Quote Originally Posted by Nanci View Post
I just read an article somewhere, of course I can't remember where- maybe a gardening magazine, about how the decline of the honeybee population has led to an increase in native bees who had been suppressed by the imported honeybees. If you Google "less honeybees more native bees" there are a ton of articles about how much better native bees are at pollinating, and about habitat conservation. I have a lot of sages/salvias planted around my patio to attract butterflies and hummingbirds, but I'm also getting lots of bees. Big fat bumblebees and these small tan bees that are about half the size of a honeybee, and very "furry." They are also very even-tempered and allow macro photography without retaliation!
Hi Nanci!

In addition to my honeybee hives, I put up nesting sites for native/Solitary bees as well. There are several thousand species of native bees in the U.S. They are beautiful and fascinating, and amazing in their diversity. They don't make honey, live solitary lives (not in hive communities), and they don't normally sting (unless you pinch or hurt them). They pollinate like gangbusters.
My nesting sites have attracted at least two species, possibly 3. And I have a box built specifically for leafcutter bees, though they have not discovered it yet. I am very much into providing healthy habitat for all kinds of bees. Solitary native bee populations are suffering as well as honeybees, but because of the loss of habitat and the over-use of both residential and agricultural pesticides and herbicides. They are not doing better now that honeybees are suffering...all bee populations are declining due to toxic chemicals being applied to plants, and habitat loss. I describe my native bee efforts here on my personal blog: http://strumelia.blogspot.com/search...olitary%20bees

I now have about 60 tubes full of native bee cocoons which I will clean and store safely over the winter, to put out next Spring for them to emerge and go forth to pollinate and multiply again. This Spring I started with only 6 tubes full. Each 6" tube houses about 5-7 cocoons.