This article was written by Elizabeth Poulson, Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board Naturalist at North Mississippi Regional Park
Have you ever sat and watched a bee go about its business? Flying from one flower to the next, collecting pollen and nectar along the way, intensely focused on the task at hand? Without a doubt, bees are fascinating creatures. While they may incite fear in some of us, they also spark curiosity, wonder and excitement.
So what’s all the buzz about bees?
Bees are famously known for their key role as pollinators of flowers, trees, and especially some of our favorite fruits, nuts and vegetables. As many as one-third of all crops worldwide are pollinated by commercially raised or wild bees and other pollinators. Bees and other pollinators are the ones that give our diets diversity, color and flavor. In North America, it’s estimated that the pollination “service” bees provide has between a $15-$20 billion annual value. That is to say, if we lived in a world without bees, the cost and effort to hand-pollinate the food we eat would have a big price tag.
Honeybees are likely the first bees that come to mind when we think of pollinators of foods and flowers, but what about the thousands of wild bees that are native to North America? In Minnesota, there are about 400 native bee species. With the exception of honeybees and bumblebees, most of our native bees are solitary, meaning they do not live in colonies. While honeybees pollinate most of our crops, our native bees are equally important. Many native bees are active early in the spring as well as during less favorable weather conditions (when it is too cold for honeybees to fly) pollinating fruit crops such as apples, cherries and especially blueberries.
Not only are our native bees important for early flowering crops, but they have also co-evolved with our native plant communities over millions of years, making this relationship even more vital. This integral relationship has even garnered some bees the nickname of “super pollinators” as they are more efficient at pollinating native crops and plants than honeybees.
Blueberries are one notable example that demonstrates the pollinating efficiency of native bees as well as the symbiotic relationship of native bees and native plants. Blueberries have pendulous flowers that do not easily shed their pollen. Native bees have evolved a technique called “buzz pollination” where they grab a hold of a flower and rapidly move their flight muscles, creating vibrations that help release the pollen. Honeybees are unable to buzz pollinate and research has shown that it can take up to four honeybees to deposit the same amount of pollen as one native bee, making native bees about 6.5 times faster and more efficient at pollinating blueberries. The role of honeybees in commercial blueberry fields shouldn’t be overlooked though. Honeybees have strength in numbers and are often able to fly greater distances, making them efficient in their own right.
The relationship between bees and humans cannot be understated. We are immensely dependent on bees for many of the foods we eat, but we are not the only ones reliant on bees. There are many other animals and plants that rely on bees for their survival. Up to 80 percent of all flowering plants depend on bees for pollination, including many of the common plants and flowers we have in our gardens at home such as hostas and peonies. Because of this necessity, bees are considered a keystone species. Keystone species are those that play a pivotal role in the balance of ecosystems or particular environments. If they are removed, the system can drastically change or collapse and potentially cease to exist altogether. Not only are bees vital for plant production, but they also help form the basis of an energy-rich food web that in turn supports the longevity of the plants they pollinate and the animals that feed on those plants.
In the last decade or so, severe declines of pollinators, especially honeybees and bumblebees, have been observed. Many factors contributing to these losses are familiar to what other declining animal species have also encountered: habitat losses, changes in climate, disease, overcrowding and competition of resources, as well as pesticides and herbicides. All of these factors tend to overlap, which compounds and complicates the problem.
The keystone role that pollinators have in ecosystems is one of the many reasons to look more closely at how to restore them. While many of us may not keep honeybee colonies in our backyards, our yards can still be the perfect oasis for pollinators, and in particular, for solitary nesting bees, bumblebees and butterflies. Providing sources for nectar and pollen is one of the simplest ways we can help pollinators at home. Food sources can come in the form of a small garden featuring pollinator-friendly plants or even a flowering bee lawn. A bee lawn differs from a traditional turf grass lawn in that it is a mixture of turf grasses as well as flowering plants. Bee lawns offer many benefits including increased lawn resilience to environmental pressures, natural diversity that benefits bees and other pollinators and insects, and the beauty of the flowers themselves.
To learn more about bees, other pollinators or how to start your own pollinator garden, the Bee Lab at the University of Minnesota provides great educational resources for pollinator friendly plants and the overall health of Minnesota’s bees, beelab.umn.edu/. Sign up for our Summer Blooms Prairie Tour Series, Tuesdays from 10-11:30 a.m. at Kroening Interpretive Center and find out more about local plants and habitats that support pollinators. Join the Park Board at the Pollinator Party: A Celebration of Bees on Thursday July 25 at the Lyndale Park Gardens from 5-8 p.m. for bee-centric fun- filled, games, music and food for the whole family! Additionally, North Mississippi Regional Park will be hosting its own honeybee colony this summer! It is to be situated in the south prairie. Stop by the Kroening Interpretive Center to learn more about our honeybee colony and other pollinators in the park!
July Public Programs—Free for all ages unless otherwise noted! July 6 – Bird Watching: Insect Eaters, 4-5:30 p.m.; July 6 – Trail Trekkers – adults 10-11 a.m. and families 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.; July 13 – Outdoors: Into the Creek from 3-5 p.m.; July 20 – Nature Art: Leaf Creatures from 3-4 p.m.; July 25 – Pollinator Party from 5-8 p.m. at Lyndale Park Gardens; July 27 – Hike: Prairie Flowers from 10:15-11:15 a.m.; and July 28 – Family Funday: Scaly Tails from 1-3 p.m.
Find registration for these programs and more at minneapolisparks.org or call 612-370-4844 for details. Do you have a question about nature in your own backyard? Then send it our way by emailing northmississippi@minneapolisparks.org and it could appear in a future article. Like us on Facebook to stay in the loop about what is happening at your park.