- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Published on: June 22, 2016
Move over, monarchs.A monarch on the milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bees--and other pollinators--gravitate toward the enticing aroma of the milkweed, too.
The milkweed is widely known as the larval host plant of the monarch butterflies--and a nectar source for the adults--but they have to share.
Bee-cause.
The broadleaf milkweed, Asclepias speciosa, in our pollinator garden draws everything from honey bees to leafcutter bees to carpenter bees.
It's almost like "Take a number." And it's especially noticeable during National Pollinator Week, a week set aside to celebrate the pollinators and to do what we can to protect them.
Recent visitors to the milkweed have included:
- A male Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, a green-eyed blond
- A female Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, solid black
- Honey bee, Apis mellifera
- Male leafcutter bee, Megachile sp.
And, of course, the monarchs (Danaus plexippus)!
![A male leafcutter bee, Megachile sp., in flight, heading toward the milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A male leafcutter bee, Megachile sp., in flight, heading toward the milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/37000.jpg)
A male leafcutter bee, Megachile sp., in flight, heading toward the milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
![A male leafcutter bee, Megachile sp., sips nectar from a milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A male leafcutter bee, Megachile sp., sips nectar from a milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/37001.jpg)
A male leafcutter bee, Megachile sp., sips nectar from a milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
![A male Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, a green-eyed blond, sipping nectar from the milkweed.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A male Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, a green-eyed blond, sipping nectar from the milkweed.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/37002.jpg)
A male Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, a green-eyed blond, sipping nectar from the milkweed.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
![A female Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, sipping nectar from the milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A female Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, sipping nectar from the milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/37003.jpg)
A female Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, sipping nectar from the milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
![A honey bee leaving with pollinia (pollen structure) from the milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A honey bee leaving with pollinia (pollen structure) from the milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/37005.jpg)
A honey bee leaving with pollinia (pollen structure) from the milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Tags: Apis mellifera (34), Asclepias speciosa (12), Danaus plexippus (49), honey bee (234), leafcutter bee (15), monarch butterflies (95), pollen sac (1), pollinia (7), Valley carpenter bee (17), Xylocopa varipuncta (29)
Comments: 1
Comments:
by Emily
on June 23, 2016 at 10:06 PM
Hi Kathy, I have recently seen some people commenting on a Facebook forum that carpenters are bad pollinators because they cut holes in flowers and bypass the pollen. They were using this as justification to destroy these bees. I suspect that they are good pollinators anyway as they will not do that to all flowers. What is your opinion on this? Are there any authoritative resources on carpenter bees I could look at? Thanks in advance :)
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