Native Bees for Pollination

[cynthia_h]

Dear Jewell, "Great" minds think alike!

http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/v ... hp?t=13704

re. the "Great Sunflower Project."

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[LumpyLungwort]

To help the bees out in my garden and I am a greenhorn!, but have found the larger bees seem to very much like my nasturtium.
Where as the smaller ( I think wild bees ) go for my cornflowers, sunflowers and tobacco plants especially.
They seem to steer well clear of my geraniums also strangely don't much care for my highly scented night flowering stock or my heavily scented sweet peas?
Always gives me a buzz when I see them bumbleing around ( sorry could't resist it)
Also as you're probably all aware they go crazy for foxgloves.

[GeorgiaGirl]

GREAT thread -- I had no interest in bees (actually, I'm a little scared of them, even if I know they aren't likely to sting ), until this week when I planted some anise hyssop in full bloom, and noticed DOZENS of big, fat, beautiful bumbles all over all five hyssops!

I had never seen a bumble bee on our property in the 3.5 years we've lived here -- it's amazing to me that I instantly have many of them (as well as a few other bee varieties buzzing around that I know hadn't been here before).

I do need to find out where they live, because I do children's portrait photography on our property and an accidental step on a bee's nest is surely an accident waiting to happen... still, I'm delighted to see such pretty bumble bees abuzz here!

[GUMBEE]

I POSTED SOMETHING UNDER THE COMPOST HEADING ABOUT BUMBLE BEES MAKING THERE NEST IN MY COMPOST PILE. EVERYBODY SEEMS TO THINK THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE AND THEY ARE PROBABLY YELLOWJACKETS (LIKE I DON'T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE). ALL I KNOW IS THEY LOOK LIKE BUMBLE BEES AND ARE NOT AGGRESSIVE AT ALL. THEY POLLINATED MY GARDEN ALL SUMMER AND THERE THEY'LL STAY UNTIL THEY DECIDE TO MOVE. I NEED THE BEES MORE THAN THE COMPOST.

[rainbowgardener]

Well, no, Gumbee, I read your other post and the responses. You did not post under the heading bumble bees. Here is the exact title of your post:

Honey Bees Made a Home in my Compost - What Can I Do? (bold added)

Every thing you wrote and what people responded to was about HONEY BEES. Bumble bees are NOT honey bees, they don't make (much) honey, they don't make honey combs, so they don't have the same kind of nesting requirements as honey bees.

Here's a little article about bumble bees that has pictures of them and a picture of a honey bee for comparison:

http://hercules.users.netlink.co.uk/Bee.html

Bumble bees are good pollinators and as you noted, they are not aggressive.

So you could have bumble bees in your compost, though I still think it is more likely mason bees or carpenter bees.

[Sage Hermit]

How can you transplant them bees Gumby? Feeding them makes the your friend btw.