National Pollinator Week (https://nationaltoday.com/national-pollinator-week/) is an annual event celebrated all over the world during the last week of June (June 19 – 25 this year). During this week nature lovers and home gardeners celebrate pollinators and raise awareness about their valuable role in the plant kingdom and ways they can be protected.

Pollinators that hang around our gardens include bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, beetles, and flies. While all these pollinators are important, bees make up about 50% of pollinators.

Native Bees Prominent Role

When you see bees in your garden, you likely see many European honeybees (Apis mellifera), who are crucially important to the Central Valley's agriculture since Honeybees pollinate 90% of the almond crop.  But Honeybees are not the only bees in search of nectar in farmers' fields and our gardens. There over 4,000 species of native bees in the United States, with about 1,600 in California.  

Native bees play an important role in pollinating our plants since they are 200 times more efficient at pollination than Honeybees. Studies in the Central Valley have shown three dozen or so native bee species provide sufficient pollination services for a single farm.  For example, pollinating an acre of apples requires 60,000-120,000 Honeybees; the same area can be pollinated by 250-750 Mason bees (Megachile).

Social Characteristics and Nesting Habits

Most bees are solitary in nature, generally producing honey only for their own consumption and/or for their young. Nesting habits vary from social hives/colonies to solitary nesting in the ground or woody material.

• Social vs. Solitary bees:

o   Solitary bees make up 99% of all bees in North America, with social bees making up less than 1%. Only Honeybees and Bumblebees are social, living in colonies, with all other bees being solitary. Most Honeybees are domesticated, living in hives.  Bumblebees live in the wild, in colonies which are generally underground. Honeybee hives will have a population of 10,000-50,000 bees, while Bumblebees will have only 50-400 in their colonies.

• Ground nesting bees make up 70% of bees:

o   Mining bees and Digger bees (Adrena): As their names indicate, these bees have a ground-nesting lifestyle. From the outside, the tunnels look like holes with a ring of loose soil around them and can be mistaken for small ant hills or earthworm mounds. Mining bees are active only in the spring for 4-8 weeks during which the females dig tunnels to lay their eggs and raise their young. Both bees are extremely docile, rarely stinging. 

• Stem and wood nesting bees make up 30% of bees:

o   Leafcutter bees (Megachilidae) use a “wrapper” of leaves, resin, and sand to build their nests in natural or artificial cavities. If you see some leaves in your garden with their distinctive circular “cut out,” you will know you have some in your area. They are about the same size as honeybees, but their bodies are black and furry while Honeybees are dark brown to black and yellow striped. 

o   Mason beesconstruct their nests from mud, preferring hollow stems or holes made by wood-boring insects. Some people hang bee “houses” with hollow tubes to attract these bees to nest in their yard.

Generalist vs. Specialist Bees

Some bees are generalists, getting their nectar from a wide variety of flowers. These include the Bumblebee and the Mason bee. 

Other bees are specialists, feeding only from very specific flowers, such as the Squash bee (two genera: Peponapis and Xenoglossa) or the Sunflower bee (Megachile) with their common names indicating which type of flowers they favor.

Other Native Bees

Other bees you may see in your garden:

• Carpenter bees (Apidae): Females are shiny black and can sting, but only if provoked. Males are golden and can't sting. Their name derives from their nesting behavior; nearly all species burrow into hard plant material such as dead wood or bamboo. Occasionally they may nest in unpainted wood siding of buildings.
• Sweat bees (Halictidae): Sweat bees' common name is due to their tendency to land on and lick the sweat from people's skin! One of the coolest looking bees in this group is the green sweat bee, which has a shiny, iridescent exoskeleton. Most of these bees nest in the ground, though some nest in wood. Some species are cleptoparasites, meaning they will lay their eggs on food in another species' nest and after hatching, the larva kills the host's larva! 
• Long-horned bees (Melissodes): With medium to large bodies, this non-aggressive group gets their names from the long antennae of the males, which females lack. Females have a solitary nest in the ground whereas males sleep outside, often spending the night in groups on the surface of a flower.

