Abuzz about Bees

Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist, your own personal Google for information on all things natural on PEI. Today’s topic is courtesy of Connie Armstrong MacAusland, who wanted to know what property owners can do to enhance their land for native bees.

I love this question, because our native bees are too often overshadowed by non-native European Honeybees. Don’t get me wrong: I appreciate the work Honeybees do and recognize their value in agriculture. But I’m far more interested in the Island’s native bees, many of whom are rare, ecologically important, and in need of a little attention and tender loving care. 

The first thing we can all do to help our native bees is learn what a bee is! If a hive-dwelling, black-and-yellow, fuzzy flying insect comes to mind when you think ‘bee’, you’ve been conditioned by Honeybee public relations: they have such great marketing that they’ve come to dominate our perception of this highly diverse group.

Photo 1: Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee, photo credit: Ben Armstrong. This beautiful native bee is well-named, with its metallic green front half and striped back half. Females sport black-and-white stripes, males black-and-yellow. These solitary, ground nesting bees are in the family Halictidae, and they get their name from an attraction to human sweat. While they do consume nectar and pollen, Sweat Bees also appreciate the salt and moisture our skin offers. They’re not aggressive stingers, so if you’re lucky enough to have one land on you, let it get a salty sip.

There are more than 800 different species of Bees in Canada, and PEI could be home to as many as 160 of them! We don’t have good data on diversity, distribution, or abundance for most of our local bees. By learning to recognize even a few, you can become a citizen scientist and contribute to our understanding of these important animals.

Very few native bees sport the black and yellow stripes of their European kin. They come in a range of colours including green, blue, red, brown, and grey, among others. Some could be mistaken by a casual observer for wasps or hornets, others for flies. Photos 1 through 5 give you an idea of just how beautiful our native bees are. I give special thanks to Ben Armstrong for granting permission to use his fantastic photos! 

Photo 2: Blood Bee, photo credit: Ben Armstrong. Despite their ominous-sounding moniker, Blood Bees don’t drink blood; the name comes from their blood-red abdomen. Blood Bees are members of the Halictidae family, along with Sweat Bees (Photo 1).

Unlike European Honeybees, our native species don’t form hives and most of them are solitary. The majority – about 70% – are ground-nesters, living in tunnels in the soil. The remaining 30% are cavity nesters that use hollow stems, brush piles, or crevices in wood or rock.

So, what can homeowners do to enhance their properties for our lovely bees? Adding native plants can provide essential pollen and nectar, and I encourage you to think beyond the typical showy-flowered species. Subtle, early-flowering trees like Poplar and Red Maple, along with shrubs like Alder and Beaked Hazelnut, provide bees with important nutrition in spring. In late summer and fall, Goldenrods, Asters, and Witch-hazel are among the many native plants that can help end-of-season bees prepare for winter. 

Photo 3: Sharptail Bee, photo credit: Ben Armstrong. One look at the sharply-tapered abdomen of this bee and you can see where it gets its name. There may be as many as five different species of Sharptail Bees – also known as Cuckoo Leafcutter Bees – on PEI. The ‘Cuckoo’ part of the name comes from the fact that these bees lay their eggs in the nests of other species, just like Cuckoo birds do. The ‘Leafcutter’ part refers to the fact that they are in the Leafcutter family of bees.

In addition to adding food plants, think about those that provide habitat, too. Dead stalks of pithy or hollow-stemmed species like Elderberry, Staghorn Sumac, Raspberry, and Joe-Pye Weed can all provide nesting and overwintering spots for native bees. If you have an annual or perennial flower garden, it’s easy to add in some bee-friendly species that provide food or habitat, and there are lots of online resources to help you select plants that suit your site and aesthetics. Of course, if you’re trying to support bees, be sure to eliminate pesticides.

The next thing to do is stop being so tidy! Warmer days have us itching to get out and clean up the yard, but native bees overwinter in and under that debris. Wait until daytime temperatures are consistently above 10C (50F) before starting your spring clean-up. In fall, skip the leaf raking and be sure to leave any dead, hollow stems standing (even if they look a bit unsightly!).

Photo 4: Nomad Bee, photo credit: Ben Armstrong. Nomad Bees could be mistaken for wasps, and are often reddish (as seen here), black, yellow, or some combination of these colours. There may be as many as 10 different species of Nomad Bees on PEI, and they are members of the family Apidae. Although European Honeybees are in the same family, Nomad Bees are solitary and don’t produce honey.

Commercial woodchip mulch looks nice and reduces weeds, but ground nesting bees have trouble digging though it and mulched areas can become inaccessible to them. Use woodchip mulch sparingly or – if possible – consider bee-friendly alternatives like straw, compost, or rocks.

Finally, if you have the space, leave an area of your yard or property as rough cover: don’t mow it, leave deadwood in place (or add some tree branches or logs), and create brush piles with the yard debris you’ve cleaned up elsewhere.

Photo 5: Black and Grey Leafcutter Bee, photo credit: Ben Armstrong. With no showy colours, this bee could be mistaken for a fly. Leafcutter Bees are in the family Megachilidae and get their name from the habit of cutting circles from leaves and rolling them into cones for nests. The bee puts a ball of pollen and nectar along with an egg inside each cone and seals it up. Sharptail Bees (Photo 3) take advantage of this handy packet to lay their own eggs, similar to the way Cuckoos and Cowbirds lay their eggs in other birds’ nests.

You don’t have to do all these things or turn your entire property into bee habitat. If you love a manicured yard and garden, think about what you could do for bees without detracting from that. What about some attractive, bee-friendly flowers? Could you mulch only the areas you see rather than around and behind everything? And would delaying spring clean-up a bit really interfere with your yard and garden goals?

As a final note, I’ve omitted two things intentionally: no mow May (which I’ve written about before, https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/the-myth-of-no-mow-may) and bee hotels. Bee hotels are a bit like bird houses – the right structure in the right place and maintained correctly can be beneficial. Unfortunately, there are too many commercially available structures with holes the wrong size or configuration, or made of materials that allow mould growth.

Additionally, bee hotels can become occupied by wasps (also helpful pollinators, but not everyone’s cup of tea). And if not maintained properly, they can become reservoirs of parasites and disease. If you do go this route, please take some time to ensure that your choice will help rather than harm bees, and that you are committed to proper maintenance.

Spring is here, our native bees will soon be emerging, and it’s a great time to get to know these parts of PEI Untamed!