Bees in the Garden Pros and Cons Patti Koranda & Carl Wenning ISU Beekeeping Club

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Pros Products Pollination Joy of Beekeeping

Bee + Flower = Honey

Honey bees… produce honey & beeswax gather pollen & propolis

What foods do you like?  Oranges?  Almonds?  Squash?  Beans?  Blueberries?  Melons?  Cucumbers?  Lemon/Lime?  Strawberries?  Apples?  Beans?  Cherries?  Tomatoes?

Pollination Facts  75% of plants are pollinated by animals  1/3 of our food depends on pollinator/plant interaction  Many plants cannot reproduce without the help of pollinators  Landing platforms helpful

Honey Bees are Our Friends  While honey bees will sting, they do so only to protect their hives and themselves.  Beekeepers who know what they are doing rarely get stung by bees even when opening a hive! Some beekeepers even “grow” bee beards!

Cons  Bees do protect their hive or themselves  Stings hurt  But it hurts the bee more; they will die  Approach a hive in protection suit  Bees do take some work  Become knowledgeable  Your are their caretaker

Who stung you? Could be the wasp. Which one is a honey bee?

Beekeepers  Beekeepers keep honeybees in bee hives; a bee hive gives the bees a place to live.

Bee Friendly Gardens  Planting guideline  Bee Friendly  Water sources  Plant suggestion

Planting Guidelines  Sunny location preferred  Protected from the wind  Several types of flowers  Blooming continuously early spring to late fall  Native bees adapted best to native plants  Guideline are good for other insects, butterflies and birds too  Urban area may be better than country area

Plant suggestions- learn about your natives  Native plants are 4 times more attractive than exotic flowers  Herbs, annual, perennials, and heirlooms can provide good foraging  Flowers and bees help each other  Allow plants to flower  Dead heading plants might increase blooms  Avoid hybrids with double blooms-less nectar or pollen  Plants can be host to caterpillars  Could be called ‘weeds’  Avoid invasive plants  Some might be trees or shrubs

Seasonal  Plan to have something is bloom all season long – early spring, summer, until late fall  Plant at least 3 different types of flowers per season  Bees and butterflies fly at different times  They appreciate a garden with varieties of flowers and long season of blooms  Perennials might have a delay in a new garden before they start blooming  Annuals help to fill in bloom times before perennials become established

Plant different types of flowers  Plant a wide variety of flowers  Plant in clumps rather than single plant  The family of bees range in size:  Minute sweat bees to robust carpenter bees  They have different tongue lengths  Some flowers are flat, daisy-like flowers  Some flowers are tubular blossoms  Bees are attracted to bright colors, blue, white, purple  Bees see in ultraviolet colors

What Bees See  We see in Red, Blue, Yellow  Bees see UV, Blue, Green (think color blind)  Bees do not see Red

Image of UV Flowers

Anatomy of a Flower

Nectar  Nectar is a sweet liquid made in special glands called nectaries that are found on flowering plants  Nectaries are most often found by the base of a flower’s petals  Nectar is the reward given to insects and small animals  Nectar is the base ingredient of honey

Invasive Plants  Invasive plants are ones that out compete native plants to the natives’ detriment  Thistle – bull, Canada, milk  Garlic mustard  Queen Anne lace  Chicory  Oxeye Daisy  Purple Loosestrife*  Yellow sweet clover  Multiflora rose  Purple crown vetch  Japanese barberry  Honeysuckle-Trumpet, Japanese  Oriental bittersweet

Bee Friendly  A well run ecological garden attracts birds and beneficial insects that help control pests  Avoid insecticides, they are non selective  If you must spray, do so when bees are not present, late in the day, be selective  Fungicides are also dangerous  BT-bacillus thuringiensis  Neonicotinoids  An insecticidal coating on seeds to prevent insect damage  Strongly suspected of being systemic (it stays inside the plant cells, in the blooms)

Water Source  Bees need water  Hydration-digestion, metabolism, brood, queen  Temperature and humidity regulation  Bees can drown  Floating Landing platform needed  Stick, log, piece of wood, water plants, cork  Ponds  Streams  Puddles  Dew  Garden Water Features (fountains)  Can add hive water bottle  Pools are not good

Spring Plants  Spring a difficult time for native bees  Urban areas typically have few early blooming annuals  Some flourish in areas that become shady as trees leaf out  Weather inconsistent

Native Early Spring Bloomers  Native Perennials  Columbine  Crocus-Prairie  Violets  Bluebells  Virginia waterleaf  Wild geranium  Wild Indigo  “Weeds”  Dandelions

Native Early Spring Bloomers cont.  Trees and shrubs  Fruit trees-apple peach, cherry, crabapple  Dogwood – trees and shrubs  Chokecherry  Lilac  Red Bud  Raspberry  Rose  Serviceberry  Strawberry  Viburnum  Willow  Wild Plum  Black locust  Many of these are good for birds too

Native Summer Bloomers  Native Perennials  Beebalm  Black-eyed Susan  Blazing Star  Clover  Compass plant  Cup Plant  Mint  Phlox  Purple Cone flower  Spiderwort  Coreopsis (tickseed)  Yarrow  Native ‘Weeds’  Butterfly Weed  Milkweed

Additional Summer Bloomers (non native)  Squash plants  Pumpkins  Pepper  Beans  Tomatoes  Eggplant  Potatoes  Basil  Sage  Cosmos  Lavender  Rosemary  Marigolds  Zinnia

Native Late Summer-Fall Bloomers  Native Perennials  Aster  Goldenrod  Black Eyed Susan  Hyssop  Wild Bergamot  ‘Weeds’  Joe-pye weed  Ironweed

Credits Helpful sites  Ecological Gardening.net  Kelly Allsup  Horticulture Extension Educator, U of I extension      2/plant-a-bee-garden/ 2/plant-a-bee-garden/ 