The Benefits of Native Bees

 

 

               Honey bees that pollinate our food crops have been the focus of much media attention in the past two years.  Colony Collapse Disorder and the decline of our honey bee population are serious concerns because nearly a third of the food we eat is pollinated by bees.  But we mustn’t overlook the native bees, the ones who work behind the scenes performing important tasks that affect our lives in other ways. 

                There are about 4,000 species of native bees in North America.  (Honey bees, which are not native, were introduced to our country by early colonists.) Although most of them go unnoticed, native bees are important to our natural ecosystems.  They pollinate many trees that make up our forests, trees that stabilize the soil, prevent erosion and provide shelter to birds and wildlife.  These same lesser-known bees also pollinate the wildflowers and plants that sustain our wildlife.  Native bees are even proficient at pollinating a few of our food crops as well, crops such as pumpkins, watermelons, squash and berries. 

                Bumble bees, among the most easily recognizable natives, are known for their “buzz pollination.” By holding onto a flower and buzzing, the vibration shakes loose pollen from the anthers of plants that don’t readily release pollen grains.   Because of this method, bumble bees are used commercially to pollinate greenhouse tomatoes.  While many native bees are solitary, bumble bees are not.  In late fall, the bumble bee colony dies out with the exception of one fertile female.  That female will overwinter underground and emerge in the spring to lay eggs that will start a new bumble bee colony.

    

             Mason bees, also called orchard bees, are small native bees that are solitary rather than social.  Unlike honey bees or bumble bees, all female mason bees are fertile and can lay eggs.  Mason bees cannot excavate wood so they are not a threat to homeowners.  They look for tube-like holes made by other insects or woodpeckers, or use hollow twigs for nesting.  The female gathers pollen and nectar to create a food supply to fill a cell before she inserts an egg and then seals the cell shut with mud.  Next she makes another cell next to the previous one until the tube is filled.  Eggs in the back of the tube become female mason bees, while eggs near the front become males.   

 

                Native bees come in a wide variety of colors, sizes and shapes. There are digger bees, squash bees, carpenter bees, blueberry bees, and many more. There are long-tongued bees and short-tongued bees.  There are cuckoo bees that lay their eggs in another bee’s nest, sometimes killing the host larvae in the process.  Nearly all native bees feed on flower nectar.

Protecting Native Bees

                As responsible landowners and gardeners, we can protect and support these beneficial native bees.  Native bees require a sunny habitat and prefer open meadows but are also found in field margins, woodland edges, roadsides and home gardens. They benefit from perennials, which are richer nectar sources than annuals.  If you plan to create a habitat for native bees, you must avoid pesticides and herbicides.  In selecting plants, it is important to provide blooms from early spring to late fall.  Also, native bees benefit from a diversity of flower shapes and sizes that will accommodate both long-tongued and short-tongued species.  The larger the suitable habitat space you provide, the more diversity of bee species you will attract. 

                The benefit to homeowners goes well beyond increasing bees in your yard.  By enhancing your landscape to attract native bees, you will also be making a significant contribution toward biodiversity.  According to author and entomologist Doug Tallamy, planting natives in your landscape to increase biodiversity also increases the number and species of birds and other wildlife you will enjoy seeing on your property.

Native Plants to Support Native Bees 

Anise Hyssop -  (Agastache spp.) June – July

Joe-Pye Weed - (Empatorium dubium) August – September

Black-eyed Susan –(Rudbeckia hirta) June-July

Spotted Horsemint – (Monarda punctata) July -- August

Wild Bergamot – (Monarda fistulosa) August – September

Golden Alexander – (Zizia aurea) April – June     

New York Ironweed – (Veronica noveboracesis)

Milkweed – (Asclepias spp.) June – August

Giant Sunflower – (Helianthus giganteus) August – September

Great Blue Lobelia – (Lobelia siphilitica) August – September

Blazing Star – (Liatris spicata) August – September

Black Gum Tree – (Nyssa sylvantica) May – June

Black Willow Tree – (Salix nigra) July – August

Black Cherry Tree – (Prunus serotina) May – June

Dogwood Tree – (Cornus florida) March – April

A Wealth of Wasps

                While mowing the lawn recently I noticed something white attached to grass blades.  It looked like the end of a cotton swab and was the same size.  The more I looked, the more of them I spotted.  My lawn was filled with hundreds of the small white cottony things.  An infestation.  My first thought was… this can’t be good. 

