Bees and Beneficial Insects in the Garden
In this fourth and final segment of creating a wildlife-friendly garden, we’ll look at the smaller but no less important players in the health of the natural garden. While butterflies are the divas of the garden flowers, fluttering from bloom to bloom, bees are the workaholics, meticulous and reliable.
As the most effective pollinators in the world, bees are an invaluable resource to agricultural productivity, pollinating a third of the plants we eat, and most of our favorite flowers. They’re also the exclusive pollinators of several imperiled wildflowers, including native monkshoods and lady’s orchids.
There’s one obvious reason people seem reluctant to attract bees to their gardens and that is their fear of being stung. We all have memories, as a child or as an adult, of getting stung by a bee. It’s never a fond memory. As a result, understandably, a lot of people are afraid of being stung again. However, there are a lot of myths and unfounded fears surrounding bee stings. For example, did you know that only female honeybees have stingers? After spending thousands of hours in bee-filled gardens, I have never been stung by pollinating bees. (Full disclosure: I have been stung by yellow jacks several times, but only after unknowingly disturbing a nest, which has never been located in a garden.)
Stinging is simply not as common as many people think. With a little understanding to ease your fear, the garden can be a much more friendly and enjoyable place to be.
Despite their occasional aggressive behavior, male bees of all species are stingless. One way to distinguish females from males is that, on a good day, females' legs, head, or bellies - depending on the species - are covered with bright blobs of yellow, purple, or white pollen. Females spend most of their time shimmying through pollen and sipping nectar from their favorite flowers, while males are frequently attending other business.
Native Plants for Bees
Native plants should be your first choice to help our native bees. Listed below are some plants that are good sources of nectar or pollen for bees. Both the common and Latin names of the plant genus are given. This list is not exhaustive; there are many other plants good for bees.
- Aster Aster
- Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia
- Sweet pepperbush Clethra alnifolia
- Elder Sambucus
- Goldenrod Solidago
- Joe-pye weed Eupatorium
- Great Blue Lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica
- Blazinstars, Liatris species
- Lupine Lupinus
- Penstemon Penstemon
- Purple coneflower Echinacea
- Rhododendron Rhododendron
- Sage Salvia
- Stonecrop Sedum
- Sunflower Helianthus
Plants That Attract Beneficial Insects
Nature is filled with "good bugs", crawling and flying creatures whose diet consists mainly of the pests that ravage garden plants. One of the reasons so many gardens have pest problems is that they’re not very inviting to predators and parasites, which in healthy ecosystems keep harmful insects in check. Beneficial insects not only devour and destroy many of the pests that ravaged prized garden plants, they also offer a diverse new world of fascinating creatures for you to discover. Some we are familiar with like red lady beetles and some are quite beautiful such as delicate green lacewings. Remember, though: Many chemical sprays work on both bad and good bugs. To keep the good bugs in your yard, eliminate insecticide use in the areas where they live and work.
Here is a list of those good bugs and the plants that they like to visit for food and shelter. Intersperse these plants among the "problem pest areas" in your yard.
- Asters, Asters
- Purple coneflower, Echinacea
- Black-eyed Susans, Rudebeckia
- Goldenrods, Solidago
- Tickseeds, Coreopsis
- Sunflowers, Helianthus
- Cliantro, Petroselinum
- Dill, Anethum graveolens
