Florida solitary bees keep flowers in bloom; here's how to attract them | Sally Scalera

Pollinators is a broad term that includes all animals that transfer pollen, which contains DNA, from one flower to another.

The most well-known pollinators are European honeybees, but pollinators also include numerous insects, like thrips, which pollinate mango and frangipani flowers, beetles and birds. 

European honeybees were brought to America to pollinate the fruit trees that were brought over, such as apples, oranges and pears. Almonds and avocados also benefit from the presence of European honeybees.

But did you know that Florida has over 300 species of native bee? And 29 of those species are only found here in Florida. Instead of just focusing on the well-known European honeybees, which live in large hives, let’s also consider birds and our native solitary bees.

Pollinating birds

Birds pollinate many of our native wildflowers and, of course, also do a great job dispersing the seeds. If only they could understand the concept of “Right Plant, Right Place” and not drop the acorn so close to the house.

I also want to put in a quick plug for hummingbirds, because they pollinate our native coralbean, Erythrina herbacea, which is the plant to have if you want visual proof that you have hummingbirds in your yard. Seed pods are only produced when the flower is pollinated by a hummingbird. Hummingbirds also pollinate our native geiger tree, Cordia sebestena.

Florida native solitary bees

The great thing about our native solitary bees is that they are more efficient at pollinating our plants, so why not attract as many of them as possible to your yard?

Solitary bees have many advantages over honeybees as pollinators because they fly rapidly, pollinate more plants, rarely sting, work on cloudy days, start earlier in the morning (7 a.m. or earlier), and work later in the afternoon than honeybees do.

Bumble bees, digger bees and sweat bees make up the bulk of native bees in most parts of the state. To support solitary bees, we must provide nesting habitats, stop using harmful pesticides and provide suitable plants that flower throughout the year.

Native bees can be divided between soil and wood dwellers.  Of those, approximately 70% nest in the ground by digging a tunnel in bare or semi-bare, well-draining soil. Soil-dwelling bees include bumble, digger, sweat and squash bees.

Bumble bees are hard workers that work faster than honeybees and can be out in cooler temperatures.

Bumble bees pollinate many of our most common vegetables like tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, melons, blackberries, strawberries and blueberries.

Squash bees only visit flowers of squash, pumpkin and gourds. They are early risers too and will visit all the squash flowers by midday when the flowers close.

The remaining 30% of our solitary bees will nest in cavities or plants with pithy stems, like our native elderberry.

Wood dwellers include our leafcutters and carpenter bees.

The leafcutter bees are partial to legume blooms but will pollinate other crops like carrots and sunflowers. They are also very efficient pollinators, so it takes fewer leafcutter bees than honeybees to pollinate flowers.

Carpenter bees pollinate crops like passion fruit, blackberry, corn, peppers and pole beans.

Increase Florida native bee populations

Here are some ways to increase native bee populations in your yard.

Start by choosing a sunny area to plant a cluster of flowering plants. In the cluster’s center, leave the soil bare or only spread a thin layer of mulch so the ground-nesting bees can lay their eggs in underground tunnels.

The second step is to reduce the use of harmful pesticides. The extensive use of pesticides, and there are more pesticides used in urban landscapes than on agricultural land, has contributed to the loss of many bees and other pollinators.

Next, provide the pollinators with food by planting the best flowering plants for them. Plant groups of different plant species altogether so the bees can easily spot them. Finish off the outside of the cluster or drift of flowers by mulching the outer edge of the plant bed.  This will help to suppress the weeds and give the mass planting a neat appearance.

Flowers that support native Florida bees

Here are the top native flowers that support the largest number of native bees here in Brevard County.

Our number one genus, Solidago (goldenrods), includes five species of tall-growing, yellow flowering, narrow plants that do great in dry/well-draining soil and full sun.

Next are the Helianthus (sunflowers), with three species to choose from. H. angustifolia, Narrow-leaved sunflower, grows 3 to 5 feet with a 4-to-6-foot spread and blooms in October.

Helianthus debilis, East Coast dune sunflower, will produce a clump 2 to 4 feet tall with a similar spread.

Our native Geranium, which rarely grows taller than 18-inch tall and 1 to 2 feet wide, may grow in your yard through the summer or winter.

Another good choice is our single species of Heterotheca, H. subaxillaris, false goldenrod, which can grow to 5 feet, with a narrow spread and produces yellow blooms from July through November.

Other great members of the daisy family that support our bees include the goldenaster (Chrysopsis sp.), tickseed (Coreopsis spp.), silkgrass (Pityopsis graminifolia), coneflower (Rudbeckia hirta) and old field aster (Symphyotrichum spp.).

When planting your new pollinator patch, be sure to inoculate the planting hole with granular mycorrhizae and later use a liquid inoculant that also contains beneficial bacteria. For more information on this topic, email the UF/IFAS Extension Brevard County Master Gardeners at brevard-mg1@ifas.ufl.edu.

If you want to learn more about pollinators, you may want to check out the Pollinator Fair from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 3 at Nance Park in Indialantic. This fun, family adventure will include food trucks, vendors, music and crafts for children. While you are there, look for the UF/IFAS Extension Master Gardener booth for information on pollinators.

Sally Scalera is an urban horticulture agent and master gardener coordinator for the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences. Email her at sasc@ufl.edu.

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Here's how to attract Florida native solitary bees to your yard