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Sweat bee pic11/28/2023 ![]() Reduce Bee Exposure to Pesticidesīees may be poisoned or killed when they come into contact with pesticides found on leaves and flowers on which they forage or the soil where they nest. Nesting sites may include:Ĭonstructed nest boxes can be used for wood nesters like the blue orchard bee. Maintaining a diversity of natural and artificial nesting areas can increase the likelihood that wild bees will nest on site. Natural bee nests can be protected by not tilling the area or exposing it to broad-spectrum pesticides. The majority of wild bees are solitary nesters-females create individual nests in soil, plant material, or abandoned nests of other animals. On-site water sources should be clean and free of pesticides and may include: It is especially important to provide water to bees during the summer months when water resources in the landscape can be limiting. Allowing a portion of leafy crops to bolt (produce flowers).īumble bee on a tomato flower at Penn State's community garden Provide Access to Waterīees need water for survival.Harvesting flowering crops, like alfalfa, in strips rather than all at once.Setting aside marginal land for bee habitat by establishing hedgerows of flowering woody plants or native perennial plants.Planting flowering herbs or ornamentals within the crop field.Land managers can increase access to floral resources for wild bees by: To provide wild bees with food throughout the growing season, plant a variety of flowering plants with overlapping bloom periods. Plant Flowersīees need pollen and nectar (together called floral resources) to survive and reproduce. Land managers can also conserve natural habitats on their properties by maintaining flowering plants in their field margins. Fortunately, community groups can work with nonprofit organizations, conservation land trusts, and local municipalities to acquire and protect natural lands through grant programs like the Community Conservation Partnership Program (C2P2), managed by Pennsylvania's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). Forests, meadows, and wetlands provide wild bees with nesting sites and floral resources, especially early in the spring when flowers may be scarce. Many studies have shown that wild bee diversity increases as the proportion of natural habitat in the surrounding landscape increases. We can conserve and attract wild bee species to Pennsylvania by increasing the amount of floral resources in the area, conserving natural habitats in the landscape, providing access to clean water, creating or conserving nesting sites, and reducing bee exposure to pesticides. The risk of getting stung by a wild bee is low. However, most wild bees are not aggressive because they are solitary nesters and thus do not have large colonies to defend. Ouch, that stings!īees have a reputation for producing painful stings, partly because of stings inflicted by hornets, yellow jackets, and other wasps. ![]() ![]() Conserving wild bee populations is essential for sustaining agricultural production in Pennsylvania. ![]() In areas of Pennsylvania, wild bees already provide the majority of pollination for some summer vegetable crops. Wild bees, which include native and naturalized bees, pollinate a variety of crops, including apples, pears, nuts, strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, blueberries, squash, and melons. Who are these wild bees? How can we enhance their activity? Importance of Wild Bees to Agriculture As managed honey bee populations experience periodic declines due to parasites and disease, wild bees may help supplement pollination services. Wild bees pollinate a wide variety of food and fiber crops. This flyer and fold-out poster provides ways to conserve wild bee populations. ![]() ![]()
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