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bees

Pollinators and Your Vegetable Garden: A Win-Win Deal!

May 28, 2018

Have you heard news reports that bees—especially honey bees—are in trouble? Media coverage often explains the vital role that bees play in our food production, attributing “every third bite” to these industrious creatures! There is so much more to know—and you can observe much of it in your own vegetable garden.

Squash Blossom & Honey Bee_Livin' Spoonful_CC BY-NC-ND 2.0_Flickr
Honey bee pollinating squash blossom

So, what is pollination? Plants, like animals, share a single purpose: to reproduce and create the next generation of their species. Unlike animals, plants cannot go in search of mates, so they need the help of pollinators to move pollen from the male part (anthers) of their flowers to the female parts (stigmas). Pollination is the first step in plants’ reproductive cycles, which ends with seeds that contain the makings of new life—the next generation!

So, what does the bee get out of this deal? While the wind, other insects, and even mammals, such as bats pollinate some plants, bees are the most well-known because they feed only on flowers. Yes, bees are vegetarians! They get carbohydrates from nectar and protein and lipids (fats) from pollen. Plants often produce nectar (the sugary syrup that plants make to bait pollinators) at the base of their flowers where pollinators must brush against the pollen-laden anthers and then inadvertently transfer it to a sticky stigma. But bees are not accidental pollinators. They forage for protein, carrying it either in the pollen baskets on their rear legs or in the scopa beneath their abdomens.

And, what do WE get out of this pollination deal? That’s easy: fresh, delicious, and nutritious food. And more than the food, we also gain an understanding and appreciation for nature’s beauty and complexity with real hands-on learning. Watch a squash bee stir early one morning after overnighting at the base of a bright golden flower on your pumpkin vine. See and hear a big fuzzy bumble bee grasp a tomato blossom, vibrate her wing muscles to generate buzzing at the perfect frequency to cause that plant’s anthers to release its pollen. Notice how the ground-nesting bumble bees and Southeastern blueberry bees pollinate blueberries, while the honey bee and the carpenter bee cut slits in the blueberry blossom petals to rob the nectar without touching the pollen!

Knowing more about pollination can help make you a more successful gardener and a better steward of the land.

Article written by Diane Almond, Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteer.

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Categories Beneficial Insects Tags bees, pollination, pollinators, vegetable gardens

Kids Post: Give Mason Bees a Helping Hand—Build a House

April 17, 2017

Mason Bee_US Dept of Ag_CC BY 2.0_Flickr
Mason bee on flower

The tiny WNC native bee
I recently remembered the tiny mason bee (Osmia lignaria)—an insect native to Western North Carolina—while looking for a project for parents or Scout leaders to do with children. These busy pollinators hatch out around this time of year and get to work on the earliest spring blooms. They are especially at home in orchards, but pollinate wildflowers, azaleas, and other flowering shrubs, as well as fruit trees. They are said to pollinate faster than honeybees, and after 4 to 6 weeks of activity, they’re gone!

Providing for the children_Martin Cooper_CC BY 2.0_Flickr
Time sequence of female mason bee preparing tubes for egg laying

Homes for mason bees
The solitary mason bees do not live in hives. In the wild, they use hollow brambles or stone crevices. Females gather mud to form cells in which to lay their eggs. Each cell contains pollen and nectar to nourish the egg. The eggs will hatch the following spring. You’ll see mason bee “homes” for sale in garden catalogs, some for as much as $50. These homes are either chunks of wood with small holes drilled into them, or shelters with short lengths of  bamboo cut and stacked inside.

Make a mason bee house
When I was a kid, I made mason bee houses from an empty can and paper straws. So I thought I’d try it again to see if it was as fun and easy as I remembered.

Start with a coffee can
Start with a small coffee can—a good size for the bee’s 6- to 8-inch-long nesting tubes. Wash the can thoroughly and dry it in the sun to get rid of the coffee smell. Use a can opener to make a triangle opening on the bottom. I spray-painted the can and gave it a day or two to dry.

Construct nesting tubes
The next step is to create the nesting tubes. Use paper straws—not plastic,  which can mold and infect the nest. You can make your own straws using baking parchment paper. Roll the parchment around a pencil and fasten it with school glue.

Small diameter bamboo canes are an alternative to straws. Cut them into 6- to 8-inch lengths, making sure the edges are smooth and there are no knots in the bamboo, because Mason bees have very delicate wings.

Start with coffee can
Construct nesting tubes; insert into can
Mason bee house for sale

Hang your house outdoors in February
Hang your house near an early-blooming tree, shrub, or flower. Make sure the home is in the sun, at least 3 feet off the ground, and stable. The bees will not use a house that swings in the wind.

