Bees without Boxes: Supporting Backyard Pollinators

Guest Blog by Emma Korntheuer, District Administrator

Hill County Conservation District

We’ve always treasured bees. Did you know that European honey bees were one of the first imports to the New World, brought to the colonies in 1622? Lesser known is the fact that there are an estimated 4,000 native bee species in the United States, around quarter of which are found right here in Big Sky Country.

Montana’s bees have amazing diversity, ranging from tiny black sweat bees resembling flying ants, to fluffy golden longhorned sunflower bees, to our iconic fiery-tailed bumblebees. A number of our local bees have special symbiotic relationships with native plant species, and many of them are more efficient pollinators than their European counterparts, making them vital for our Montana ecosystems. Bee populations are on the decline globally and here at home, making conservation and protection efforts more important than ever. Encouraging bee activity in your backyard supports your own garden, local ecosystems, and bee conservation!

The majority of our local bees have very different social lives than European honey bees, either living by themselves or with groups of related females. Few species other than bumble bees follow the hive structure their honeybee cousins are known for. This can make it very difficult to transport our local bee species, so their conservation centers around supporting them where they are found organically.

There are two key ways to encourage native bees in your yard, the first is to plant flowers! Having flowers present in your yard throughout the growing season is a great way to support our local bees. The second is to protect and encourage bee nesting behavior within your yard, such as the methods I will explain below.

Burrowing: Ground Nesters

Most of our local bee species nest underground, carefully excavating a series of nest cells either by themselves or in concert with a small group of other females. Witnessing a flying insect leave a hole in their yard can lead many to mistake them for wasps, especially if they’re hairless sweat bees. An easy way to differentiate the two is activity: wasps nests tend to have a near constant stream of activity while bee nests only have occasional individuals coming and going.

Protecting ground nesting bees is easy, mostly coming down to minimizing disturbance. Keeping to walkways, leaving small patches of bare soil in your flower beds, and not flood irrigating your garden are small ways to make a big difference.

Branches: Cavity Nesters

These opportunistic bees line pre-existing holes with a thin layer of wax for a simple nest. If you provide a tunnel they will come!

The first and simplest method to encourage cavity nesting is to place a dead tree branch in your flower bed. Dead standing trees are a common natural nesting site for cavity bees, a small section of branch is a great way to emulate that.

The second method requires two things: a block of untreated wood and a power drill. Take the block of wood and go ham, drilling with as many different bit sizes as you can. Some native bees are a lot smaller than you’d think! When you’re done, simply place the block somewhere in your yard or fix it to a fence or post. These blocks occasionally attract wasps but fear not! The wasps that use bee blocks tend to be more docile solitary species, not the pests you see buzzing around your garbage.

The final method is to bundle 6-8 inch long tubes with twine. Classics for these nests include cut bamboo stalks and paper straws. Simply tie the bundle together and fix it to a tree or your fence.

Building: Constructive Nesters

When clearing wasps nests from the eaves of your house or garage keep your eyes peeled for small mysterious lumps of mud, they’re a sign your yard has attracted a hardworking mason bee! Mason bees are solitary – a single female bee constructed that whole structure by herself. While some mason bees construct their nests on the sides of structures, others take advantage of cracks and cavities, you can tell a mason bee is occupying your woodblock when the holes are plugged by mud.