Bees are in Trouble

All bees are facing many challenges these days due to loss of habitat, pesticides, diseases and infections, invasive species, and climate change.

Some ways you can help:

• Plant a garden full of flowering plants to attract bees and other pollinators. Make sure you have something blooming during each of the spring, summer, and fall seasons. Whenever possible, plant native plants since native bees and plants evolved together.
• If you use a pesticide, choose one that is less toxic such as a horticultural soap or oil and spray in early morning or evening when pollinators are unlikely to be present. (https://ipm.ucanr.edu/GENERAL/pesticides_urban.html)
• Provide spaces for nesting bees, with bee houses and bare patches of soil, along with a source of water.

By providing a bee-friendly garden, you can help the vital native bee pollinators thrive.

Denise Godbout-Avant has been a UCCE Master Gardener with Stanislaus County since 2020

The month of May is Garden for Wildlife month. Due to factors such as loss of habitat, pesticides exposure, and climate change, much of wildlife is being challenged today. There are many ways home gardeners can directly help birds, bees, butterflies, and other local wildlife. The saying “If you build it, they will come” applies not only to the classic baseball movie “Field of Dreams,” but also to attracting wildlife to your garden.

Plants

If you have the space, plant an oak tree! While it will take several years for the tree to mature, few plants provide more benefits to nature than an oak tree. One Valley oak tree can provide food, water, and shelter to approximately 350 vertebrate species and over 250 species of insects and arachnids.

Plant a variety of native plants which are the foundation of local food webs. Wildlife and plants evolved together in ways that were beneficial to both, plus they are adapted to local soils and weather. Native plants provide food, shelter, and places to care for their young. Native plants also tend to be water-wise, needing little watering once established.

Choose plants that bloom at different times of the year, to ensure something is always blooming during the different seasons thus providing nectar sources year-round.  Include some plants which produce berries to provide food sources attractive to birds and insects.

Create multi-layered planting. Have some canopy trees of different heights, weave in some tall, medium, and small plants, along with some groundcovers. Even a small garden can have plants of different heights to attract and shelter different types of wildlife. Arbors and trellises are also ways to grow vines, providing more variety in your garden.

Lawns lack variety, thus reducing your lawn space and replacing it with native plants will increase the diversity in your garden. Decreasing the frequency of mowing permits grasses to grow taller, allowing flowers to grow and bloom which would attract bees and butterflies. You can also sprinkle some daisy and clover seeds into your lawn to provide forage plants and flowers for many beneficial insects.

Water

Wildlife needs water. The water source(s) can be a small dish, a bird bath, a rain garden, or pond. Water in bird baths needs to be shallow since birds will not use a bath where the water is deeper than their legs. Be sure to clean and change the water frequently to prevent mosquitoes.

Ponds with aquatic-loving plants can encourage amphibians such as salamanders or toads, or wetland insects such as dragonflies, to visit and set up their homes.

Butterflies engage in behavior called “puddling,” where they stop in muddy puddles for water and nutrients. You can recreate this by filling a terra cotta saucer with soil and pebbles, sink it into the ground and keep it moist. Again, change the water regularly.

Plants and rocks around the water source(s) provide shelter, camouflage, and spots for creatures like butterflies, lizards, or turtles who like to sun themselves near water.

Housing for Bees

Most bees are solitary in nature with 70% being ground nesters like mining bees. Cavity-nesters such as mason bees comprise 30% of bees. These live in twigs, abandoned beetle holes, and other tree cavities. The social honeybees and bumble bees who live in hives or colonies make up less than 1% of all bees. Native bees are up to 200 times more efficient pollinators than honeybees. You can attract native bees to your garden by providing bare patches of dirt in out-of-the way sections and/or supply bee housing with hollow reeds or cardboard tubes in a sheltered spot that receives morning sun.

Leave the Leaves

Leaving leaves as they drop from your trees and bushes provides food and shelter for a variety of living creatures including worms, beetles, millipedes, larvae of some butterflies and moths, toads, frogs and more. These in turn attract birds, mammals, and amphibians that rely on the smaller organisms as a food source.

