Bee Garden - Notes

1/6/2013

Out of the Wilds and Into Your Garden
Buzzing of Bees

C.M. Vadheim and T. Drake
CSUDH & Madrona Marsh Preserve

Gardening with Western L.A. County Native Plants Madrona Marsh Preserve
Project SOUND – 2011 (our 7th year) July 2 & 5, 2011
© Project SOUND © Project SOUND

Colony Collapse Disorder – our wake-up call Why worry about bee pollinators?
 Bees are “keystone organisms” in
most terrestrial ecosystems.
 Bees are essential for maintaining
the integrity, productivity and
sustainability of many types of
ecosystems: natural areas, pastures,
fields, meadows, roadsides, many
agricultural crops, fruit orchards,
and backyard vegetable and flower
gardens.
 Without bees, many flowering plants
would eventually become extinct.
 Without the work of bees, many
http://bee-rapture.blogspot.com/2009/04/found-cause-of-colony- fruit- and seed-eating birds and
some mammals, including people,
collapse-disorder.html

would have a less varied and less
healthy diet.

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1/6/2013

Even before colony collapse disorder,  Pollinators at risk:
some people were concerned…  Non-native pollinators are vulnerable
to environmental factors - limited
genetic variability
 Depending on a single source
– for anything – should make  Native pollinators are at risk due to
habitat loss, climate change and use
us all nervous of pesticides & herbicides
 Better to ‘diversify the
portfolio’  Decline in native bee species world-
Honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder
wide since 1980
 Crop production world-wide is
decreasing (since at least 1990) due
to decreasing numbers of pollinators
 So we all should be worried – and
taking action
http://therealnewsjournal.com/?tag=colony-collapse-disorder

http://urbangardencasual.com/2009/04/28/possible-cure-
for-honey-bee-colony-collapse-disorder-discovered/
 The third week of June is designated
European Honey Bee National Pollinators Week (The fifth
Apis mellifera annual National Pollinator Week was
June 20-26, 2011 !

What’s all the buzz about down on the farm? California: leader in bee research & practice
 Active bee research center
at UC Davis – over 75 years
of practical research

 Laidlaw Honey Bee
Research Facility

 Initial research focused on
the European Honey Bee
(Apis mellifera)
http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/dept/beebio.cfm

 Increasing research into
Increasing interest in the role the biology, ecology and
of urban & suburban gardens in use of a variety of native
maintaining & using native bee bees
populations – ‘Neighborhood
Pollinator Preserves’

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1/6/2013

Lessons about pollination from ag research Lessons about pollination from ag research
1. Native bee pollinators and pollinator 1. Native bee pollinator relationships are
relationships are complex: complex:

a. ~ 1500 native bee species in CA c. Wild bee populations fluctuate widely from
year-to-year (4-fold variation for some
b. Honey Bees are actually quite unique species). To ensure reliable pollination from
compared to most native bees non-domesticated species, maintaining a
community of bees, rather than just one
c. Bees differ greatly in food & nesting
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/275/1648/2283.full

species, is necessary
requirements; we need to understand & Number of seeds in
plan for these differences pumpkins vs. number of d. Despite year-to-year composition variability,
 Food sources: generalists & specialists bee species pollination rates fairly constant in farms near
 Time of year food is needed natural areas – diversity acts as a buffer
 Nesting requirements: ground; wood; etc.
e. More species = greater pollination success
d. We need to better understand species-
f. Honey bees play a key role in pollinating
specific requirements in order to design
native plants – and probably don’t influence
We don’t notice native bees conservation plans that maintain pollination
the numbers & composition of native bees
unless we’re looking for function in natural and man-made habitats.
them © Project SOUND © Project SOUND

Kingdom Animalia (Animals) Bees have been around for millions of
 Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) years, evolving with the flowering plants
 Class Insecta (Insects)
 Early insects, in their rummaging
 Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
for food, inadvertently became
 Superfamily Apoidea (Bees) the agents of pollination; pollen
 Social Bees - True social insects. Communal nests are adhering to their bodies was
built in the soil (bumble bees) or in cavities (honey http://www3.telus.net/conrad/beevolve.htm transferred to the female organs
bees). Workers (sterile females) forage for nectar and of the plant.
pollen.
 Family Apidae -- bumble bees and honey bees Trigona prisca, A stingless  A mutualistic relationship
meliponine bee-- a fossil of which
 Solitary Bees - Adults construct individual nests and was preserved in Cretaceous resulted:
provision them with plant materials (usually nectar or amber 74-96 million years ago.  the plants benefitted by
pollen). increased pollination;
 Family Apidae (formerly Anthophoridae) -- carpenter bees
 and the insects were helping to
 Family Halictidae -- sweat bees
ensure a better supply of their
 Family Megachilidae -- leafcutting bees food source.
 Family Andrenidae: mining bees


