Burning the candle on three ends

For the last month, I’ve been burning my candle on three ends. First, there’s the challenge of trying to write a story a week. Second, there’s the spring Real Ale festival that I help organize, NERAX. And the third is spreading the word about native bees, with Friends of Bees. So it’s probably not too […]

Guess what: Bumblebees can sting twice

Bumblebees do not care if an intrusive gardener cuts down some overenthusiastic butterfly bush. They hardly notice if that gardener carries away that branch, should there happen to be luscious purple flowers to forage on. But if the bouncing of that branch drops that bee down the collar at the back of that gardener’s neck, […]

Small carpenter bees everywhere

The Eastern Carpenter bees have tiny little cousins, called naturally enough, the Small Carpenter Bees. Instead of digging into wood, the Small Carpenter bee nests in a broken or cut stem, adding cell after cell, forming a row of larvae. When she gets to the end, she builds a cell for herself and there she […]

Carpenter Bee on patrol

Right about when the bumblebees show up, the Carpenter bees come out too. Bumblebees are placid, fuzzy fellows that take no notice of you. While they look like extra large bumblebee, the Eastern Carpenter Bees have a shiny tail, and the males will get in your face, and tell you in no uncertain terms to […]

Miner bees are where it begins

National Pollinator Week officially began yesterday, so that’s my excuse for doubly belatedly posting about the bees that have emerged so far this spring. Spring begins with bumblebee queens hunting for a sheltered spot to build a new nest. On sunny days, honeybees come out to forage and replenish their stores as winter ends. And the […]

Found some pollinators in the chives

Sunday was a beautiful sunny day to go visit the Pollinator plot at the community garden. The chives have been flowering for some days, and I was looking forward to seeing the bees. Sure enough, the chives were hosting a bee party.

It’s not too cold for peach blossoms

The peach tree has clusters of pink blossoms poking out from the ends of its branches like brightly painted fingernails on fingertips. The plum tree is still covered with fluffy white blossoms, but it’s been too cold for many bees to show up. On one sunny day last week, a honeybee visited the plum tree […]

Bees in the spring

I saw a honeybee visit the crocus today. A bumblebee seemed to be looking for a good spot under the crocuses to start her nest. Crocuses nestle in the sheltered pocket where snapdragons have stayed green all winter. Crocuses bloom around the plum tree, which has so many buds of blossoms to come, you see […]

Let the bees eat squash

It’s starting to look like the mystery plant will be revealed. Perfect round balls are developing ridges. Acorn squash again. Every fall, I keep getting various squashes, but I’m no longer sure how much I actually like winter squash. So I no long care that I probably won’t enjoy the fruits of the mystery plants. […]

How many bumblebees do you see on the goldenrod?

I wish I could get the camera to convey the abundance of bumblebees on the goldenrod today. The sun is back and it’s found a perky stand of goldenrod in full color. Lots of bumblebees have found it too. Usually I could spot at least six or seven on it at a time. In this, […]