We hear a lot about habitat loss, but what does that mean for pollinators? And what, if anything, can be done about it? Habitat loss comes in many forms, but it can be divided into three major types: habitat destruction, habitat degradation, and habitat fragmentation. Let’s look at these one by one. Three types of […] Read more
Except for natural bamboo tubes, it seems that most commercial tunnels sold for pollinator housing have an inside diameter of about 7 to 8 mm for orchard mason bees (Osmia lignaria), 6 mm for blueberry bees (Osmia ribifloris), and 5 mm for both alfalfa leafcutting bees (Megachile rotundata) and raspberry bees (Osmia aglaia). I don’t […] Read more
Okay, we all know that Japanese knotweed is an invasive species, prone to tearing up your driveway, cracking your foundation, and choking rivers and streams. But what’s the best thing about knotweed? That’s easy: it’s in bloom. Right now. Right at this very moment when no other plant is even thinking about it. Japanese knotweed, […] Read more
It seems that everyone is building for the bees these days, from private citizens, to transportation departments, to architectural design firms. The proliferation of bug structures, no matter how humble or how grand, indicates that humans are finally getting it: insects need a place to live too. As we cover more and more of the […] Read more
When we think of bee forage, we usually think of vegetable plots, row crops, orchards, hedgerows, flower gardens, and meadows. But some of the best bee forage in the world comes in the form of trees—not only fruit trees—but trees like maple, chestnut, willow, basswood, locust, and alder. Some species provide only pollen, some only […] Read more
Here are eight simple ways to attract more bees—both native bees and honey bees—to your garden. Rusty HoneyBeeSuite
If you’ve done much “bee reading” in the past few years, you’ve probably come across a fascinating history by Tammy Horn entitled Bees in America: How the Honey Bee Shaped a Nation, which was published by the University Press of Kentucky in 2005. The book was a great success that helped launch Horn’s next project. […] Read more