Native Bees - Colorado State Beekeepers Association

Won’t You Bee My Neighbor
How Managing For Local Native Pollinators Can Benefit
Your Hives
Noe Marymor, Private Lands Biologist
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Photo: Edward S. Ross

What is the NRCS

What is the Xerces Society
Xerces blue butterfly (Glaucopsyche xerces)
Since 1971, the Society has worked to protect wildlife through the
conservation of invertebrates and their habitat.

The Importance of Pollinators
Photo: Bruce Newhouse

Pollination
Pollination is the transfer of
pollen grains from the anther
to stigma of the same or
another flower.
Pollination is the transfer of
pollen grains from the anther
to stigma of the same or
another flower.
• Self-pollination: transfer
within a flower or flowers
of the same plant
• Cross-pollination: transfer
between plants
Photos: Jennifer Hopwood, Steve Javorek, Agriculture Canada

Insect Pollinators: An Ecological Keystone
About 70-85 % of flowering
plants (~240,000 sp.) require an
animal to move pollen
Photo: Eric Mader

Main Groups of Pollinators
Photos: Photos: Mace James Vaughan, Cane; Bob Jeff Hammond, Adams; Dana David Ross; Inouye, Bruce Bruce Newhouse Newhouse

Bees: The Most Important Pollinators
• Bees provide for their young
• Bees actively collect and transport pollen
• Bees exhibit flower constancy
• Bees regularly forage in area around nest

Bugs Drive the System
Wildlife conservation
Fruits and seeds are a
major part of the diet of
about 25% of birds, and
many mammals
Pollinators are food for
wildlife
USDA-NRCS
Jerry Wolff
USDA-NRCS
Photo: Karen Ward, NPS

Pollination and Human Nutrition
Pollinators provide an ecosystem service that
enables plants to produce fruits and seeds.
• 35% of crop species, worldwide
• Over $18.9 billion value of crops in U.S.
($217 billion worldwide)
• One in three mouthfuls of food and drink
we consume
Morse RA, Calderone NW. 2000. The value of honey bees as pollinators of U.S. crops in 2000. Bee Culture 128: 1–15.
Klein et al. 2007. Importance of pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops. Proc. R. Soc. B 274: 303-313.
Photo: USDA-ARS/Peggy Greb

Annual Values of Insect Pollinated Crops
• Alfalfa = Over $7 billion
• Apple = Over $1.5 billion
• Almond = Over $1.1 billion
• Berries = Over $2.5 billion
• Canola, soybean, cotton =
Photo: Sarah Greenleaf

Colorado and crop pollination
Alfalfa, Melons, Peaches
Cantaloupe, Sunflowers, etc
Photo: Sarah Greenleaf

Honey Bees: Essential Non-Native Livestock
• Most crop pollination is done by the
European honey bee.
• This leaves us reliant on a single pollinator,
one that is experiencing many problems.
Photo: USDA-ARS/Scott Bauer

Crop Pollination: Honey Bees in Decline
Fewer honey bees available
• 50% decline in managed hives
since 1950
• Doubling of cropland requiring
bee pollination
• 70-99% decline in feral colonies
Causes: Disease, pests, and…
Varroa mite
Nation al Research Council. 2007. Status of Pollinators in North America. National Academies Press, 326 pgs.
Photo: USDA-ARS/Scott Bauer

The Economic Value of Native Bees
Hundreds of species of native
bee contribute significantly to
crop pollination.
• $3 billion/year
Photos: USDA-ARS/Scott Bauer & Edward McCain

A study in Utah recorded 17 species of
native bees on cherry blossom.
• 2 species of mason bee (Osmia)
• 9 species of mining bee (Andrena)
• 3 species of sweat bee (Lasioglossum)
• 3 species of anthophrid bee (Anthophora)
Crop Pollination: Native Bees
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) were also
visiting flowers, but the orchard mason bee
(Osmia lignaria) was the most abundant bee.
Bosch, J., W.P. Kemp, and G.E. Trostle. 2006. Bee population returns and cherry yields in an orchard
pollinated with Osmia lignaria (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). Journal of Economic Entomology 99: 408-413.
Photo: Matthew Shepherd
Photo: Paul Jepson, OSU