Chemicals

Reduce or eliminate use of pesticides and fertilizers which can be harmful to wildlife (including beneficial insects) and contaminate water resources. Instead use earth-friendly solutions such as garden mulch to discourage weeds and adding nutrients to the soil. UC Integrated Pest Management provides a source of research-based less-toxic solutions for garden pest management.

One Step at a Time

Changing your garden into a wildlife haven will likely be a step-by-step process over a period of time. Building a garden attractive to wildlife will bring you the enjoyment of watching them and the knowledge you are helping wildlife thrive.

Resources listed provide information for ways to you to build a garden attractive to wildlife.

• Butterflies in Your Garden: https://ucanr.edu/sites/CEStanislausCo/files/345791.pdf
• Sustainable Landscaping: https://ucanr.edu/sites/stancountymg/Sustainable_Landscaping/
• Trees in Your Garden:  https://ucanr.edu/sites/CEStanislausCo/files/341553.pdf
• Pollinator-Friendly Native Plants Lists: https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/pollinator-friendly-plant-lists
• UC IPM Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: http://ipm.ucanr.edu/
• The Bee Gardener: The Cavities You Want to Have: https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=12785
• How to Make and Use Bee Houses for Cavity Nesting Bees: https://beegarden.ucdavis.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/How-to-build-and-use-bee-blocks.pdf

 

Denise Godbout-Avant has been a Stanislaus County Master Gardener since 2020.

We hope to see you at our All About Bees Class on Tuesday, April 26, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. Our Master Gardeners help you identify local bees (did you know CA is home to over 1,600 species?) you'll learn about their life stages and habits, why their in trouble, and how home gardeners can help them thrive.

When: Tuesday, April 26, 2021 6:00-7:30 p.m.

Where: Harvest Hall Rooms D& E at the Agricultural Center at the corner of Crows Landing and Service Road in Modesto. 
Address: 3800 Cornucopia Way, Modesto, CA 95358.
Cost: Free
Instructors: Master Gardeners Heidi Aufdermaur and Denise Godbout-Avant
Questions: call (209) 525-6862
Sign Up online: http://ucanr.edu/bees/2022

When I was in the 6th grade, we were given an assignment to read books from several different topics (i.e. history, famous people, a classic) and write a book report on each. Being a voracious reader since pre-school, I quickly went through all the assigned topics but one. . .science. Sadly, we hadn't had much exposure to science in elementary school. 

My teacher commented the deadline for doing the assignment was coming up and I wouldn't get an ‘A' in English if I didn't complete the project. I responded I didn't know of any science books to read. He suggested I go to the school library. 

I told the librarian of my situation and she guided me to a book about honeybees. I liked bees (though I'd been stung once!) but knew little about them other than they spent time around flowers. That book revealed the complex and fascinating world of honeybees to me. I was enthralled. I have been enamored with bees and science ever since. I eventually obtained degrees in science and education which led to a worthwhile career that included being a biology instructor, museum educator and lab technician. All because of a book on bees. . .I am forever grateful to my 6th grade teacher and the school librarian. 

All About Bees Talk

As a Stanislaus County Master Gardener, I have the privilege of joining fellow Master Gardener Heidi Aufdermaur in presenting a talk on “All About Bees,” to share my love of bees. Learn why they're so valuable, different kinds of bees, (there are over 1,600 native bees in California!), their life stages and habits, why they're in trouble, and how home gardeners can help bees thrive. I hope you'll join us! 

When: Tuesday, April 26, 2021, 6:00-7:30 p.m.
Where: Harvest Hall Rooms D & E at the Agricultural Center at the corner of Crows Landing and Service Road in Modesto
Address: 3800 Cornucopia Way, Modesto, CA 95358
Cost: Free
Instructors: Master Gardeners Heidi Aufdermaur and Denise Godbout-Avant
Questions: call (209) 525-6862
Sign Up online: http://ucanr.edu/bees/2022

Denise Godbout-Avant has been a Stanislaus County Master Gardener since 2020.