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1/6/2013

Plants and insect pollinators became The pollination duet
intimately linked continues
 Even the structure of pollen, itself,
 Eventually, both plants and insects changed. Pollen transferred by insects
became more and more specialized or other animals usually has spines,
as a result of the pollinator http://www.earthzine.org/2008/02/14/buzzing-about-climate-change/ ridges or an adhesive surface which
relationship (co-evolution) aids in attaching to the animal vector.

 Many pollinator insects evolved  To attract pollinators, some plants
developed specialized organs, nectaries,
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/wildlife-habitat/science/critical-species/pollinators/
behavior and physiology completely
dependent upon the cycles of that secreted a sugary nectar, at the
base of the flower. This proved an
flowering plants.
adaptive advantage since the nectar, as
 Similarly, certain plants developed a food source, was a further attraction
to many insect species.
flower structures which
benefitted – or excluded -
http://hanesexterminating.com/insect_information

 Ultimately, the lifestyles of flowering
particular types of insects. And this explains why native bees plants and of pollinating insects became
are often the best pollinators for forever intertwined.
http://idoradesign.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html
© Project SOUND
native plants © Project SOUND

Is it a bee? The anatomy of a bee Is it a bee?  Most bees are hairy-bodied,
with multi-branched hairs
(resemble pipe-cleaners or
 Bees have four wings (two pair;
brushes) for carrying pollen.
difficult to see when folded over
the body).  Female bees can carry large
loads of pollen, either on
 Bees have long, elbowed
their legs or on their
antennae.
abdomen in a “scopa”.
 Bees have large, well separated
 If you see an insect toting a
eyes with three small eyes (or
load of pollen either on its
“ocelli”) on top of the head.
hind legs or beneath its
 Bees are more robust (i.e. abdomen, it is a female bee.
rounder bodies) than wasps and The pollen may be carried as a
flies; abdomen usually broad dry powder in a brush of hairs,
near thorax (vs. most wasps). or moistened with nectar to
form a clump or pellet.

© Project SOUND http://gardenbees.com/garden/gardpol.htm © Project SOUND

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1/6/2013

Lessons about pollination from ag research
What makes a bee a good pollinator?
2. Native bees are important pollinators –
when available in suitable numbers
 Anatomic adaptations
a. Native, unmanaged bee populations
 Size provide important pollination services in
nature & on the farm
 Fuzzy body
 Leg adaptations for b. Native bees provide up to 30-40% of
pollen capture/transport pollination on some CA organic farms

c. Native bee species are an undervalued
 Behavioral adaptations asset worth up to $2.4 billion to California
farmers
 Generalist feeding d. Honeybees are not always the most
http://www.rochester.edu/college/bio/labs/Minckley/Bee_Photos/Anthophora_californica.jpg patterns http://www.howdididoit.com/home-garden/how-to-
grow-hanging-tomato-plants/ effective pollinators of a given crop;
 ? Eusocial behavior native bees pollinate some crops not
Digger (Miner) Bee – a good pollinator pollinated by honey bees (cherry
 Long foraging range
tomatoes)

Native bees can be more efficient pollinators (on a Reasons for increased efficiency of some
bee-for-bee basis) native bees: specialization

 Example: 250 female blue orchard bees  High degree of specialization (some bee species).
(Osmia lignaria) can effectively pollinate  Example: Squash bees (genus Peponapis), for
example, primarily visit flowers of the squash family
an acre of apples; this would require one
to two honey bees hives, each containing  Better fit between flower structure & bee
15,000 to 20,000 workers. anatomy/behavior.
 Reasons for this increased efficiency:  Example: The stamen (the structure holding the
anthers) of alfalfa flowers is held under tension -
 Greater tolerance for cold and wet springs forward with force when released by a
weather. visiting bee. The alkali bee (Nomia melanderi), a
 Native bees usually must collect both native ground-nesting bee, is not discouraged by this
pollen and nectar, ensuring that they unusual flower structure and is a major pollinator of
contact the anthers (pollen-producing alfalfa seed in some western states.
structures); some honey bees just collect  Example: buzz pollination (sonication) - very
nectar. important for some plants such as blueberries,
cranberries, tomatoes and peppers
http://www.osmia.com/bluebee.htm