Find a protected place for safekeeping
After the bees finish nesting in late June, take down your house and put it in a safe place until February. A cool, dry place, like an unheated garage, shed, or basement is perfect. The paper tubes are delicate and will likely collapse if left out year-round. Even houses with bamboo tubes should be brought in to keep winter-hungry birds from devouring your bees. Next year, put the tubes back out in the sun and wait for the bees to emerge.

Mason bee facts
– Male mason bees hatch first, wait around for the females, then die soon after mating.
– Mason bees rarely sting unless trapped underfoot or inside clothing.
– The bees will not reuse the straws or bamboo tubes. If you want to hang another house next year, you will need to replace them. 

Blue Orchard Bee_Osmia lignaria_Seabrooke Leckie_CC BY-NC-NC 2.0_Flickr
Blue orchard mason bee (Osmia lignaria); male
Mason bee (Osmia rufa)_bramblejungle_CC BY-NC 2.0_Flickr
Red mason bee (Osmia rufa); female
Mason Bee (Osmia lignaria)_John Brandauer_CC BY-NC-ND 2.0_Flickr
Mason bee (Osmia lignaria); size of man’s fingernail

Author’s note
You may have heard about the decline of honeybees. Scientists are trying to understand the reasons for hive collapses and find solutions. Unfortunately, our native bee species are having difficulties, too. Providing safe habitats is one way to give them a helping hand. 

Article written by Nancy Good, Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteer.

Resources
How to raise and manage orchard mason bees for the home garden:
https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Other/note109/note109.html

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Categories Gardening for Children Tags bees, beneficial insects, children's project, mason bees, pollinators

Local Pollinator Habitat to Visit

March 31, 2016

In 2010 the Southeastern Research Station (SRS) of the US Forest Service contacted the Buncombe County Master Gardener office for help in creating a landscape project to comply with a new US Secretary of Agriculture mandate and be part of the People’s Gardens initiative. At the time, there was no budget of dollars or hours, and a tour of the property revealed several extremely challenging sites. imageThanks to the dedication and passion of a hard-working crew of Master Gardeners and employees of the SRS, the garden took shape. Individuals, nurseries and the Botanical Gardens of Asheville (just across the street) donated plants which went into the ground in June.

During that record-breaking hot, dry summer it was a struggle just to keep the plants alive, and we wondered if we had attempted the impossible. When a small work crew gathered one blistering hot day, we could not believe our eyes: a monarch caterpillar had eaten the foliage on the five small butterfly weeds (asclepias tuberosa) we had planted. How had the mother butterfly found this minuscule patch of host plants for her eggs!? Fast forward five years to a thriving habitat teeming with life and sporting signage donated and installed by a local scout troop. The garden is a reflection of what a small, dedicated team can accomplish, especially when they plant the right plants in the right place.image Remember the adage about perennials and many wood shrubs. First year they sleep, second year they creep and third year they leap. Most plants, even tough natives best suited to the area, do best with some TLC the first year. The biggest problem with new plants is drying them out. The second is drowning them, especially if they were planted too deeply. The return on the investment of time, energy, and resources during that first year establishing the pollinator garden continues to boom. A dead zone that supported no wildlife now buzzes with activity almost year round.

Please visit the People’s Garden Mondays-Fridays, 8:30 to 5, for a self-guided tour. While you’re in the area, be sure to visit the Pollinator Habitat established throughout the UNCA campus, details of which can be found at https://facilities.unca.edu/pollinator-gardens-unc-asheville .

Master Gardeners also work with many area school gardens. Several of these are pollinator specific or pollinator-friendly including the expansion of the Vance Peace Garden. Vance Peace GardenEven though the ideal pollinator habitat is round rather than linear, the L-shaped border of the garden works beautifully. Once again, success is due in large part to a hardworking, dedicated team. In the case of Vance Peace Garden that team included an active parent group, teachers, Master Gardeners, Bee City USA and even the funding and hard work of local hummus producer, ROOTS.Vance Peace Garden

In June 2012, Asheville became the first certified Bee City USA. Since then nearly 20 other cities from Wilmington, North Carolina to Seattle, Washington have joined the movement, and a sister organization, Bee Campus USA was launched. For plenty of good information and stories, along with excellent resources, be sure to visit http://www.beecityusa.org .

USDA Bee Lab Leader, Jeff Pettis & Diane Almond
Dr. Jeff Pettis, Research Leader of the USDA Research Lab with Diane Almond

This is the final post in our pollinator series written by Diane Almond, Extension Master Gardener Volunteer and Master Beekeper.

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Categories Pollinator Gardens Tags Bee City USA, bees, honeybees, pollinator gardens

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