                My next response was … get the camera.  After getting a clear photo, I bagged a few samples in a sandwich bag and sealed it shut.  I thought of taking them to the extension office for identification.  In the meantime, I searched on line and found something similar looking in Minnesota – a scale disease.  That didn’t sound good.  Then my daughter-in-law found a similar photo on line which led to a site that described predatory wasps egg sacs.  That sounded better.  Images from both sites looked alike.  For a definitive answer I emailed photos to entomologists at Virginia Tech, my county extension office and a few other lucky recipients.  

                An expert from Virginia Tech responded with good news.  My cotton swab cocoons were indeed egg sacs containing wasps – from the Genus Apanteles.  “They will parasitize pests like the cutworms and armyworms ,“ he reassured me. 

                Meanwhile, on my kitchen counter, my plastic baggie of cocoons was suddenly filled with tiny ants.  Upon closer inspection, I noticed wings.  Baby wasps! I rushed the newborns outside and set them free.

                Remember my post about predatory wasps and the photo of the tomato hornworm with cocoons attached?  Or the potter wasp post?  Of course you do.  There are thousands of species of parasitic wasps, many of which are tiny.  Although many adult wasps feed on nectar, they lay their eggs inside live hosts such as caterpillars, armyworms, Japanese beetle larva and  other insects, mostly, but not all, garden pests.  When the eggs hatch, their considerate host provides a food source until the larvae mature into adult wasps.

                Now I am really glad I didn’t treat my lawn with any pesticides this spring.  I was tempted.   I considered doing so because of ticks and the underground food supply that makes my moles so healthy and active.  But I knew I couldn’t selectively kill only bad bugs without hurting the good bugs.  And now the payoff is – I have my own army of tiny parasitic wasps working for me.  I feel powerful.

May

      It is May…time for Mother’s Day.  My mother passed away several years ago and I miss her.  I probably owe my love of nature to her.  She loved the outdoors and was a great gardener.  She and my dad grew enough vegetables to feed the neighborhood.  When I was very young, my mother often let me choose a pack of flower seeds to plant.  Sometimes I planted zinnias, but most often I chose marigolds.  I planted them along the sidewalk that led to our front porch.  It is important for a child to plant seeds, to nurture something and watch it grow.  No matter how far I’ve come as a gardener, I still plant marigolds.  Marigolds are such humble little flowers, like my childhood, but butterflies and bees like them, so I do too.  I’m not sure if I plant marigolds for myself, for my childhood or for my mother, but I will plant marigolds this year, and the next, and the next. 

               

Eastern Hognose Snake

      

 

 

 

       Pugnose would have been a nicer name than hognose, and certainly friendlier sounding than Heterodon platirhinos, its formal name.   A snake with so much personality deserves a more suitable name.   Rodney Dangersnake, Mr. Snakepants, Class Clown Snake. 

      The upturned snout is the snake’s most distinguishing feature.  Otherwise, it can be tricky to identify.  Its background color can be gray, yellow, brown, green or black – sometimes, not always, patterned with large, rectangular spots down its back.  The hognose seems to want to amuse us with a color wheel of possibilities.  Perhaps it is compensating for its nose. 

       The defense mechanisms are what make the hognose snake such an entertainer.  It has been called a “puff adder” because when confronted, it will suck in air to inflate the area around its head so that it almost looks like a cobra.  Then it will lunge, like it is going to strike, but it never even opens its mouth.  The hognose pretends to be fierce but is a complete fake.

      Speaking of fake, if the fierce cobra imitation doesn’t frighten you, the hognose has another trick up its sleeve, so to speak.  It will play dead.  Not just a limp fake dead, but a full blown play dead trick like you might teach your dog.  It will roll over onto its back and lie motionless with its mouth open.  Can your dog do that?  This snake goes to great lengths to avoid real confrontation.

      If you don’t think this snake is interesting by now, consider its feeding habits.  It adores toads.  It even has a special set of fangs near the back of its mouth – making toad eating easier.  When a toad deploys its clever defense mechanism, which is puffing itself up with air to become bigger, the rear teeth of the hognose can pop a puffed up toad like a balloon.  But what about toxic toads?  No problem, the hognose is immune.  There isn’t a toad out there that can outsmart a hognose.  

     Unless you are a toad, you have no reason to fear the hognose snake.  If you are lucky enough to come across a super nice, fun-loving, toad eating snake, please leave it alone.  Remember, snakes are protected in Virginia, making it illegal to kill them.