Protect Your Pollinators
(Page 6 of 7)
Early spring is the best time to put out new bee nesting
blocks, because that’s when females are seeking new
homes. Locate the nests at least 3 feet off the ground in a
place where they will get warm morning sun and attach them
securely so they won’t shake in the wind. Make the
holes slope slightly upward so rainwater does not run into
the holes. As summer progresses, you will know you have
tenants if the holes or tubes become plugged with mud or
debris.
RELATED CONTENT
It’s funny how we can sometimes lose sight of the simpler ways of doing things. Top-bar beekeeping ...
What you need to know about bees and having your own little sugar factory, from the Have-More Plan....
These native bees are particularly good pollinators of certain crops....
A hive of bees will produce honey and help pollinate your garden and orchard, but beekeeping is als...
Good Management of Carpenter Bees
If you spot a large bee buzzing around your home that looks
like a shiny bumblebee without its fuzz, it’s
probably a carpenter bee. These are some of the largest bee
species and have a blue-black, green or purple metallic
sheen. Male carpenter bees can be curious and fly close to
humans, but they are completely harmless because they have
no stingers. Females can sting, but they rarely do.
Carpenter bees help pollinate numerous crops such as corn,
pole beans, peppers and blackberries.
Carpenter bees (Xylocopa species) may want to share your
home sooner or later if you have a wood house or a wood
deck. Females bore half-inch-wide holes into wood and then
excavate a burrow to raise their young, often reusing old
nests year after year. They will burrow into dry wood
wherever they can find it, but they prefer softwoods such
as pine. The damage they do to the wood, however, is mostly
cosmetic.
Extension entomologists unanimously agree that the best way
to prevent carpenter bee damage is to keep wood surfaces
painted (stains don’t deter them nearly as well as
paint). Some people have good luck plugging bee entry holes
with aluminum window screening held in place with duct
tape. After a few weeks, remove the duct tape and fill the
hole with wood putty.
“Carpenter bees are very selective of their nesting
wood,” says James Tew of Ohio State
University’s Honey Bee Lab. “If only a few
boards are being targeted and the plugging trick
doesn’t work, consider replacing those boards and
hope that the new ones are not as attractive.” But
because carpenter bees are beneficial, make sure they have
wood available that they can use. That way, both you and
the bees are happy.
Pollinator Bee Resources
The Xerces Society
(503) 232-6639
www.xerces.org
Xerces offers fact sheets on pollinator conservation and
also sponsors programs to safeguard the diversity of native
insects.
Page:
<< Previous 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 | 6 |
7 |
Next >>
