Bulletin #7153, Understanding #NativeBees, the Great #Pollinators: Enhancing Their Habitat in #Maine (PDF)

This fact sheet provides information on the native bees in Maine and their habitat requirements. It suggests ways to manage our yards for bees, so that the bees will survive, thrive and reproduce. Food plants, nest sites and appropriate nest materials are critical for enhancing bee habitats.

Includes a list of "some plants known to be attractive to native bees in Maine."

Excerpt: "Finding the Bees in Your Yard

The most likely place to find bees is in the flowers of native plants, when the day is sunny, relatively calm, and the temperature is above 70°F. To be active, fly and feed, bees need to be warm. A few species are active below 60°, but most prefer temperatures above 72°. Wind makes flying more difficult because it requires more energy. Although some species may be active by late February if temperatures are unusually warm, the vernal bee species (those present in the spring) generally become active by mid-April. You may observe them on early blooming flowers, such as willow catkins and dandelions. Some native bee species continue their activities into the autumn until the last asters, dandelions and autumn dandelions die. The greatest diversity and abundance of native bees is in midsummer, unless there is a lack of suitable flowers, perhaps because of drought, heavy rains, or how the landscape is managed.

Other places to find native bees are where they nest. Look at the soil along bare banks with a sunny southern exposure. Look in bramble canes, beetle borings in snags, and in abandoned birdhouses. If you do search for bee nests, remember to be cautious for yourself and respectful of them!"

Read more:
https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/7153e/

#SolarPunkSunday #GardeningForPollinators #PollinatorHabitat #MainePollinators #MaineBees #NativeBees #NativePlants #BeeFriendlyPlants #UMaineExtension #UmaineCooperativeExtension

GROUND BEES

(I think they are #Colletidae?)

#HighPark #toronto #bugstodon #NativeBees #bees #Hymenoptera #Anthophila

🐝 About 5.6 million bees, an unexpectedly large number 😲, were discovered in a New York cemetery.

🐝 This is one of the largest and oldest colonies found in the U.S.

🐝 Ground nesting bees make up about 70% of native bees in the U.S. and are very important pollinators. Cemeteries are an important habitat for them.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-just-discovered-5-6-million-bees-under-a-new-york-cemetery/

#InsectSaturday #NativeBees #Biodiversity #Pollinators #Insects

BEES ARE KEYSTONE

🐝 Researchers in AU estimate far more bee species globally than previously estimated, specifically an 18–25% increase.

🍅 Knowledge of bees supports their conservation and pollination of crops, which is worth roughly A$745 billion per year.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦🧑‍🧑‍🧒👩‍👩‍👦‍👦 Pollination is also crucial for our diet and wellbeing with 75% of food crop diversity and 35% of total food production benefiting from animal pollination.

🪨 Bees are what’s called a “keystone” group. Removing populations of that group would result in cascading ecological impacts (not in a good way).

https://theconversation.com/science-knows-of-21-000-bee-species-there-are-likely-thousands-more-268195

#InsectSaturday #NativeBees #Nature #Environment #Biodiversity