Value of Native Bees
Native bees are very
efficient:
• Active earlier in day,
season and in cooler,
wetter weather
• Perform buzz pollination
• Collect both pollen and
nectar when foraging
• Keep honey bees moving
• No rental fees
Photo: Steve Javorek (AgCanada)

Native Bees in Agriculture
Native bees are efficient!
Example: Blue orchard bees
• 250 to 750 individual females
for an acre of apples
compared to 1 to 2.5 hives of
honey bees (10,000 to 25,000
bees)
• Make contact with anther and
stigma on almost every visit
• Active at low light levels and
low temperatures
• 33+ hours foraging in 5 days
• 15+ hours by honey bees
Bosch, J. and W. Kemp. 2001. How to Manage the Blue Orchard Bee as an Orchard
Pollinator. Sustainable Agriculture Network. Beltsville, MD. 88 pp. .
Photo: Stephen Buchmann

Example: Cherry tomatoes
When native bees were present,
the production of Sungold cherry
tomatoes almost tripled.
Buzz Pollination by Native Bees
Greenleaf, S. S.,and C. Kremen. 2006. Wild bee species increase tomato production and respond
differently to surrounding land use in Northern California. Biological Conservation 133:81-87.
Photo © Burpee; Mace Vaughan

Pollination of Complex Flowers
Native bees and alfalfa
• Honey bees learn to bypass
the pollination mechanism
• Most seed production by
leafcutter and alkali bees
• Wild bees trip over 80% of
alfalfa flowers visited;
leafcutter bees and honey
bees trip only 25%
Photo: Eric Mader
Brunet , J. and C. M. Stewart. 2010. Impact of Bee Species and Plant Density on Alfalfa Pollination
and Potential for Gene Flow. Psyche

Hybrid sunflower production:
When native bees were present,
the seed set in hybrid sunflower
fields more than doubled.
Native Bees Keep Honey Bees Moving
Greenleaf, S. and C. Kremen. 2006. Wild bees enhance honey bees’ pollination of hybrid
sunflower. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 103(37):13890–13895.fs
Photos: Sarah Greenleaf

Native pollinators in decline
There is evidence
from around the
world that wild
pollinators are in
decline
In US, recent
surveys show
drastic decline of
some bumble bees
Pictured:
- Shaded areas: where
predicted to occur
- Empty circles: indicate
not recollected
- Orange pie shapes:
indicate abundance in
recollections
Cameron et al. 2011. Patterns of widespread decline in
North American bumble bees. PNAS

Other important bees in decline
Yellow-banded
Franklin’s
Four sister species of
bumble bees:
•Now gone from most
of historic range
•Due to pathogens
introduced by
commercially reared
bumble bee
colonies
© Jodi DeLong
© Johanna James-Heinz
© Peter Schroeder
© Derrick Ditchburn
Status Review of Three Formerly Common
Species of Bumble Bee in the Subgenus
Bombus. Elaine Evans, Dr. Robbin Thorp,
Sarina Jepsen, and Scott Hoffman Black,
2009.
Rusty-patch
Western

Declining Native Bees
Western Bumble Bee
• Bombus occidentalis was one
of most common bumble bees
in western North America
• Now gone from most of the
western part of its historic
range
• The decline may be caused
by a pathogen introduced from
commercially reared bumble
bee colonies
Images: Derrick Ditchburn and The Xerces Society

