

Smooth Oxeye Heliopsis helianthoides


6

Nest Cavities in wood, stemsNest Lining Salivary gland secretions Pollen Collection CropLiquid Provisions

Appearance Black with yellow markings on face, thorax and legs

Hairless, wasp-like

Family ColletidaeYellow-Faced Bees, Hylaeus spp.


7

Canada Anemone Anemone canadensis

Rattlesnake Master Eryngium yuccifolium

Swamp Milkweed Asclepias incarnata

Golden Alexanders Zizia aurea

Family ColletidaeYellow-Faced Bees, Hylaeus spp.

Active May - September


7

Cavity-Nesting Bees

Bundle together hollow stems (10” length) and hang in a site with openings facing morning sun *Replace every two years

Create and Conserve Native Bee Habitat

Cut perennial stems in late spring - leave 15” of stem stubbleCavity-Nesting Bees

It’s No Trouble To Leave Some Stubble


Ground-Nesting BeesCreate and Conserve Native Bee Habitat

Leave Areas of Bare SoilDon’t mulch everything

Avoid Tilling Soil

Avoid Compacting SoilDon’t drive vehicles in your landscape

Leave Existing Rodent Holes

Provide a Diversity of Forage Plants

Plant in Masses (many of the same plant clustered together)

Plant a diversityof flower forms and flower colors

Use Native Plants Whenever Possible

Provide a continuoussuccession of flowers from early spring until late fall


Provide a Diversity of Forage PlantsCreate and Conserve Native Bee Habitat


Perennial Plantings

RainGardens

Photo: Metro Blooms

going native: it’s not just about the honey bee · going native: it’s not just about the honey...

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