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1/6/2013

Sex & the single tomato plant Lessons about pollination from ag research
3. Agricultural and native ecosystems
 Tomato flowers do not produce nectar
are intimately linked:
 Some newer tomatoes are self- a. Crop-pollinating bee species are
pollinating (through breeding); old often generalists that pollinate many
varieties require cross-pollination native plants; restoring pollination
services for agriculture could also
 Tomato pollen is released from pores benefit wild plants and thereby
within the anthers (similar to salt promote conservation of biodiversity
being shaken from a salt shaker) across the agro-natural landscape.

 Pollen is generally accessible only to b. To maintain agricultural pollination
http://www.ericwallnursery.co.uk/glasshouse.html http://groups.ucanr.org/jacksonlab/Project_1/Biodiversity_and_Ecosystem_
Function_in_an_Organic_Farmscape_in_Y.htm

bees that use ‘buzz pollination’ – the services for the future, attention
Most visitors to tomato are ability to grasp a flower and must be given to a variety of
non-Apis bees, particularly
vigorously vibrate their flight strategies including both native
bumble bees; greenhouse ecosystem conservation and on-farm
muscles, releasing pollen from the
tomato growers use bumble management
bees extensively now anthers [sonication].


Lessons about pollination from ag research Applications to the home garden
4. Proximity matters
a. The presence native pollinators
strongly correlates with the
amount of native habitat nearby

b. Native bees venture farther into
agricultural fields than honey bees

c. The flight distance varies with
the size of the bee. Small sweat
bees and mining bees may not fly
more than 200 or 300 yards from
nest to forage area. Large bees
(bumble bees, for example) can
cross a mile or more of
inhospitable, flowerless landscape
to forage.
http://www.bucknell.edu/x37317.xml Attracting native bees has the potential to increase
yields for home vegetable & fruit crops

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1/6/2013

Urban pollinator habitat takes a neighborhood –
radius of about 6-10 houses What does it take to bee a good neighbor?
 Bee response to urban
habitat fragmentation was
best predicted by ecological
traits associated with
nesting and dietary breadth

 Provide the right habitat –
even in a small area – and
you can make a difference in
your neighborhood

Schools and other public lands provide the perfect venue to provide
both habitat and education to the neighborhood
The plant choices you make can benefit your entire
neighborhood

Lessons about pollination from ag research Characteristics of good native bee plants

5. Some plants are better nectar/  Long bloom season
pollen sources than others for
native bees  Many flowers (often individually
small – but many per plant)
a. Some crop species [Ex: squash]
are important nectar sources for  Produce both high quality nectar &
selected native bees [squash pollen
bees]
 Designed specifically to attract
b. Native plants provide nectar for bees:
both wild and honey bees
 Scent cues
c. The more intensive the planting of  Color/patterning
non-native farm crops, the less
 Shape: good place to land while
the bee species diversity – less
intensive organic farms had more nectaring
diversity & more open space


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1/6/2013

Plant families & genera that provide nectar & pollen The Sunflower family
for a wide range of native pollinators (Asteraceae) provides
important food in fall
 Arctostaphylos - Manzanitas
 Bloom in summer/ fall
 Ceanothus species
 Long bloom season
 Phacelia – Fiddlenecks Goldenbushes – Hazardia & Isocoma
 Nectar and pollen available
Eriogonum - Buckwheat
 Lamiaceae – Mint family to many types of pollinators
 Asclepias - Milkweeds (even ants, beetles)

 Polygonaceae – Buckwheat Family  Lots of small flowers

 Asteraceae – Sunflower family  Flower shape allows many
bees to land & feed/collect
 Clematis – Virgin’s Bowers
Grindelia - Gumplant Baccharis species

Sonoran Bumblebee -
Bombus sonorus Generalist & specialist pollinators
 All black head; thorax yellow,  Most native bees aren't too choosy (native; some non-native
with broad black band between garden plants; alien weeds); if they can reach the nectar or
the wings; abdomen yellow gather pollen, they can supply their nest.
except for the hind three
segments, which are black.  Some bees, however, are very choosy and will only gather
pollen from a small number of plant species. In extreme
 Early spring through summer cases, the bee may be restricted to just a single plant
species.
 Generalist pollinator – visits
many species to nectar  “Generalist” bee species visit a large variety of plants and
crops, in contrast to “specialist” bee species which forage on
a restricted group of plants.

