Looking at planting more in your garden? Here are 5 easy ways to create a bee friendly garden and the science behind it.
What is a pollinator?
A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from plant to plant. Some pollinators are insects like bees, butterflies, moths, flies, and wasps. They can be birds like the tui, bellbird, and hummingbird. There are also mammal pollinators such as bats, honey possums and lemurs.
In this blog post, I’m going to focus mainly on bees as the pollinator of interest. Leave a comment if you want to know more about other pollinators and how they help the ecosystem.
Why is the Pollinator and Plant Relationship Important?
Bees and plants have a very special mutualistic relationship, where bees and plants benefit from each other. Bees give the plants a way of transporting their pollen to the female part of the plant (stigma). Plants need these pollinators as plants are fixed in one spot so they can’t move to find a mate. Bees move pollen for plants, to get nectar which is a reward for pollination. Bees then use nectar as a food source for the hive, especially in the winter months.
Why do we need pollinators?
Jeff Ollertons study states that “Most flowering plants are pollinated by animals; a recent global estimate suggests that 87.5% of angiosperms utilize invertebrates or vertebrates in this way”. Angiosperms are plants that have flowers, and once pollinated they produce fruits, which hold their seeds. Bees are essential for the pollination of flowering plants.
What are the different types of bees?
The three main types of bees are honeybees, bumble bees and solitary bees. They all pollinate flowers but have different social structures and habitats.
Diet of Bees
Bees need three things in their diet to maintain a healthy hive. These are water, nectar, and pollen. Honeybees use nectar to make into honey. Which they can store up for the winter months in the hive. Pollen gives the proper vitamins and minerals to make sure the hive is healthy.
Why do we need bee friendly gardens?
Bees’ habitat is being fragmented, which means ideal habitat is being split into smaller parts which can create biodiversity islands. Fragmentation can be because of urbanization, deforestation, or agricultural farming. Fragmentation of habitat is bad for pollinators, as this increases the length pollinators fly from their hive to suitable feeding grounds. So by creating bee friendly gardens, this will help increase the bee’s habitat, reduce the flying distance and supply them with pollen, nectar and water.
5 easy ways to create a Bee Friendly Garden
1. Reduce Chemical Sprays, especially ones containing Neonicotinoids
Neonicotinoids are a type of insecticide, used to kill target pest insect species in agriculture and gardens. They also can affect non-target species like pollinators, aquatic insects, and birds. Neonicotinoids are designed to affect the nervous system of insects. Which acts by binding to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the central nervous system of insects. Causing overstimulation of their nerve cells which results in paralysis and then death. National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health.
An Environmental Science and Technology study says that neonicotinoids are highly soluble in water. This means neonicotinoids are able to dissolve into water and get washed off from rain or watering of plants. Which can lead to contamination in waterways like streams, groundwater and wetlands.
To reduce the impact of insecticides on bees, try to eliminate neonicotinoids as much as possible.
The following link is the work of The Great Sunflower Project. This is a list of common garden products which contain neonicotinoids.
https://www.greatsunflower.org/GardenNeonictinoids
2. Plant more bee friendly plants and trees
Native Pollinators
Many native pollinators have coevolved with native plants. This is where the plant is designed in a way where only one or a handful of pollinators know how to pollinate that plant. The flower could be a different shape e.g. long tube or smaller blooms.
The book Bee Friendly Garden states that “studies show that flowering hedgerows of native plants planted around agricultural fields have about 80 percent beneficial insects dwelling in them and 20 percent pest insects; they also foster many species of bees”. This study shows native plants are very attractive to beneficial pollinators.
Many native pollinators are endangered, especially where there is high amounts of deforestation and urbanisation. So, by planting more native trees and flowers, we can all help increase our native pollinators.
Introduced Pollinators
Most introduced bees (e.g. domesticated honeybees) are generalists which means they can pollinate a wide variety of plants. So, they prefer plants that have open blooms as it is easy to access the nectar and pollen.
Year Round Pollination
Depending on the lifecycle of different types of bees and the climate in your country, some bees may be hibernating for a period of the year, or they may be around for the whole year. This means it’s beneficial for bees and other pollinators to have a range of flowering plants in every season so they can continue to thrive in your garden.
Bees colour spectrum
Bees have a light spectrum of around 300 to 650 nm. This means the bees can see in the ultraviolet spectrum, but they can’t see the colour red. For a bee-friendly garden add yellow, white, blue and purple flowers to attract the most pollinators. Some flowers also have UV patterns on their petals which are called honeyguides. Although humans are unable to see these, honeyguides point pollinators towards the nectar and pollen for easy pollination.
