Plants For Honey Bees
Presented By Dennis Morgeson Agent for Horticulture Washington County
Modified Program From Jessica Cole Mercer County Extension Agent for Horticulture And Beth Wilson Pulaski County Agent for Horticulture
So You Want To Create More Forage… • Why? • For surplus honey production • During the summer dearth • Supplements to other crops? • To supplement cucumber pollination • To divert bees from harmful areas
Diversity • Studies show that polyfloral diets are healthier for honey bees • If you keep bees close to large monoculture farms, honey bee health could be compromised • Pollen quality differs from plant to plant as does sugar concentration of nectar
Plants • Sugar concentration of nectar ranges from 5 to 75%, most are 25 to 40% • Colony of 50,000 bees needs about 2# of 50% sugar syrup each day (about a half gal at 25%) • Nectar quality can vary year to year based on growing conditions (drought, rainy, soil fertility, etc) • Flowers need to be blooming during bee flight periods
Plants • Sugar concentration of nectar ranges from 5 to 75%, most are 25 to 40% • Colony of 50,000 bees needs about 2# of 50% sugar syrup each day (about a half gal at 25%) • Nectar quality can vary year to year based on growing conditions (drought, rainy, soil fertility, etc) • Flowers need to be blooming during bee flight periods
Factors Influencing Nectar Habitat • Urbanization • Row crop agriculture and high grain prices • Eradication programs • Star thistle
• Commercial agriculture and pesticides • Weed‐free crop lands – Roundup Ready crops • Large‐acreage commercial crops
Protect / Encourage Existing Bee Forages • Selective cutting of wooded stands to favor nectariferous trees • Delayed mowing of pastures
Black locust in bloom
Bee Forage in Kentucky • Agriculture • Corn, soybeans, winter wheat, alfalfa, vegetables, pasture
• Non Agriculture • Woods, pasture, riparian areas, abandoned fields, urban areas, recreation areas, roadsides, fencerows
Effective foraging area • Bees fly within about a 2.5 mile radius of the hive ~ 12,500 acres. • Everything is relative … flowers and flowering areas are competing for the attention of pollinators • Bees use the topography
Plants • Honey bees have short tongues, bumblebees long tongues • Long, tubular flowers vs. short flowers • Yellow, blue, narrow blue‐green region, UV
Plants • Honey bees have short tongues, bumblebees long tongues • Long, tubular flowers vs. short flowers • Yellow, blue, narrow blue‐green region, UV
Our Gardens Should Be…. • Clumpy – plant in clumps, not singles • Diverse – not just flowers but trees and shrubs • Pesticide‐free – makes no sense to spray pesticides when you’re trying to attract bees • Floriferous – main season bloom is usually no problem but we also need early and bees need water • And maybe even a little weedy
Planting Forage Crops for Bees • Many believe this is not practical or economical • However … … when the planting serves multiple uses … Erosion control Reforestation Reclamation Food/cover for wildlife Diverting bees Pest management enhancement … it may be useful
Will There be Benefits? • Who will benefit? • Diverting bees from a productive forage plant to another has little overall benefit • • • •
Timing is everything Know the flowering of your forage plants (keep records!) What is your target period? What other plants are in flower?
Considerations for Forage Plants • Locally adapted plants – native plants • Weediness or aggressiveness of plants • Bloom periods • Annual, biennial, or perennial • Cost of seed/plants • Establishment time • Equipment, preparation of land and maintenance needs • Overall cost Sourwood in bloom
Establishment and Survival • Research the needs of the forage crops • Site selection, herbicides, water requirements, sunlight, drought tolerance, soil pH, etc.
• Competition with weeds and other plants • Susceptibility to pests
Brown marmorated stink bug
Start Small • Test planting a small site • Variation between sites • Variation between years • • • • •
Moisture Fertility Soil Temperature Sunlight
• What works for one might not
for others, highly variable
What do you want? • High Brix for the nectar • High levels of nectar production per flower • Large numbers of blooms • Long bloom period • Filling in gaps between other blooms
Can You Tolerate This? This is bee feed!!!!
Examples of Multiuse Crops
Improve the economics • Canola • Clover, alfalfa • Soybean • Sunflower
Other Insect Visitors • Banker plants • Helping the beneficial insects
• Enhancing biological control for the garden
Single Use Forages
• Hyssops • Mountain mint • White and Sweet clovers • Borages • Buttonbush • Nicotiana hybrids • Buckwheat
For The Backyard • Coreopsis • Beebalm • Black‐eyed Susans • Purple Coneflower • Sunflowers • Aster
USDAÂ Recommendations
Black locust Henbit Canola Crimson clover Dutch clover Red clover Bee balm Sourwood Sunflower Mountain mint Coneflower Milkweed Asters Goldenrod
Goldenrod Black locust Borage Lemon balm White sweet clover Yellow sweet clover Mint Milkweed Sunflower
Asters Catnip Goldenrod Coneflower Bee balm Mint Sunflower Sweet clover Sourwood Black locust
Seasonal Forages‐Spring • Carolina Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) • Maples (Acer spp.) • Henbit / purple deadnettle (Lamium spp.) • Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) • Apples & crabs (Malus spp.) • Redbud (Cercis canadensis) • Hazelnut (Corylus americana)
Seasonal Forages‐Spring • Quince • Black locust or honey locust (Robinia spp. or Gleditsia triacanthos f. inermis) • Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) • Alliums and chives • Borage • Willows (Salix spp.) • Hollies (Ilex spp.)
Weeds?
Nectar and Pollen Droughts…. • Winter and Summer….Not much hive activity in winter but summer you can plant to help the honeybees….
Nicotiana Hybrids
Nicotiana Hybrids
28.5 Brix 1.03 gm nectar/20 flowers Started in greenhouse and transplanted Flowers July‐Frost 50‐75 plants sufficient for several hives
Buckwheat • Warm season crop, as quick as 30 days from flower to full bloom • Mow before seed maturity….can become weedy • Can get several crops in during one season • Some people don’t like the dark honey produced from buckwheat
Seasonal Forages‐Fall
Seasonal Forages‐Fall
Seasonal Forages‐Asters • Native asters bloom late into fall giving bees late season pollen and nectar sources….
More information • NRCS Ecological Sciences Division publications www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/ECS/database/technotes.html • Xerces Society www.xerces.org/pollinator‐conservation‐ agriculture/ • Pollinator Partnership www.pollinator.org/