- Author: Christine Casey
Many insects can obtain the water they need from their food. Bees, however, need to drink water. Honey bees use water to make honey and to cool the hive.
As the weather heats up, I thought I'd review some ways to provide water for bees in the garden. This is especially important in this drought year, as some typical water sources such as leaking faucets may not be available. This is what commercial beekeepers do; their “bee board” is just a fancy name for a board leaning underneath a slowly dripping faucet. This can be recreated in a more water-conserving way by placing a board under the faucet of a rain barrel. 
This year I've added a water source to the garden made from old soaker hoses. 
Here's how it's done:
- Author: Christine Casey
Bees need flowers that correspond to their body size and tongue length in order to effectively access the nectary located at the flower base, so a well-designed bee garden includes plants that provide a variety of flower shapes and sizes. Small bees with short tongues, for example, need a small, open flower like yarrow to feed effectively.
To further complicate matters, some bees have learned that they can access otherwise unavailable flower resources by nectar robbing. These bees have learned to chew a hole at the base of flowers; through this they insert their tongue into the flower to access a nectar reward they would otherwise be unable to reach. Since the insect never enters the flower there is no pollination, and ecologists are now beginning to study this behavior to determine if it impacts flower populations in the wild.
But that's not the end of the story. Clever honey bees will observe the larger bees creating holes and will use them as well. Nectar robbing is often seen on tubular flowers, and in the Haven we see it most frequently with carpenter bees and bumble bees on penstemon and salvia.
- Author: Christine Casey
The April bee plant of the month is not one plant. Instead it is the many California wildflowers that are bloom from late winter through spring, reaching their peak in early April. These plants lovely to look at and they give a uniquely California feel to a garden. Some also provide critical bee forage in late winter and early spring when few other plants are flowering.
Here are some of the more-commonly grown species, listed in approximate order of bloom. Also listed are the bees most commonly observed on each, when that information is well-described.
California poppy (Eschscholzia californica): bumble bees and sweat bees
Chinese Houses (Collinsia heterophylla) Megachilidae: mason bees and leafcutter bees
Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii) Megachilidae: mason bees and leafcutter bees
Five spot (Nemophila maculata). Megachilidae: mason bees and leafcutter bees
Tidy Tips (Layia platyglossa)
Globe Gilia (Gilia capitata)
Birds Eye (Gilia tricolor)
Farewell-to-Spring (Clarkia spp.): many plant species, each with a specialist bee species
Lupine (Lupinus spp.): many species of this plant, bumble bees are common
Phacelia (Phacelia spp.): many plant species, bumble bees and honey bees are common
While some of these plants can be purchased at garden centers, the best way to grow them is to broadcast seed in the fall; they will all germinate and survive on normal rainfall. Seed mixes are available, or you can purchase seeds of individual species and make your own mix.
The Haven's wildflowers are just starting to bloom. Pictured here are flowers from my own bee garden in Woodland, just north of Davis.
- Author: Christine Casey
Please join us at the Honey Bee Haven on May 9 from 5:30 to 7:00pm to celebrate National Public Gardens Day. The event includes a free sunflower plant to all visitors (while they last) and a 30-minute guided tour of the garden at 6:00pm. For more information, see the National Public Gardens Day website listing. Please note that this listing shows an incorrect location for the garden. Please use the campus map link to find us.
Hope to see you there!
- Author: Christine Casey
Tremendous thanks go to the California State Society Daughters of the American Revolution for their generous support of the Haven. At a festive lunch held at the garden on Friday, March 28, State Regent Debra Jamison presented me with a check for $15,000 to support the addition of benches, shade structures, improved wheelchair access, and additional bee habitat at the garden.
Benches: two benches have been placed in garden and are already being well-used. Additional seating will be added as space and funds permit.
Shade structures: one large structure (12 feet by 25 feet) will be located at the entrance to Grower's Grove. The structure will provide a comfortable place for tour groups to stand and interact with their docent. The structure will support numerous bee-friendly vines.
Smaller arbors will be placed over the benches to provide shady spots for sitting. Again, bee-friendly vines such as honeysuckle, wisteria, passionflower, and wild grape will ensure both shade for visitors and habitat for bees.
Wheelchair access: The Haven has always been an accessible facility, but I'm interested in ways to make it easier for all visitors to enjoy and learn. Our planter boxes are being raised to wheelchair height, 24 inches, to facilitate observation of the bees in the crops planted there.
Bee habitat: Plant nerds like me can always find room for more plants! More importantly, the greater the variety of plants we showcase means more options and inspiration for our visitors' own bee gardens. New habitats include dry shade and moist shade areas as well as updates to My Back Yard. 
