Bees and pollinators

Sorry about letting you know after the fact, but this last week was National Pollinator week!  So what you say?? Pollinators are so much more than honey bees.  Birds, bats, butterflies, flies, and bees are all pollinators.  Bees are the best known with the European Honey Bee as the poster child.  But did you know that there are over twenty varieties of American Bumblebee on the East coast alone?

Common Eastern Bumblebee

Most pollinators are not aggressive except with their hives are threatened.  They build their homes in trees, holes in the ground, or, such as in the case of the carpenter bee, will chew holes in untreated wood to create a cavity in which to lay its egg.

Carpenter Bumblebee

This can be annoying although not as much as the subsequent attraction by woodpeckers to the site looking for bee larva.  To deter bee activity from undesirable places such as one's shed, garage, or house, paint untreated wood and keep it in good condition.  The bees will seek out other locations to lay their eggs.

Worker Honeybee died while gathering pollen & necter

A bee's life is short however the pollinators activity helps provide all the foods on our tables and health to our gardens, trees, and flowers.   So celebrate Pollinator week every week.


http://pollinator.org/pollinator_week_2012.htm