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Yin Jiang Getty Images. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. Learn more about specialist vs. They actually see flowers in the blue and purple color spectrum better than other hues and are naturally attracted to them.
Interestingly, flowers in the blue-purple range produce the most nectar. Bees can also see ultraviolet light, and many flowers have ultraviolet nectar guides that are invisible to us but lead bees right to their sweet treat.
Some bees prefer certain flowers because of their shape. For example, long-tongued bees seek out tubular, deep-throated blooms while short-tongued species visit flowers with easily accessible nectar, such as those in the daisy family. It's just the right size. Sizewise, honeybees often flock to tiny flowers, while larger bees shun them because they are too small to support their weight. It's single. Regardless of flower shape or size, avoid cultivars with showy double flowers.
While attractive, they often make it more difficult for bees to access nectar and pollen than single flowers. Don't treat your flowers with pesticides, which are extremely toxic to honeybees and other beneficial insects. Instead, opt for eco-friendly treatments and apply them in early morning or at dusk when there are few bees around. Also, avoid buying plants pretreated with systemic chemicals that, even in small doses, can be harmful to bees.
It blooms at the right time. Although spring and summer may seem to be when bees are at their busiest, some early-emerging bees rely on pollen and nectar from late winter and very early spring blooms. In the fall, bees feast on late-blooming plants in preparation for winter hibernation.
Beyond planting colorful flowers, there are other things you can do to keep bees abuzz in your garden. Here are tips for creating the ultimate pollinator paradise:. Provide a comfortable home. Not all bees colonize in hives like the super-social honeybee. Bumblebees nest in holes in the ground and need bare areas of unmulched soil where they can dig their underground tunnels. Certain species of solitary bees make their homes in aboveground tunnels or cavities in hollow-stemmed plants and dead wood.
Here's a fun bee hotel coloring page for budding young gardeners to enjoy. Make sure they have access to water.
Create a small bee watering station by placing a shallow, wide dish in the garden filled with clean water and a few stones the bees can stand on. A birdbath with a few smooth rocks in it will also do the trick.
Another option is to buy a gravity-fed water dispenser designed especially for bees. Plant a bee lawn that includes low-growing flowering plants as well as turf grass. Dutch white clover Trifolium repens , creeping thyme Thymus serpyllum , and native violas Viola spp.
Even dandelions can be an asset if you're trying to attract bees and other pollinating insects. Grow some herbs. Many pollinators, especially bees, are drawn to herbs, such as rosemary and thyme, because of their intense scent.
Include a mix of native and non-native plants. Shrubs offer particular advantages, because they provide lots of flowers or flower heads in a concentrated area, meaning that foraging trips to shrubs are efficient as far as bees are concerned. I LOVE hypericum! To watch bumblebees land on the bouncy stamens of this lovely flowering shrub, is a joy!
I actually mention this among my list of fantastic shrubs for bees. Berberis shrubs provide orangey yellow flowers - popular with bees, and lovely glossy foliage. More shrubs for bees. There are plenty of wildflowers I could mention, and many people include them in their garden anyway.
Here are three common ones:. I like bird's foot trefoil in the rockery, but patches can also grown in the lawn it may go brown in the autumn though - so you need to be aware of this. It's especially attractive to bumble bees and solitary bees, such as silvery leafcutter bees. Lots of bees love dandelions , and they can provide much needed food when little else is available.
I always let a few survive in my tiny garden, at least for periods when there is little in flower. When the bees are more interested in the other flowers, I pull the dandelions out, confident that more will appear the following year or later - and they do!
Why Wasps Are Fab! Do Bees Visit Yellow Flowers? Do bees visit yellow flowers? Jane, UK. Bloomed furrow bee male foraging on solidago.
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