Did you know that there are over 450 species of native bees in B.C.?
They evolved with and have been pollinating our native wildflowers for millennia.
Unfortunately most of our native bees are becoming extinct and endangered from competition and disease from honey bees, and destruction of our native plants.
Since most of our native bees are ground dwellers, they get dug up during road work, construction, yard and farm work.
Parasites and birds are their main predators.
Most of our native bees are solitary or stay in small groups.
Some species are cavity dwellers in dead wood or hollow plants but over 70 per cent of our native bees live underground.
Bees have a short active life span (only a few weeks) with one generation per summer and have a short foraging range of only 100–200 metres from their nesting sites.
Honey bees were introduced to agricultural livestock in Canada. They’re originally from the Mediterranean area.
Beekeepers (apiarists) own and take care of them and their hives for orchard, flower and cash crop pollination and also for their excess amounts of honey and wax.
Since honey bees have been introduced, they have competed with our native bees for nectar and pollen, and have brought bee diseases.
Some of the differences between our native bees and honey bees are:
• Honey bees form massive, dense colonies or live in hives of up to 50,000 bees. Our native bees live in small groups or are solitary dwelling in underground tunnels and crevices or are cavity dwellers in holes in logs, stumps or snags (usually made by beetles or ants) or in hollow stems.
• Honey bees have a dominant social order of a queen, female workers and male drones whereas, apart from bumblebees, our native bees don’t.
• Some native bees specifically nectar and harvest pollen from one or a few species of native plants. Honey bees are generalists.
• Unlike honey bees, native bees do not produce surplus honey or wax. The only native bees that store nectar for any period of time are bumblebees, which can store concentrated nectar for a few days. Bumblebees also produce wax. They form it into little pots to store nectar and pollen and the queen also lays eggs in these pots. The worker bees feed the larvae pollen until they grow into adult bees.
• Solitary bees do not store nectar at all. They need flowers to provide nectar for adult bees and pollen for their brood. They do not produce wax, but sometimes line their nests with secretions which protect it from moisture and mould.
• Some honey bees mass around the queen in winter forming a protective ball. Native bees overwinter in their nests as eggs or pupae.
• Except for bumblebees, native bees don’t sting. And bumblebees rarely sting people.
What’s the biggest difference between wasps and bees? Wasps are carnivorous or parasitic and bees are vegan.
Unfortunately, our native bees haven’t been well studied or publicized. Yet we have such an amazing diversity that bee watching could be as popular as bird watching.
Maybe you’ve heard of bumblebees, Mason bees or leaf-cutter bees - these are just a few.
So to help our native bees, get to know them and plant native flowering plants rich in nectar and pollen in your yard; this is naturescaping or rewilding. Help protect native habitats like parks and ecoreserves. Once you attract native bees they return quickly. It’s highly rewarding. Give it a try!
Some great resources:
Native Bee Society of British Columbia - www.bcnativebees.org
Victory Gardens For Bees; A DIY Guide To Saving The Bees - by Lori Weidenhammer
Roseanne Van Ee enthusiastically shares her knowledge of the outdoors to help readers experience and enjoy nature. Follow her on Facebook.