 ‘Generalist’ pollinators can be extremely useful in both the
farm & garden setting

http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/SonoranBumblebee.shtml

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1/6/2013

Floral timing is also important when Black-tailed Bumblebee -
considering native pollinators Bombus melanopygus
edwardsii
 Social bees with a long-lived colony, such  More yellow on body
as bumble bees and honey bees, need
flowers blooming throughout the season.  most of California and
You will see these bees most of the year Southern Oregon
except when it is very cold
 Very early season
 Solitary bees usually have a much shorter
active period, often no more than five or  Works furiously polluting
six weeks, and have life cycles Arctostaphylos species,
synchronized with the blooming of Ribes species, (Native
preferred flower species. Gooseberries and Currants)
and some Cultivated Plum
 If you want to attract most native bees Varieties (early blooming).
(the solitary types) you need to plant the
Digger (Miner) Bee – summer appropriate species

Bumblebee life cycle
Bombus – the
 Bumble bees live in a colony
Bumblebees with a caste system of
workers, males and a single
egg-laying queen.

 > 250 known species; 45 in the U.S.  Similar to honey bees, bumble
bees construct a wax comb
 Large and hairy; black and yellow body hairs, often in bands.
 Bumble bees nest in cavities
 They are best distinguished from similarly large, fuzzy bees by the such as abandoned rodent
form of the female hind leg, which is modified to form a corbicula: a
burrows, brush piles and dried
shiny concave surface that is bare, but surrounded by a fringe of hairs
used to transport pollen (‘pollen bag’)
grass tussocks

 Like their relatives the honey bees, bumble bees feed on nectar and
 The colony grows through 3-4 generations and may have
gather pollen to feed their young. Believed to be responsible for the
pollination of approximately 25% of crops in northern California. several hundred workers at the peak in mid-summer.

 High metabolic rate (75% higher than a humming bird's!) allows them to  Unlike honey bees, bumble bee colonies do not survive over the
forage in early spring winter. However, the fertilized queens ‘hibernate’ until spring

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1/6/2013

What can we use to give the look of the
old crepe myrtle, and provide ‘bee food’?
 The following all provide many
flowers loved by bees:

 Early:
 Manzanitas (Arctostaphylos)

 Early/Mid-season
 California Lilac (Ceanothus)

 Late spring/summer
 Desert Willow (Chilopsis)
 Toyon
A typical front yard….  Summer Holly (Comarostaphylis)

Big Berry Manzanita – Arctostaphylos glauca Big Berry Manzanita – Arctostaphylos glauca
 CA foothills from central CA to Baja; includes
foothills of Mojave Desert mtns.

 Locally in Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mtns.

 Rocky slopes, chaparral, woodland < 4500 ft

 Soils range from sandy loam with considerable
coarse fragments to loam.

http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?3449,3454,3477

http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabu
s2/factsheet.cfm?ID=479


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1/6/2013

Big Berry is a large manzanita Flowers: Manzanita type
 Size:  Blooms:
 usually 8-12 ft tall; may reach 20  One of the earliest
 8-15 ft wide  usually Dec-Mar in our area

 Growth form:  Flowers: typical Manzanita
 Large woody shrub to small, multi-  Small pink flowers
branched tree; mounded shape  Urn-shaped; in terminal clusters
 Lovely branch structure – one of  Key early nectar source for bees
the ‘sculptural’ manzanitas and other early-season
 Peeling red bark – showy pollinators
 Can live 100+ years
 Fruits:
 Foliage:  Red ‘little apples’ of manzanita
 Evergreen; leaves pale blue-green  Relatively large (1/2”); edible
 Vertical orientation on branch –  Ripen in late spring/summer
looks very precise
 Vegetative reproduction: cannot
 Roots: relatively shallow re-sprout
http://www.researchlearningcenter.com/bloom/species/Arctostaphylos_glauca.htm http://www.answers.com/topic/dudleya

