Benefits of Bees and How to Attract Them

Imagine a world without buzzing bees. Many plants would produce fewer fruits and seeds. Some fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds would become harder and more costly to grow. Honey production would also stop.

We would not lose every kind of food. Crops such as wheat, rice, and corn do not depend much on bees. However, our diets would have fewer healthy and colorful foods.

Bees may be small, but they do an important job in gardens, farms, and wild areas.

Benefits of Bees in the Garden and the Environment

Bees help flowering plants make fruits and seeds. Their work supports people, animals, and many parts of nature.

1. Bees Pollinate Plants

Bees are among the world’s most important pollinators. A pollinator carries pollen from one flower to another. This allows many plants to make fruits and seeds.

Bees visit flowers to collect nectar and pollen. Nectar gives them energy, while pollen provides protein and other important nutrients.

As bees move between flowers, grains of pollen stick to the tiny hairs on their bodies. Some of this pollen rubs off when they visit the next flower.

Many fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds benefit from visits by bees and other pollinators. These foods include apples, berries, cucumbers, pumpkins, melons, almonds, and squash.

Wild bees are also important pollinators. Some are better suited to certain flowers and crops than honey bees are.

Not every plant depends on bees. Wind, birds, bats, butterflies, moths, beetles, and other animals can also move pollen. Some plants can pollinate themselves. Still, bees carry out a large share of insect pollination.

2. Bees Support the Food Chain

Honey bees make and store honey as food for their colony. People have collected and enjoyed this honey for thousands of years.

However, most bee species do not make the kind of honey sold in stores. Most bees also live alone instead of in large hives.

Bees are part of the food chain. Birds, spiders, dragonflies, and other animals may eat them.

Bees also help feed wildlife by pollinating plants that produce fruits and seeds.

3. Bees Support Wild Plants and Animals

Bees do more than pollinate food crops. They also visit wildflowers, shrubs, and trees.

These plants may provide food, nesting places, and shelter for birds, insects, and other animals.

By helping wild plants produce fruits and seeds, bees support a wide variety of living things. This makes them important to healthy gardens, farms, forests, and other habitats.

Why Are Bees Important for Food?

Bees help pollinate many of the healthy foods we eat.

When bees visit flowers, they help plants produce fruits and seeds. Apples, blueberries, strawberries, cucumbers, pumpkins, almonds, and many other crops benefit from their work.

Not every food crop needs bees. Wheat, rice, and corn are mainly pollinated by wind or do not depend on insects for pollination.

However, without bees, many fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds could become harder and more expensive to produce. Farmers may also get smaller harvests or lower-quality produce when flowers do not receive enough pollinator visits.

What Would Happen If Bees Disappeared?

We would not lose every kind of food if bees disappeared. However, many fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds would become harder and more costly to produce.

Wild plants would also produce fewer fruits and seeds. This could leave birds, insects, and other animals with less food and fewer places to shelter.

Other pollinators would continue helping plants. However, they could not replace all the work done by thousands of bee species.

A world without bees would have less variety in nature and fewer of the foods we enjoy.

Why Are Some Bee Populations Declining?

There are more than 20,000 known bee species around the world [1]. Some species are doing well, while others are declining or facing serious threats.

Wild bees and managed honey bees do not all face the same problems. However, several dangers can affect their health.

These include:

• Loss of flowers and nesting places
• Insecticides and other pesticides
• Parasites and diseases
• Poor nutrition
• Changes in weather and climate

When wild areas are replaced with roads, lawns, and buildings, bees may lose flowers and safe nesting places.

Some insecticides can kill bees or harm their health. Herbicides may remove flowering plants that provide nectar and pollen. The Environmental Protection Agency has taken steps to reduce pollinators’ contact with harmful pesticides [2].

Climate change may also affect when plants flower. If flowers bloom before or after certain bees are active, the bees may struggle to find enough food.

Planting a variety of flowers and protecting nesting areas can help support local bees.

Common Types of Bees

Honey bees, bumblebees, and mason bees are among the best-known types. However, there are also leafcutter bees, mining bees, carpenter bees, sweat bees, and many others.

Mason Bees

Most mason bees live alone instead of in large colonies. Each female usually prepares her own nest.

Mason bees are very good pollinators, especially for fruit trees. Their furry bodies carry dry, loose pollen from flower to flower.

They get their name because some species use mud or clay to build walls between the cells in their nests. This is similar to how a mason uses bricks and mortar.

Mason bees often nest in small holes in wood or hollow plant stems.

Honey Bees

Honey bees are important managed pollinators. Farmers may place honey bee colonies near crops during the flowering season.

A honey bee colony usually has one queen, thousands of female worker bees, and male bees called drones.

