Gardeners can help bees survive

Bees are pulling a disappearing act. Honeybees are vanishing from their hives. Bumblebee numbers have crashed so radically that some species are believed extinct. Even native solitary bees are in decline. Food supplies dependent upon pollinators are threatened. But gardeners can help: Plant flowers and create green spaces, especially in urban areas. Leave patches of bare soil, rocks and brush piles for use by grounddwelling native bees. Add caterpillar host plants. “I can’t recommend particular plants for all areas of the country but I can recommend the concept,” said Matt O’Neal, a professor of entomology at Iowa State University. “Provide pollen and nectar throughout the (growing) season. Plant the right habitat.”

Install bee hotels around the yard by drilling holes i n wood blocks and creating reed or bamboo bundles. They provide instant habitat and can be built on the cheap. “Another thing you can do is plant woody plants (elderberries, raspberries, sumac) with branches that have soft insides,” said Mace Vaughan, pollinator program director with The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation in Portland, Ore. “Grow these shrubs up and then cut them back to expose the stems. Carpenter and mason bees will nest in them.”

Eliminate or change the way you apply pesticides. Don’t use them on plants that are blooming. Apply them at night when bees are less active. Spray from ground level to reduce drift, and create buffer zones next to agricultural areas. Rethink the use of herbicides, which reduce pollinator food sources by removing flowers from the landscape.

Add signage to advertise the presence of pollinators. Bees often range several miles from their hives or nests. Place pollinator habitat signs around pastures, community gardens, city parks, bike trails or suburban yards to promote conservation.

What it comes down to is providing at least two important things, Vaughan said: “Plant wildflowers that provide a high succession of bloom. Have home gardens free of chemicals. Get into natural gardening.”