App review

Wild Bee Gardens $2.99

Version 1.3.0 - requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

A handy reference tool with the most common wild bees and 'bee-attractive' plants found in North America with stunning photographs of each. Great for matching garden plants with specific bee visitors and vice versa.

It is very hard to criticize this app.

And believe me, I want to write an objective review.

The only drawback is that it's not free. But you can't get something this awesome for free.

Wild Bee Gardens is the only app that gives you information on bee-plants AND the bees themselves. Pollinator Partnership has an app that is similar, but inferior on the details, no photos of pollinators, and just not that fun to use. A cheesy app that feels flat, although to be fair, it is free.

Basically, spending $2.99 on Wild Bee Gardens is one of the easiest, most practical, and enjoyable ways to help bees. You will be several steps closer to planting the right flowers and learning to recognize your bee visitors, with the help of this handy, curated encyclopedia.

My favorite part about this app is that it is inspiring. And that is what it's all about.

Below I detail my favorite things, in case you need more convincing....

1. A well-curated 'bee-attractive' plant list with just the right amount of information
2. Photographic guide to common wild bees that is just plain awesome
3. Well-designed interface for matching bees with specific plants - a totally unique feature
4. Practical, thorough primers on creating a bee garden, how to recognize native bees that you see most often, and the fascinating habits of solitary bees!

1. thoughtfully selected "bee-plants"

There is no shortage of 'bee-attractive' plant lists out there. BUT. It's a LOT of information, and quite tedious to do the research from scratch.

Designing and planning a garden should be fun. Especially a bee garden.

Wild Bee Gardens gives you a 'curated' list of the 50 BEST plants for bees in North America with stunning photographs, and the essential information on native regions, bloom time, flower color, and planting requirements. These are the best of the best. The author has practical experience building bee gardens herself, which helps.

Personally, I like how both natives AND the cultivated/ornamental varieties of natives are included in the list. Most people want a combination of beautiful colors and shapes as well as plentiful pollen and nectar for the bees. Included are popular and beautiful garden plants that are loved by bees, all native to North America. Regional information is included if you want to choose those endemic to your particular part of the country.

2. best photographic guide to common wild bees

Identifying bees is not easy. While databases like Discover Life and Bug Guide are wonderful, they are tedious to use and only have images of pinned specimens.  It's a lot of work and inefficient to ID bees this way, especially if you just got a glimpse! As gardeners and bee-watchers, we want to be outside, and don't really need all the gory details on each species.  

Wild Bee Gardens is great because it contains excellent, professional photographs of the most common 25 genera of wild bees in North America. You can figure out: Is it a mason bee (Osmia), carder bee (Anthidium), bumble bee (Bombus), carpenter bee (Xylocopa, Ceratina), or something else? Doing it this way is fun and engaging. You CAN learn to recognize the basic types of native bees from pictures.

3. you can match bees with plants (and vice versa)

This is what Wild Bee Gardens is all about.

If you have a favorite plant, or a favorite bee, you can incorporate these preferences into your planning. Totally fun. AND you can learn what flower preferences wild bees have.  This app is very well-researched.

The Ipad interface (left photo) is where Wild Bee Gardens really shines in this department, although both iPad and iPhone have the same capability. On the iPad you get plant description, photo gallery, AND bee visitors (with thumbnails) on the same screen! On the iPhone it takes an extra click to see each of these categories (right photo). Not a huge difference, but it makes the iPad version especially fun to use.

4. Practical primers - all you need to know!

Wild Bee Gardens is not just pretty pictures. You are also paying for a well-organized and well-researched eBook about wild bees. Everything you need to know about the habits of bees, their emergence times and preferences, why we should care about them, HOW to recognize them if you want to really get into it, and all the essential details about providing everything they need in your backyard.  You can find this information elsewhere, but not in one place. Bees are complex, beautiful little creatures, and reading the "guides" on Wild Bee Gardens is a very efficient and fun way to learn about them.

I am still learning.

What else can I say?

Download Wild Bee Gardens!

Mason bee complex

Most mason bees in the genus Osmia make nests using mud.

However, few do it quite like this - total free form!

This is a nest conglomeration of Osmia nigrifrons, that took up residence in an owl box at Red Butte Garden. They like a protected place to build their complexes.

Here's what the box looks like from the outside, and below that, its former inhabitants.

Out in the cold

Male bees basically have nowhere to go at night. Sometimes they sleep in/on flowers and sometimes squat elsewhere..

This carpenter bee slept all night with just his head in a condo hole.

Once morning came, he flow off (with a nudge) and there was another bee inside!

Cactus bees

Do you have any prickly pear cactus?

If so, watch for Diadasia!

Diadasia bees "specialize" on cactus pollen. It's their favorite food!

Diadasia look like honeybees, but with big shaggy "pollen pants" and a rounder body shape.