Worker bees do most of the jobs in the hive. They collect nectar and pollen, care for young bees, clean the hive, and protect the colony.

In cold weather, honey bees eat stored honey and gather closely together to stay warm. In warmer places, they may remain active for much of the year.

European honey bees were brought to North America by European settlers during the 1600s [3]. However, North America already had thousands of native bee species.

Bumblebees

Bumblebees are large, furry bees that live in colonies. Many of them nest underground, although some use other sheltered spaces.

In many bumblebee species, only the young, mated queens survive the winter. They start new colonies when warm weather returns.

Bumblebees can pollinate certain flowers by vibrating their flight muscles. This shakes pollen loose from the flower. This action is called buzz pollination.

Tomatoes, blueberries, cranberries, and some other plants benefit from this kind of pollination.

How to Attract Bees to Your Garden

You can help bees by giving them flowers, water, and safe nesting places.

Plant Bee-Friendly Flowers

Plant several kinds of flowers that bloom at different times. This gives bees food for a longer part of the year.

Choose flowers with open centers that bees can reach easily. Some flowers with many tightly packed petals may offer little nectar or pollen.

Native flowers are often a good choice because they can provide the food local bees need. Choose plants that grow well in your climate and soil.

Bee-friendly plants may include:

• Asters
• Bee balm
• Black-eyed Susans
• Coneflowers
• Goldenrod
• Lavender
• Oregano
• Poppies
• Rosemary
• Sunflowers
• Zinnias

Other bee-friendly flowers can also provide nectar and pollen.

Marigolds may attract some pollinators, especially when you choose simple flowers with open centers.

Mint can also attract bees, but it spreads quickly. Grow it in a container if you do not want it to take over your garden.

Shrubs such as lilac may attract bees and other helpful insects. Buddleia, also called butterfly bush, attracts pollinators but can spread into wild areas in some regions. Check your local rules before planting it.

Foxglove attracts bees, but every part of the plant is poisonous if eaten. Keep it away from young children and pets.

Provide Safe Water

Bees need water just like other animals.

Place a shallow dish of clean water in the garden. Add stones, pebbles, or pieces of cork that rise above the water. These give bees safe places to land and help prevent them from drowning.

Change the water often to keep it clean and help prevent mosquitoes from breeding.

Healthy bees usually do not need bowls of honey or sugar water. These can attract ants, wasps, and other unwanted visitors.

Give Bees Places to Nest

Most bee species are solitary. This means that each female builds and cares for her own nest.

Many solitary bees build nests in the ground. Others use hollow stems, soft plant stems, or small holes in wood [4].

If possible, leave a small patch of bare, well-drained soil in a quiet area. Avoid covering every part of the garden with thick mulch.

Some solitary bees nest inside hollow or soft plant stems. Leave old stems standing through winter. If you cut them in spring, leave about 12 to 18 inches of each stem standing.

Place the cut stems in a quiet, dry part of the garden for at least another year. This gives any young bees inside time to emerge safely.

Use Pesticides Carefully

Avoid spraying pesticides when bees are visiting flowers.

Before using any garden product, read and follow the label. Never use more than the recommended amount.

Try other methods first. You may be able to remove pests by hand, use row covers, or encourage helpful insects.

If you must use a pesticide, choose the least harmful option that will solve the problem. Avoid treating open flowers. If the label allows evening use, apply the product after bees have stopped visiting for the day.

Fun Facts About Bees

• There are more than 20,000 known bee species in the world [1].
• Most bee species live alone instead of in hives.
• Male honey bees are called drones.
• Worker honey bees are female.
• Honey bees use a special dance to tell other workers where to find food.
• Bumblebees can vibrate flowers to shake pollen loose.
• Bees have five eyes.
• Bees can see ultraviolet light, which people cannot see.
• Some flowers have ultraviolet markings that guide bees toward nectar and pollen.
• Honey bees store honey as food for their colony.
• Many solitary bees rarely sting because they do not have a large colony to protect.
• Some bees are smaller than a grain of rice.

Where to Buy Flower Seeds

Ready to help bees in your garden? Start by planting several kinds of flowers that provide nectar and pollen.

You can purchase pollinator-friendly seed mixes from SeedsNow or another trusted seed seller.

Choose a seed mix made for your growing region. Check the plant list before buying because some general wildflower mixes may contain plants that spread too quickly in certain areas.

Takeaway

Bees are helpful garden insects that support farms, wild plants, and many other animals.

They do much more than make honey. Bees help many flowering plants produce fruits and seeds. Their work gives us a wider variety of healthy foods and helps natural areas remain healthy.

You can support bees by planting a variety of flowers, choosing native plants, providing shallow water, protecting nesting areas, and using pesticides carefully.

Even a small bee-friendly garden can make a difference.