 Soils: Bigberry Manzanita: shrub or tree
Manzanita for sandy soils  Texture: well-drained, sandy
or rocky soils are best
 Easy-care shrub for slopes; good for
 pH: 6.0-7.5 is best
erosion control
 Light: full sun to light shade –  Specimen shrub; needs little pruning
typical chaparral shrub  As a small shade tree; open shade
 As a key shrub/tree for the habitat
 Water: garden: bees, butterflies, birds,
 Winter: needs good winter humans
rains; supplement w/ deep
waterings as needed
 Summer: treat as Zone 2 first
year; then Zone 1-2 or 1 for
Note: leaves and litter contain toxic mature plant. Don’t over-water
amounts of arbutin and phenolic acids. mature plants (fungal diseases)
These compounds allelopathically inhibit
germination and growth of annuals for a  Fertilizer: none; likes poor soils
distance of 3.3 to 6.6 feet (1-2 m) from
the edge of the canopy drip line  Other: use an organic mulch http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/arctostaphylos-glauca


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1/6/2013

Converting your yard to bee habitat: one Lessons about pollination from ag research
step at a time
6. Size matters:
a. More native plants = more
native bees; around 30-40%
optimal for watermelons, but
even less provides some
pollination service
b. Amount of native vegetation
nearby is best predictor of
pollinator services; even 10%
http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/news/nealwilliams.html by area increases pollination
rates
c. You can achieve native flower
density with a few big plants
http://www.movoto.com/real-estate/homes-for-sale/CA/Los-Angeles/960-Manzanita-St-204_11-512831.htm or lots of small ones
Each time you add a food source or create
a nesting site you improve the
Neighborhood Pollinator Preserve

* White Coast Ceanothus – Ceanothus verrucosus * White Coast Ceanothus – Ceanothus verrucosus
 Strictly coastal (western San Diego County
and adjacent Baja California)

 Possibly collected by Theodore Payne from
Seven Oaks (LA Co.) in 1919

 Dry hills, mesas, chaparral; elevation < 900‘

 AKA ‘Wart-stemmed Ceanothus’
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?6586,6589,6653

© 2010 Andrew Borcher

© Project SOUND http://the-chaparral-sage.blogspot.com/2009/03/ceanothus-verrucosus.html
© Project SOUND
J.S. Peterson @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database

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1/6/2013

White Coast Ceanothus: large shrub One of the best white-
flowered Ceanothus
 Size:
 6-12 ft tall  Blooms: very early – usually Jan-
April
 6-8 ft wide
 Flowers:
 Growth form:
 Usually white; occ. light blue
 Evergreen shrub or small
tree; rounded shape
J.S. Peterson @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
 Many tiny ceanothus flowers
in tight ball-like clusters at
 Fast growth – at first
ends of branches
 Dense, stiff branches with
 Really showy – looks like
gray bark & small ‘wart-like’
covered in snow or white
bumps (leaf attachment)
Crepe Myrtle
 Foliage:  Sweet scent attracts bees &
other pollinators
 Shiny dark green above;
hairy & white beneath  Fruit:
 Simple, rounded leaves
 Dark sticky fruit in summer –
birds love it
© 2003 Charles E. Jones © 2006 Steve Matson
© 2009 Michelle Cloud-Hughes © Project SOUND © Project SOUND

Chaparral shrub  Soils: Shrub or tree: your choice
 Texture: well-drained a must;
sandy or rocky best  Low-care plant for slopes
 pH: any local; 6.0-7.0 optimal  Background evergreen shrub in
 Light: dry gardens
 In nature on N-facing slopes  Trained as a small tree
 Full sun along coast; part-
shade in hotter inland © 2006 Steve Matson
 As an informal or clipped (semi-
formal) hedge or screen
 Water:
 Winter: needs adequate water
 Summer: low needs once
established – Zone 1-2 probably
best (1-2 times per summer) in
most soils; to Zone 2 in sandy

 Fertilizer: none; likes poor soils

 Other: organic mulch recommended
http://www.soenyun.com/Blog/tag/ceanothus-verrucosus/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Slope_effect.JPG © Project SOUND © Project SOUND

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1/6/2013

Yellow-faced Bumble Bee *Desert-willow – Chilopsis linearis
Bombus vosnesenskii
 Most common bumblebee of
California ; San Diego throughout
most of California (except the
desert areas) to British Columbia

 Largely a summer bee - most of the
hive living from April to September

 Wide generalist feeder
 Slow and easy to photograph
 Nests in the ground, commonly in
old gopher holes.
 Has a wicked sting, and they can
sting repeatedly - but only when
provoked

Toyon/California Christmas Berry – Not all situations are suitable for native pollinator
Heteromeles arbutifolia plants: good, productive alternatives

© Project SOUND

14

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