I am grateful to all the beekeepers who recommended Autumn Joy sedum for my bees. I was reluctant to buy it once I found it at the garden center because, honestly, it was the ugliest plant I’ve ever seen. Truth is, I’ve had a bad attitude toward any kind of succulent plant ever since I […] Read more
Dilemma. Back in February, I asked any of you who are planting Lemon Queen sunflowers to take pictures of your bee visitors so I could display them in a photo gallery. Apparently, I didn’t think this through properly—my Lemon Queens are now approaching ten feet tall, while I (camera in hand) am still down here […] Read more
A discussion of water sources for bees would not be complete without a mention of guttation. Drops of liquid that you see along the edges of a leaf—or sometimes at the very tip—are actually drops of xylem sap. The process that delivered the sap to the leaf margins is called guttation. Drops of xylem sap […] Read more
Here are some nice photos of Autumn Joy sedum with honey bees attached. It seems like everyone knew about this plant except me, so I’m happy to catch up. Beekeeper Marc Balboa, who made the photos, says: My bees are crazy over them. Native bees too, although I’m not sure which. Bumble bees for sure, […] Read more
Right now I’m totally fixated on Autumn Joy sedum as a honey bee plant. It began when I was typing the responses to the Honey Bee Suite plant survey. The same plant repeatedly cropped up in the responses, and it was unusual in that people were always very specific about the variety: it couldn’t be […] Read more
Here in Washington State, the Noxious Weed Control Board is distributing packets of non-invasive flower seeds for bees and butterflies. The program is co-sponsored by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, the Washington Invasive Species Council, and Lincoln, Skamania, Pierce, and Thurston counties. Landowners are being encouraged to eradicate invasive weeds and replace them with […] Read more
Honey bee nutrition is getting a lot of press these days, and rightfully so. Many bee experts—including Marla Spivak, Zachary Huang, and Randy Oliver—believe that a lack of good nutrition may be a major factor in declining bee health. It is possible that many of the viruses and other pathogens that are plaguing bees are […] Read more