Frederick County Office
330 Montevue Lane
Frederick, Maryland 21702
TEL 301-600-1594
FAX 301-600-1588
http://extension.umd.edu/frederick-county
Help Preserve Our Native Bees
Ron Dudley, Frederick County Master Gardener
Many of us are aware of the European Honey Bee’s problems with colony collapse and the
resulting impacts on food production. What is less known is the simultaneous reduction in native
bee populations!
Helping native bees survive is essential to the continued well-being of the fruits, vegetables and
flowering plants we all depend on for life. The Native Bees benefit us all because of the valuable
services they provide to the environment and to our farms, forests, and gardens.
The honey bee was imported from Europe in the early 1600s and as remarkable as it is does not
know how to pollinate native plants like tomatoes or eggplants. Additionally, honey bees do very
poorly in pollinating other native crops like pumpkins, cherries, blueberries and cranberries.
These crops depend, in at least a large part, on native bees for pollination.
It is estimated by the USDA that 250 female orchard mason bees pollinate apple and cherry trees as
effectively as 50,000 honey bees. Additionally, when native bees interact with managed honey
bees, the resulting pollination rate can increase yield by five-fold.
What can we do, as backyard gardeners, to help preserve our native bees?
1. Provide plantings to attract bees:
Cultivate a variety of native plants.
Use plants with flowers of different shapes and colors to appeal to a wide variety of Bees.
Cluster plantings, if possible.
Try to ensure that there is continuous flower bloom from early spring through fall.
Visit the Maryland Department of Natural Resources WEB Site for more information on
providing plantings for native pollinators.
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/Habitat/WildAcres/wabees.asp
2. Provide nesting environments for native bees:
About 60 percent of native bees are ground nesting and require direct access to soil. Clear a
3x3 foot spot in your garden down to the soil for bees to burrow in, it should be in a welldrained area with direct sun.
Wood nesting bees are fond of pithy twig or vine centers, rotting wood and existing cavities in
wood. So leave a few dead branches on trees or shrubs, drill holes in stumps of dead trees
Bumble bees are more generalist in their nesting and will nest in old rodent holes, hollow tree
limbs or trunks or even in a pile of leaves. Just leave these in your garden for the bees to use.
The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to any person and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex,
color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, political
affiliation, and gender identity or expression.
We can augment natural nesting sites by providing drilled wooden blocks, PVC pipes with
straws inside, or bundles of bamboo hung in a tree.
Visit the USDA WEB Site for more information on providing nesting sites for native
pollinators:
http://plants.usda.gov/pollinators/Enhancing_Nest_Sites_For_Native_Bee_Crop_Pollinators.pdf
3. Provide clean water:
Place a stone in your birdbath, which breaks the surface of the water, to provide bees and
butterflies access to water.
4. Use Integrated Pest Management:
Emphasis must be on a thoughtful, educated approach to chemical use to control garden pest
(insects and weeds), and to the reduction and ultimate elimination of their use.
Visit the EPA WEB Site for more information on IPM:
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/ipm.htm
Native Bees help enrich and sustain our lives. Anything we do to help bees will also help our other
beneficial pollinators and the plants that depend on them. A little help for our smallest creatures can
help conserve a whole ecosystem!
Visit the U.S. Forest Service site for more information on our Native Bees.
http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/documents/BeeBasics.pdf
For more information about the Frederick County Master Gardener/Horticulture Program,
visit : http://extension.umd.edu/frederick-county/home-gardening or call Susan Trice at the
University of Maryland Extension Frederick County office, 301-600-1596.
Find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/mastergardenersfrederickcountymaryland
The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to any person and will not discriminate against anyone
because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin,
marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, and gender identity or expression.