Even as bees decline, crop acreage
requiring bee pollination grows.
• From 1961 to 2006 percent of global
cropland requiring bee pollination rose
from 18.2% to 34.9% (300% increase in
total acreage) 1
• 5,000 to 10,000 new acres of
Wisconsin cranberries over the next
decade
• 150,000 new acres of California
almonds anticipated
Pollination and Crop Security
1
Aizen MA, LA Garibaldi, SA Cunningham, AM Klein. 2008. Long-term global trends in crop
yield and production reveal no current pollination shortage but increasing pollinator

Pollination and Crop Security
China:
• World’s largest apple
producer
• 40% of crop is hand
pollinated
Partap and Partap. 2001. Pollination failure in apple crop and farmers’ management
strategies in Hengduan Mountains, China. Acta Horticultura 561.
Photo: Business Week

Ecological value of pollination
But what is this worth
Photo: Jennifer Hopwood

Conservation Measures
Pollinator Plantings
• Provide floral resources for native
pollinators
• Honey bees using the same area
benefit!

Pollinator Planting Rules of Thumb
Major Considerations
• Bloom Period
• Number of Species
• Flower Color
• Local Adaptation
Can use started plants for
small areas
Use seed for larger
projects

Bloom Periods
Spring, Early-Mid Summer, Late Summer

How Many Species
Can’t have too many!
Recommend 9 Species Minimum
More seeds doesn’t mean more $
• Use reduced seeding rates

Flower Color
Vary flower color
• Different pollinators cue on different flower colors

SOME RECOMMENDED WILDFLOWERS

BLANKETFLOWER
AKA Perennial Gaillardia
• Gaillardia aristata
• Bloom Time: Spring
• Precip: 12-30”
• Height: 2’

UPRIGHT CONEFLOWER
AKA Mexican Hat
• Ratibida columnifera
• Bloom Time: Mid-Summer
• Precip: 12-40”
• Height: 2’

LEWIS FLAX
• AKA Blue Flax, Prairie Flax
• Linum lewisii
• Bloom Time: Spring to Mid-
Summer
• Precip: 10-24”
• Height: 18”

PURPLE PRAIRIE CLOVER
• Dalea purpurea
• Bloom Time: Spring to Mid-
Summer
• Precip: 12-24”
• Height: 18”

ROCKY MOUNTAIN BEEPLANT
• Cleome serrulata
• Bloom Time: Spring to Mid-
Summer
• Precip: 12-55”
• Height:36”

SEED SOURCE CONSIDERATIONS
Most forbs do not have cultural varieties
• Exceptions:
Alfalfa – Ranger, Ladak
Purple Prairie Clover – Kaneb
Blue Flax – Appar (acceptable substitute if native Lewis Flax is
unavailable or expensive)
• Only accept seeds grown in the US, preferably no more
than 2 states away
• Call multiple seed dealers for prices

SEED SOURCE CONSIDERATIONS
Do not buy pre-packaged “wildflower mixes”
• Often contain un-adapted landscaping species
• Small and large seeds are not separated

Pollinators and Pesticides
Pollinators and Pesticides
• Lethal Effects
• Direct contact to exoskeleton
• Pesticide-tainted nectar
• Pesticide-tainted pollen
• Most poisonings occur from
insecticide residues on plants
• Smaller bees have a higher
surface area to body ratio and
absorb higher doses
• Pesticides are designed to
protect honey bees, not native
bees

Pollinators and Pesticides
Minimizing Lethal Effects
Scout pest problems instead of
blanket spraying
Never apply more than the label
recommendation
Avoid broad-spectrum insecticides
if possible
Avoid drift
Leave 25ft pesticide free buffer
around field edges
Avoid applying insecticides during
bloom
Spray when bees are not active

Native Bee Nesting Habitat
Where do bees nest
• Bare ground
• Old animal burrows
•Brush piles
• Woody Structures

Native Bee Nesting Habitat
Building Nesting Structures
• Place in indirect sunlight
• Irregular surfaces and length
• Replace every 2-3 years

The Xerces Society:
http://www.xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/
For more information…

Questions
Photo: Betsy Betros