Protecting bees in your garden and on the farm
Thanks to beekeepers, honeybees aren’t in danger of disappearing completely, even with the added problems of the varroa mite. Unfortunately, because of varroa, wild populations of honeybees are all but gone. Native bumblebees also require our help.
You can help by promoting an environment that encourages bees to visit your garden. Please note that the Save The Bees Petition has been extended until the end of June. The petition can be signed at Rural Service Centre, the Vet Clinic, and GB Organics. The following are other things you can do.
Provide water: Like all living things, bees require a constant supply of water. Provide a shallow pond in your garden where bees can land on the margins to collect water. Place rocks or grow water lilies in deeper water to provide bees with a safe drinking platform. Wet sand in a large shallow bowl is another way. By providing a water source in your garden you avoid bees visiting your neighbour’s pool for drinks.
Pollen and nectar: Ornamental plants can direct bees to your garden, but not just any flower will do. If you aim to attract honeybees, you’ll need bee-friendly flowers that produce ample amounts of pollen and nectar.
Interestingly, bees can clearly perceive only four colours: yellow, blue-green, blue, and ultraviolet. Yellow, the colour of most pollen, is a bee favourite. Regardless of the colour, if a blossom doesn’t provide enough pollen or nectar, bees will totally ignore it. Interestingly, most modern ornamentals, such as hybrid roses, no longer produce enough pollen and nectar. For the best bee lures, plant old-fashioned or heirloom varieties.
Don’t feed honey or sugar water to birds or bees. The bees will consume it all and then come looking in your house for more. Plant for them instead.
Protecting bees: The most serious danger to foraging honeybees is the indiscriminate use of pesticides and other chemicals in the garden. This is just another reason to be organic and spray-free. When it comes to controlling garden pests, simple home remedies can save the bees. For example, you can eliminate a variety of destructive insects, including aphids, by spraying infested plants with a fast jet of water from a hose. One organic spray, pyrethrum, is very toxic to bees. If you must use it, make sure it is late in the evening when the bees are back in the hive.
Don’t mow: Let a small patch of lawn grow long. Bees love clover and dandelions.
Your safety: Rest assured that foraging honeybees rarely sting while away from the hive. If threatened, they usually fly away. Even so, if you are buzzed by a curious bee, it’s a bad idea to swat at her. Simply walk away. Amusingly, honeybees tend to fly in straight lines, so you can usually shake a pursuing bee by weaving or running around a tree. Just hope your neighbours aren’t watching. Avoid wearing perfumes when you’re in the garden: bees will be attracted to you. Bees are attracted to blue clothing, so avoid wearing blue in garden.
Best blooms for bees: Because foraging honeybees (they are all girls) put in 12-hour shifts, they tend to visit only one type of flower at a time. So, they might find a solid mass of sunflowers more alluring than a bed filled with mixed flowers. For the best results, make sure their favourite pollen and nectar-producing blooms are continuously available in your garden throughout the year. Below is a smorgasbord of best bets.
Trees: Alders (Alnus spp), apples and crabapples (Malus spp), Viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium), lime (Tilia spp), orange (Citrus sinensis), tupelos (Nyssa spp), cherries, peaches, plums (Prunus spp), hazelnuts (Corylus spp), maples (Acer spp), oaks (Quercus spp), persimmons (Diospyros spp), sycamores (Platanus spp), willows (Salix spp).
Perennials/annuals: Alyssum (Lobularia maritima), anise hyssop, (Agastache foeniculum), bee balm (Monarda didyma), black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia spp), basil, borage (Borago officinalis), butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberose), catmints (Nepeta spp), chives (Allium schoenoprasum), cosmos (Cosmos spp), globe thistles (Echinops spp), lamb’s’ ears (Stachys byzantina), lavenders (Lavendula spp), milkweeds (Asclepias spp), oreganos (Origanum spp), pot marigold (Calendula officinalis), sages and salvias (Salvia spp), summer phlox (Phlox paniculata), thymes (Thymus spp), sedum (Sedum spectabile), sunflowers (Helianthus spp), verbenas (Verbena spp).
Native trees and shrubs for bees: Native plants are the best choice to increase on-farm native biodiversity and benefit both the honey bee and the environment. Cabbage tree (Cordyline australis). Five-finger (Pseudopanax arboreus). Horoeka (Pseudopanax crassifolius). Kāmahi (Weinmannia racemosa). Kānuka (Kunzea ericoides). Kohuhu (Pittosporum tenuifolium). Koromiko (Hebe salicifolia). Lemonwood (Pittosporum eugenioides). Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium). Matagouri (Discaria toumatou). Narrow-leaf lacebark (Hoheria angustifolia). Ngaio (Myoporum laetum). NZ flax (Phormium tenax). Ramarama (Lophomyrtus bullata). Rata (Metrosideros robusta). Ribbonwood (Plagianthus regius). Scented broom (Carmichaelia odorata). South Island kowhai (Sophora prostrata). Southern Rata (Metrosideros umbellata). Weeping kowhai (Sophora microphylla). Weeping matipo (Myrsine divaricata). Westland quintinia (Quintinia acutifolia). Wharangi (Melicope ternata). Whiteywood (Melicytus ramiflorus).
Non-native trees and shrubs for bees: Exotic plants are good choices because many are multi-purpose for farming and have excellent pollen and nectar. Apple (Malus × domestica). Bottlebrush (Callistemon spp). Grevillea (Grevillea spp). Lavender (Lavandula spp). Pear (Pyrus communis). Red flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia). Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis). Tree lucerne (Chamaecytisus palmensis). Weeping willow (Salix babylonica). White ironbark (Eucalyptus leucoxylon).
Submitted by Anne Gentleman