#1 way to help bees

Avoid neonicotinoid pesticides in your garden.

Neonicotinoids or "neonics" are the most widely-used garden pesticides.

The Center for Food Safety published a list of common products that contain these chemicals. AVOID THEM if you want to help bees and other pollinators.

By the way...... Do you know who manufactures most of these products? 

BAYER.  The company spending millions of dollars to convince you they care about bees. 

Gregarious nesting

Will you be at Red Butte Garden this weekend?

If so, don't miss the long-horned bees (genus Melissodes), nesting in the ground!

A "gregarious" nest aggregation is forming near the base of the Sidewinder trail that leads to the Natural Area (right near the bench). New nest holes (i.e., more bees) are appearing every day!

Long-horned bees are solitary--each hole contains one female making her solitary nest--but they nest near each other:

The nest holes are PERFECTLY ROUND. Most have a little lip around the edge. The last photo is a female Melissodes pushing the soil out with her abdomen, before going back down to dig some more.

By the way, watching bees do this is why many people think bees are "cute." They really are.

Here is what these Melissodes look like. (I put this female on ice for a minute to take photos):

This aggregation will only last a few weeks. Don't miss this bee-watching!

Condo dwellers

The main reason to have a bee condo is to see cool stuff.

Don't condos provide a "home" for bees and other pollinators? Yes...technically. We can also "survey" for pollinators using the condos.

But let's face it. Bee condos are for humans. To see cool stuff.

The typical condo "dwellers" are solitary bees and wasps. You can watch them provisioning nests in the condo, as they fly away and return with food.

One of the most common condo dwellers is Osmia (mason bees):

Also leafcutter bees:

Sometimes you get "SQUATTERS" in the condo. These are insects living in the condo, but not really in the way it was intended (by us humans). Spiders, for instance.

This "squatter" was making a nest on the back wall of a condo where the reeds had fallen out:

And finally.. there are condo "LURKERS." These are parasites that lay in wait for bees or other condo dwellers to leave on a foraging trip, then sneak inside to lay their own eggs.  Pretty smart!

A classic "lurker":

Chrysidid wasp.

All photos taken at Red Butte Garden.

Thanks Red Butte Garden for hosting bee condos in the Natural Area this year!

Wool carder bees

I have a new favorite bee...

Anthidium.

AKA, "wool carder bees":

Wool carder bees are about the size of a honeybee, but have wasp-like yellow and black markings. The difference: BEES are stout and round-shaped, whereas wasps have a skinny "waist" and look like cold-blooded killers.

Adorable Anthidium bees scrape the wooly plant fibers off leaves, called "carding." Females use the soft fibers to provision a wooly nest.

And the males?  Too fast to photograph! 

Go see them!!

WHAT? Male Anthidium on patrol.  A must see.

WHERE? A sizeable patch (>1m square) of lamb's ear (aka rose campion) in FULL SUN

WHEN?  NOW!

All photos are Anthidium females.  Pollen grains are visible, carried on the underside of the abdomen. 

Do you think she's waving at me? I like to think so.

Bee condos

My bee condos look like this:

They are from Mason Bees LLC. They char the reeds with a blow torch, which mason bees in Utah seem to like.

There are 20 of my bee condos in Salt Lake City. Most are in public spaces.

The point? To survey for stick-nesting bees. Bee condos are also very useful for "bee watching" if you put one in your yard.

Bee Watching looks like this:

Kathlyn Collins, Gardening Coach, laid back.

Most of my condos are hanging in trees....

Clockwise from top left: Bobsled bike trail, City Creek, Jordan River, and another in City Creek.

And 16 more.... map here.

Leafcutter bees

Have you seen these?

Photos by Africa of "Bug Blog"

Oval-shaped leaf cutouts?

Have no fear!

You are providing 'plaster' for the leafcutter bees. They will NOT do permanent damage to your rose bushes!

Leafcutter bees can be identified by the way they hold their abdomens slightly tipped in the air. The yellow or orange pollen on the underside is clearly visible.

Leafcutter bees are primo bee watching.

Tis the season for leafcutters!

"Bee washing"

A form of "greenwashing," "bee-washing" is corporate PR/spin showing concern for bees! 

Ever since Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) was publicized in 2006-2007, bee declines have been in the news. People are concerned. And so, corporations were soon to follow with 'save the bees' campaigns.

"Bee-washing" is spin. Just like 'green' PR, designed to convey environmental friendliness, 'bee-friendly' PR is designed to help a corporation's image, sometimes deflecting from larger corporate practices or products that hurt bees.

Ha!!!

The term "bee-washing" was coined a few years ago after Monsanto, the massive agribusiness selling genetically modified seed and farm chemicals, bought the largest bee research company studying CCD.  Since that time, let's just say the overuse of chemicals in agriculture is no longer considered the number one cause of bee die-offs, according to Monsanto and friends. 

