bee farming revised - nrcs

Critical Requirements of Native Bees

Food. Bees eat only pollen and nectar. In the proc-ess of gathering these resources, they move pollenfrom one flower to another, and thus pollinate yourcrops. Bees rely upon an abundance and variety offlowers, and need blooming plants throughout thegrowing season.

Shelter. Native bees don’t build the wax or paperstructures we associate with honey bees or wasps,but they do need places to nest, which vary depend-ing on the species. Wood-nesting bees are solitary,often making individual nests in beetle tunnels instanding dead trees. Ground-nesting bees includesolitary species that construct nest tunnels underthe ground. Cavity-nesting social species—bumblebees—make use of small spaces, such as abandonedrodent burrows, wherever they can find them.

Protection from pesticides. Most insecticides aredeadly to bees, and unnecessary herbicide use canremove many of the flowers that they need for food.

Principles of Farming for Crop Pollinators

1. Know the habitat on your farm. Using the illus-tration in this brochure as a guide, look for areas onand around your land that can support native bees.

2. Protect flowering plants and nest sites. Onceyou know where bees are living and foraging, dowhat you can to protect these resources from dis-turbance and pesticides.

3. Enhance habitat with flowering plants andadditional nest sites. Adding flowers, leaving someground untilled, and providing bee blocks (tunnelsdrilled into wood) are all ways to increase the num-ber of native bees on your farm.

Getting Started

Here are two things that you can do to begin im-proving habitat for native bees on your land:

Minimize tillage. Many of our best crop pollinatorslive underground for most of the year, sometimesat the base of the very plants they pollinate. To pro-tect them, turn over soil only where you need to.

Allow crops to bolt. If possible, allow leafy crops,like lettuce, to flower if they don’t need to be tilledright away. This gives bees additional food sources.

Going Further

If you want to do more to increase the number ofnative bees pollinating your crops, you can planthedgerows or windbreaks with a variety of flower-ing plants and shrubs, reduce or eliminate your useof pesticides, or work with your neighbors to pro-tect natural areas around your farm.

Exercising Care with Insecticides

If you must use insecticides, choose targeted ingre-dients (for example, Btk for pests such as leaf rollers)and the least harmful formulations (granules orsolutions). Spray on dry evenings—and do so soonafter dark, when bees are not active. Keep in mindthat even when crops are not in bloom, some ofyour best pollinators are visiting nearby flowers,where they may be killed by drifting chemicals.

Native Bees and Your Crops

Native bees are valuable crop pollinators. Thesewild bees help increase crop yields, and mayserve as important insurance when honey beesare hard to come by.

There are simple and inexpensive things youcan do to increase the number of native beesliving on your land. Any work you do on be-half of pollinators will support other beneficialinsects and wildlife. In addition, improvementsto pollinator habitat may be eligible for finan-cial support from government programs.

Inside you’ll find more information, along witha visual guide to identifying and enhancingnative bee habitat on your farm.

Published by the Xerces Society, copyright 2005. Funding has beenprovided by the Norcross Foundation, the CS Fund, the GoldmanFoundation, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Illus-trations by Andrew Holder. Designed and produced by Press-22.

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation4828 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard

Portland, Oregon 97215503-232-6639

We have the good fortune of being home to manynative pollinators, including blue orchard bees.We believe that our being chemical free helps ourbees flourish, and they in turn help produce someof the sweetest berries in the whole country.

—Mandy McCormickBlue Tara Organic Blueberry FarmPoplarville, Mississippi

Most native bees are unlikely to sting. Theyellowjackets and other wasps you see eatingrotting fruit and hanging around picnics arenot bees, nor are they significant pollinators.

I was surprised to learn how native pollinatorscan make honey bees much more effective atpollinating our sunflowers. As we continue work-ing to increase biodiversity on our farm, we’ll beadding features to help the wild bees.

—Charlie RomingerRominger Brothers’ FarmsWinters, California

Xerces Society Pollinator Resources

The Xerces Society is a non-profit organization thatprotects biological diversity through the conser-vation of invertebrates. We work with farmers andscientists across the country to protect habitat thatsupports pollinators and to increase populations ofnative bees so that they can play a larger role in croppollination. More information on providing habitatfor native bees is available at www.xerces.org, whereyou can download plant lists, fact sheets for specificcrops, or a copy of Farming for Bees, our detailedguidelines for protecting and providing native beehabitat on farms. You also may purchase the pop-ular Pollinator Conservation Handbook, an award-winning book written for a more general audience.

NRCS Programs

The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service(NRCS) provides financial and technical assistanceto support conservation efforts for pollinators andother wildlife on farms. NRCS programs —such asthe Environmental Quality Incentive Program, theWildlife Habitat Incentives Program, the GrasslandsReserve Program, the Wetlands Reserve Program,and the Conservation Security Program—can helpagricultural producers establish pollinator-friendlynative species plantings. For information on NRCSconservation programs, contact your local NRCS orconservation district office. The office nearest youcan be located at www.nrcs.usda.gov.

FARM I NGFOR

POLLI NATORS

Riparian BuffersFood and Shelter

Habitat along streams should contain a diversity of plants. Willows,in particular, will nourish bumble bee queens in the spring so thatlarge numbers of workers are available when crops begin to bloom.

SnagsShelter

Keeping dead trees standing provides shelter for nativebees. Some solitary bees build nests in abandonedbeetle tunnels in snags.

Natural or Undeveloped AreasFood and Shelter

Nearby natural areas may harbor all the native beesneeded to pollinate your farm’s crops. Consider invitingyour neighbors to help with safeguarding these habitats.

Temporary Bee PastureFood

Planting fields with canola or other in-expensive seed—or allowing crops such aslettuce, kale, basil, and broccoli to bolt—will supply bees with nectar and pollen.

PesticidesInsecticides kill pollinators outright, and herbicides may destroy plantsimportant for both food and shelter. It is preferable to minimize your useof pesticides and to carefully choose products and application methods.

Ponds and DitchesFood and Shelter

When you create a pond or ditch, leave the pile ofexcavated soil. Ground-nesting bees may build nestsin stable, bare areas of this mounded earth. Plantingclumps of native flowers will attract more pollinators.

Hedgerows or WindbreaksFood and Shelter

Creating hedgerows with a wide variety of plants that haveoverlapping flowering periods will provide bee habitatthroughout the growing season and strengthenpopulations of natural enemies of crop pests.

Field and Road EdgesFood and Shelter

Leave areas next to fields untilled andunsprayed to support flowering plants andprovide nest sites for ground-nesting bees.

Cover CropsFood

Flowering plants—certain legumes inparticular—can be included in cover-crop mixes to supply pollen and nectar.

Artificial NestsShelter

Making bee blocks for wood-nesting bees is a good way to increase thenumber of native bees in your landscape.

GardensFood

A vegetable, flower, or herb garden, with a diverse assortmentof plants, is a good source of food for pollinators. Be wary offancy hybrids that may produce little pollen or nectar.

Fallow FieldsFood and Shelter

Even small areas of fallow or unproductive land, especially when sown with native flowers,can offer important resources for native bees.