This is the smallest bee I've ever seen. I took a photo and came in the house to see what kind of bee it was. I learned it's a mining, digger or sweat bee. This photo is a close up of the bee on a cone flower. The bee is less than 1/2 an inch long. These bees are not aggressive and rarely sting. Their stinger is so small it can barely penetrate human skin.
These small bees are important pollinators of fruit trees and alfalfa. These types of bees dig a hole in the ground and lay their egg on a pollen clump. It takes the mother bee 6 to 7 trips to get enough pollen for one egg. When the mother bee carries the pollen to the nest it weighs half her body weight. These bees nest in lawns or sides of hills. They are only active for 4 to 6 weeks and then dormant till the next year. Some of these bees are nocturnal. Here is a link to a
resource for plants for these types of bees.
Please don't use pesticide on your lawn because we need our native bees for pollination. In fact if you can avoid all pesticides you'll be doing yourself a favor. We need all of our bees for pollination, without pollination we won't have many of our fruits and vegetables. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.
We don't use any chemicals on our lawn or outside areas... and we get lizards, box turtles, etc. around our house. But our neighbors use that *chem lawn* and I hate it... but what can you do? Their main concern is having a beautiful care-free lawn.
ReplyDeleteHi Rian, thanks, I always try to educate my neighbors. When we lived in Florida our neighbors said our lawn looked better than theirs and they had a lawn service, sprayed with fertilizer and weed killer and so on and so forth and still they didn't get it. what can we do but keep trying to educate
DeleteMy landlady was stung by a yellow jacket yesterday while trimming some bushes...and she's pretty sure the bee was nesting in the bushes. Unfortunately she also uses "Round-up-type" stuff to keep the weeds from growing under fences. I was really sorry to see her bee sting between her eyes. It must have hurt like hell. Nature balances things out.
ReplyDeleteHi Barb, thanks, those yellow jackets also nest in the ground and they will come out in swarms and attack best to avoid them if possible. Nature is in charge that's for sure.
DeleteThe only things I use now are Safer's products and BT. We are also very careful to do stuff in the evening when most bigs are in their nests. Ladybugs and praying mantises will do a job on aphids and others. With the fish pond most chemicals are fraught with danger for the fishies!
ReplyDeleteWe have actually had a few honeybees! I think they must be nesting somewhere in the woods as no one in this area is a bee keeper!
Hi Suzi, thanks, yes we have to be careful of all the tiny insects as so many are doing jobs I had no idea they did. The other day I saw a young preying mantis crawling across the deck quickly and looking and looking I think he was looking for greenery and it was so hot, I got a stick and he gladly climbed up on it and I carried him to a plant, he never would have found a plant in the direction he was going in.
ReplyDeleteThere are lots bee keepers here in Georgia but I rarely see a wild honey bee only occasionally. We need all the bees we can get for sure.
I have never seen those tiny bees either! Very cool.
ReplyDeleteHi Michele, thanks, I thought they were tiny beetles or bugs then I looked closely and saw that they were bees. I am sure they have been there all along I just never noticed them till the other day, So sweet and I keep thinking they were afraid of me flying away so quickly then I read they need to make seven trips for one egg; they didn't even have time to worry about me they were too busy getting pollen for their eggs.
ReplyDeleteNo pesticides here, and all my flowers are geared toward birds, bees and butterflies.
ReplyDeleteHi Joanne, thanks, have you seen these little gals, they are so cute.
DeleteLinda..THANK YOU for all of this great summer time information.. fresh veggies and recipes..:). Trish.
ReplyDeleteHi Trish, thanks, I am enjoying all the wonderful food and loving the summer flowers and insects too.
DeleteOur friends the bees...we must always take good care of them, because they take good care of us.
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