Busy As Bees

Without bees, wasps, and hornets the world would look quite different. For many, unfortunately, these insects inspire a bit of fear, due to having been stung. Even those who have never been stung can be afraid of being stung, and for good reason. Some are deathly allergic to the stings of particular bees, wasps, or hornets, and of course, a sting is painful.

The truth is that for all the millions of bees and their relatives in the world, the number of stings delivered is minuscule, especially compared to all the good they do. Some, such as honeybees, use their stings very selectively since delivering a sting also means their own certain death. Others mind their own business until provoked and even then, if the provocation is accidental and brief, they will go back to minding their own business if the offender makes a quick retreat.

We all know that there are some wasps and hornets that can get a little heated when they are disturbed, leading to multiple stings by multiple individuals, and it is probably those memorable cases that make some wary of all bees, no matter how docile or harmless they may be. It is probably good to note that for all the hundreds of bees that are around us for three seasons of the year, the number of stings most of us actually receive is probably zero.

Bumble bees are quite common in our area and most of us are familiar with them. They tend to be large and fuzzy with a mostly black body with a broad yellow or orangey yellow stripe. They tend to be slower than smaller bees and much more substantial than some of the narrow waisted wasps you may see looking for nectar in your gardens.

Wasps get a bad reputation due to a few aggressive species, but many of the wasps we see all summer are quite harmless. Some of the most docile are also some of the largest. These are important pollinators so killing them because of fear of stinging is silly and in the long run harmful. Pollinators are already in short supply. I’ve gardened alongside these big wasps for many years and not once have they shown any interest in stinging me. They have occasionally landed on my shirt thinking I might have a flower there, but like the random dragonflies that take a rest on us now and then, they move on without incident.

Honeybees are fairly well known and easily recognized, but there are many other bees that buzz around our gardens as well. You could easily spend hours if not days trying to identify all the species you might see, but some of them are pretty speedy. Again, they are far more interested in gathering pollen from your flowers than they are in harming you.

Perhaps you have found a sleeping bee in your flowers on a cool morning, especially in early fall. Bees, like all insects, are ectothermic, or what we used to call cold blooded. They cannot regulate their own body temperature and must rely on the temperature outside their bodies for thermal control. If it gets too hot or too cool, they may slow down, even become temporarily dormant until the temperature moderates.

Bumblebees seem to be especially prone to napping, but most likely it is because of their size that we notice them. Most of the sleeping bees we see tend to be males as they are not allowed back into their underground nests. Born in late summer, their only real job is to feed on nectar to keep up their strength so they can impregnate a female that will then hibernate all winter. If she survives, she will start her own nest and lay eggs in the spring and start the cycle all over again.

The other day I was cutting the last of my dahlias and roses before a predicted possible frost. The goldfinches have been feasting in this garden as I have left many dead flower heads full of seeds, but they also like to snack on flower petals. As I cut some beautiful red dahlias, I noticed that one large one was missing most of its petals but had a good-sized bumblebee taking a nap right in the middle of the flower. Although it was cool out I knew it was supposed to heat up later in the morning and I hoped the bee would be OK. When I returned home in the late afternoon the bee was gone. I’d like to think it flew away, but I know it may also have provided a meal for a bird. Either way, its days were numbered. Almost all bees and their kin succumb to freezing temperatures except for the new queens which will hibernate until spring under leaves and detritus in our gardens, in the woods, etc. This is one of the reasons why so many nature organizations are begging people to leave the leaves.

Honeybees are an exception and do not hibernate or die off in the cold winter. They gather in their hives, surviving the cold by clustering close together and shivering to provide and share heat. Extreme cold can overwhelm them, but they are hardy little creatures that can survive most of our winters with little ill effect.

It doesn’t take much observation to know that our pollinators need our help. Pollinators help us by pollinating many of our food crops, both fruits and vegetables. I’ve heard people dismiss the concern over the dearth of pollinators by saying they hand pollinate their own vegetables. That may be true, but on a global scale that is problematic.

As the urge to clean up your gardens gnaws at you, please try to remember those lovely bumblebees burrowing under the leaves. Save a bee and leave the leaves.