More raspberries

Anyone who has a sizeable raspberry patch knows that bees LOVE raspberries. Watch a raspberry patch on a calm, sunny day, and you will see a variety of bees. And not just bees! Raspberries attract wasps, flies, beetles, and spiders too. 

So... Don't just grow raspberries for the delicious fruit. Grow raspberries for the beneficial insect community you will attract -- pest-eaters AND pollinators.

Keep in mind: pesticides will kill bees and other beneficial insects.

A healthy insect community in your garden means less work. Insect diversity = natural pest control and pollination services, without intervention.  Pretty cool.

Raspberry Management for Utah (USU Extension)

How to Grow Raspberries  in Utah (Deseret News)

Honeybee swarms

Whoa there!!!  Bees are "cute" and all, but a bee swarm can be alarming.

Have no fear!

Call a local beekeeper if you ever have a swarm.

Swarms are formed when the beehive splits in two. One half of the honeybee colony stays behind (with all the honey stores, and new queen about to hatch) and the other half 1) gorges on honey, then 2) takes off together---with the old queen---and looks for a new place to live.

Honeybee swarms are usually very docile.  They have no honey or home to protect...they are simply looking for a new home.

Related...

The cigarette is a nice touch, no?

Chinese man sets the Guinness world record for the number of swarming bees on one's body: 1.1 million!

Group living

The ground-nesting bees of my previous post are "sweat bees," in the genus Halictus. 

Sweat bees get their name because they are attracted to perspiration (and lick it up). 

But the most interesting thing about sweat bees is their social behavior.

Many sweat bees are very flexible about roommates. They are solitary bees sometimes, and sometimes co-habitate. When they co-habitate, using the same nest entrance, one female might be the 'egg-layer' and she will aggressively keep the others them from laying eggs. Subordinate females (usually daughters of the principal egg-layer) will make foraging trips, stand guard at the entrance, or work on underground construction projects.. and if something happens to the dominant female, a subordinate will step into her place. If the group is big enough, subordinates can get away with laying eggs anyway. And sometimes there is no queen at all, or the females are all unrelated and have a more communal arrangement.

Here are 2 females from the same nest. On the left is the 'guard' bee. The other (on the rock) just returned from a foraging trip. Once the guard recognizes a nestmate, she will move aside.

Watching bees doing their thing... oh man.. bees make the best pets!

Ground-nesting bees

The holy grail of bees.

Consider that 70% of bees live underground. 

Well.... where are they??

Ground-nesting bees can be pretty hard to find.  Most are dispersed in solitary holes that are well-hidden... unless you see a bee coming or going, the holes are invisible.

Unless of course, you are down on the ground like a bee nerd, looking for them.

To encourage ground-nesting bees in your yard, keep some patches of well-drained soil with sun exposure BARE and UNDISTURBED - no tilling and no mulch.

And most importantly... DO NOT USE PESTICIDES IN YOUR YARD.  Consider alternatives.

Raspberries

A cloudy day, but there were many honeybees, bumblebees, and wasps working this patch.

The big O

"O" is for "Osmia."  Sexy, I know.

Osmia are mason bees - a very diverse group that includes 139 North American species. They all have a habit of plastering their nests with various substances: mud, plant material, sand, gravel, resin, or wood pith. Or flowers - check this!

Mason bees are easily managed in your backyard. They will colonize bee condos, which you can buy or make yourself.

There are several common Osmia species in Salt Lake City. Every year they come out in the same sequence, starting with O. lignaria ("blue orchard bee") in early April.

Followed by O. ribifloris, O. californica, O. montana, and O. texana, each 1-2 weeks apart.

All photo credits: www.bugguide.net (except the blurry one, mine...)

Rain rain go away

Wet bees are not happy bees.

Here's what to do if you are incredibly soft-hearted like I am, and find one.

 www.photgraphyblog.com                            Megachile perihirta (male)

 http://macrojunkie.deviantart.com          Megachile perihirta (male) - these guys clearly get stuck in the rain a lot :)

I'm kidding about the rain. It is glorious... Mostly because we need it desperately.

But it's terrible for bee watching.

Flies are people, too

Lots of flies were visiting the wild strawberries I observed today at Red Butte Garden. They are probably the most important insect for strawberry pollination.

Flies are important pollinators for many plants.. But fly conservation is not as straightforward as it is for bees.  Also, flies are not as "cute" as fuzzy bees are.  Their behavior is rather alien.

This may not be the norm everywhere, I'm just putting it out there...

Consider ALL the pollinators putting fruits on your table!

Now, back to the bees....

Strawberries

Wild Strawberries are growing at Red Butte Garden. The sizeable patch attracts plenty of insect visitors.

I observed mostly small bees:

For scale, these strawberry flowers were ~ 3/4" across. This bee looks like a tiny carpenter bee, genus Ceratina.

Truth be told, I saw mostly flies visiting this strawberry patch.