Make your backyard more bee-utiful this spring!
For many, the ideal spring garden is colored with blooming flowers and and filled with the busy sounds buzzing of bees. Have you ever thought about what kinds of bees those might be? You might imagine honey bees or bumble bees, but did you know there are hundreds of native bee species in North Carolina alone?! In this month’s Habitat at Home, learn about some of our lesser-known native bees and what you can do to bring these docile, beneficial pollinators to your garden.
More Than Honey Bees
North Carolina is home to hundreds of native bees – and the honey bee isn’t one of them! In fact, the honey bee we know and love is originally from Europe! Most native bees here in WNC are solitary bees, or bees that live alone instead of living in a hive.
The mason bee and the leaf cutter bee are good examples of native solitary bees. These species of bees cannot build their own tunnels, instead laying their eggs in pre-existing tunnels in wood. In the wild these tunnels are made by other insects, but humans can provide ‘bee hotels’ by drilling holes in wood pieces and placing them in the garden, or fitting together even pieces of bamboo. Both mason bees and leaf cutter bees can be found in North Carolina, and are likely to visit a ‘bee hotel’ if you build one! Using mud or cut leaves, these bees will create compartments to lay individual eggs, leaving them to grow up on their own. Leaf cutter bees even create a ‘wallpaper’ using leaves to protect their eggs from moisture in the wood.
