It depends on where the bees live. Most wild bees are having a hard time fighting off varoa mites and little hive beetle. Eventually, once a hive gets infected it becomes weaker and dies out. Wild hives are resupplied usually from the swarms of managed hives. During the winter many managed hives will die and so will wild hives. Bees don't have a lot to eat during winter and depend on their honey and pollen stores. Managed hives may have to be fed. Bee numbers are at their lowest in winter and they don't build again until more forage is available and the honey flow starts soon after. Swarming season has started for me in Hawaii. In colder areas, the bees swarm when it warms up and there is more forage.
Bees forage up to 2 miles from their hive.
To attract bees
1. You can start keeping bees, you need to check with your local codes on setback requirement. If you have neighbors nearby, it is best to check with them too.
2. Plant a variety of flowers to attract bees and beneficial insects. Bees like small flat single flowers that provide a landing place. Most of the composite and asters fit. Be careful now, there are some varieties of newer flowers that are seedless like sunflowers so make sure you get the ones that do make seeds. Sunflowers, asters, single marigolds, cosmos, single zinnias, false heather, achillea, bee balm, joe-pye-weed, goldenrod, rudbeckia, Mexican sunflower, coneflower, sedums, lavender (carpenter bees), verbena, phlox, sage, butterfly bush, alyssum (also attracts butterflies), penta (pollen for bees, nectar for butterflies and long tongued bees, as well as other benefial insects), Queen Anne's Lace.
Plants and herbs- most fruit trees require bee pollination to fruit. Let some of the herbs and vegetables flower. Basil, fennel (attracts all kinds of beneficials, including lady bugs, but needs to be planted by itself about 10 ft away from other plants.), bee balm, creeping thyme, vervain, Mexican oregano (lippia graveolens), perilla, coriander (let it bloom), let carrots bloom (relative of Queen Anne's lace), Asian greens ( choi sum, bok choy), brassicas ( broccoli, kale, cabbage), lettuce (aster family), fava beans, lima beans, sweet pea. Cover crops = alfalfa, and buckwheat.
The xerces society publishes native plant lists for every region in the U.S. to attract bees and other pollinators.
https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/plant-lists/
There are all kinds of bees not just honey bees. Many of them are solitary but are also pollinators like squash bees, sweat bees, and yellow faced bees. Other pollinators and beneficial insects are lady bugs, parasitc wasps, flies, midges, beetles, ants (up to a point), lacewings, dragonflies. Other helpful creatures toads, frogs, geckos, insect eating birds.
Create a habitat to invite in beneficial animals
You can make artificial hives for solitary bees by making bundles of 1/2 inch pvc pipe about 10-12 inches long and hanging them in trees. Leaf cutter bees need a block of wood with 1/4 inch holes drilled in them. Bats need bat houses. Insect eating birds need bird houses designed to attract them. Leave bare ground for ground nesting bees and wasps. Provide habitat for frogs and toads. Hollow logs, piles of rocks, broken crocks turned on the side or turned over, trees and shrubs for shelter, and avoid using pesticides as much as possible. Water needs to be provided. A small pond for frogs and toads or a shallow saucer filled with pebbles (as landing places) and water. Water plants early in the morning. Bees will come and lap up the water from the leaves while they are foraging.
https://xerces.org/2017/03/17/bring-back ... tive-bees/
Fennel is a trap plant and attracts aphids, it is one reason why it needs to be planted alone. Because it does attract aphids, the lady bugs will lay their eggs on the plant and the aphids provide food for ladybug larvae. Get to know what they look like so you don't kill them. Fennel blooms for a very long time and the flowers provide nectar and pollen for parasitic wasps, adult lady bugs, lacewings, hover flies, and the occasional bee.