Bees and Trees
Insects use trees mainly for habitats and a food sources. In this study by Philip Donkersley, he says that woody habitats e.g. trees and hedgerows give pollinators an optimised foraging area, compared to areas that are open land. He also says “Planting trees may attract more pollinators and offer greater conservation value to these threatened species.”
Trees generally have higher amounts of flowers per unit area of foraging, compared to flower gardens. Pollinators will live in old hollow trees or holes in living trees. But high amounts of urbanisation and deforestation have reduced the amounts of trees found in many landscapes. Trees provide benefits to humans from shade, to fruit and decoration. By planting more flowering trees on your property, you are helping pollinators, which will give you and your family benefits as well.
3. Water For the Bees
Water is key to pollinators survival. But the type of water or how it’s given to the pollinators can be either beneficial or detrimental for them.
No Sugar Water
Sugar water is not ideal for bees in home gardens. This is because sugar water is an easy source of carbohydrates which would normally be found in the nectar of plants. This means pollinators can neglect their instincts to pollinate plants by drinking sugar water instead if it is provided. This can disrupt ecosystems as flowering plants will have less pollination. Therefore, you may have a smaller crop size of fruits and vegetables on your property, if you give pollinators sugar water.
Water for plants and bees
Hose Link recommends watering plants early in the morning. As this allows for more absorption and less evaporation from the sun. Pollinators are ectotherms which means they need external sources of energy to increase their body heat. This means that you won’t disturb any pollinators while watering in the morning, as they aren’t active at this time. Morning watering also leaves little pockets of water in some of the flowers which the bees can naturally collect.
Water Station
According to Apiculture New Zealand, bees get very thirsty when they are out foraging for food. So they recommend providing them with a reliable water source. This could be as simple as a saucer with twigs and pebbles, which bees can use to stand on while they drink.
Tips for Bees Water Station
Make sure to put the water in a cool spot in summer to minimize algae growth. In winter months make sure the water source is placed where the water can’t freeze over. This scientific article Providing Honey Bees With Water, recommends keeping the water in the saucer between 21 and 27 degrees Celsius.
It is also good to replace the water every few days to remove algae or build-up of debris in the water. Make sure the water level is under the rocks and twigs, so bees can have a stable place to drink, reducing the chance of them drowning.
4. Grow your own Fruit and Vegetables and/or buy Organic
Growing Your Own Food
The more we can be self-reliant in producing our food the better. This means we know exactly where our food came from and what fertilisers and pesticides were used. Being out in nature growing your own food can also give you positive mental health benefits. As well as providing you and your family food which is nutrient dense as its fresh from your garden to the table.
If you live in an apartment you can grow vegetables in vegepods, buckets, pots or even just grow a little herb garden. Just make sure it’s out on a balcony or somewhere where bees and other pollinators can access the flowers.
If you live on a larger property, you can plant your own bee friendly food forest, citrus orchard, vegetable garden, stone fruit orchard and so much more.
Buying Organic
Buy organic, local and in-season for the fruit and vegetables which you don’t grow in your own garden. According to MPI “Organic agriculture is based on minimising the use of external inputs. For example, avoiding or excluding the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, antibiotics, growth promotants, genetic modification, and irradiation. Organic handlers, processors, and retailers follow voluntary standards to maintain the integrity of organically produced products.”
Buying organic food reduces the amount of chemicals in your diet. When food is in season this has the highest nutritional value, as food is grown in the right temperatures at the right time. Buying local also reduces the carbon footprint of your food as it hasn’t travelled long distances. These reasons help support your local farmers, economy, and environment.
When you support farmers which work with nature instead of against it, you can help move farming practices towards a better future for humans and pollinators.
5. Wildflower/ Groundcover Lawn or Kerbside
Creeping Thyme and Roman Chamomile
You can create a bee friendly lawn and kerbside by planting creeping thyme. It has a gorgeous purple flower, and they are evergreen and grow a max of 5-10cm tall, so it is a brilliant ground cover that you don’t have to mow. Another groundcover can be Roman Chamomile which has little white flowers.
Wildflowers, Fruit Trees and Cherry Blossoms
Another idea is putting wildflower seeds over your lawn or kerbside. This can provide an amazing habitat and feeding place for pollinators with the benefit of a colourful lawn. These will attract many bees and pollinators because bees love white and purple flowers. You can also plant flowering fruit trees on your kerbside which provides shade, habitats, and food sources for pollinators. Or trees like cherry trees which blossom every spring.
Thank You!
I hope you enjoyed learning about the 5 ways to create a bee friendly garden and the science behind why these changes will help make a difference! Tell me below what is your first step towards creating your own bee friendly garden?
Georgia xo
