Natural History Wanderings

reprinted from the Xerces Society

POLLINATORS: EVERYONE NEEDS A HOME

Bring bees and butterflies in close with nests and host plants

After adding nectar and pollen sources to our landscapes, we can turn our attention to homes for bees and food for larval butterflies.

Bees nest in a myriad of places that most people simply overlook. Ground-nesting bees will be digging into soils on south-facing slopes and yards, where the sun helps warm and dry the soil. Tunnel-nesting bees may be burrowing their way into broken pithy stems of elderberry or raspberry, not to mention seeking out abandoned beetle tunnels in dead branches or hollow tomato stakes in your garden. Bumble bees may appear unexpectedly in lawns or under rock piles where small rodents once nested. All of these natural gems are worth looking for as you walk through your neighborhood, or across your farm.

However, you can give these same pollinators a leg up by taking a few simple steps. If you are growing plants — especially shrubs — with pithy stems, cut them back a bit to reveal the soft pith of the stems and then watch over the next year or two for the pith to be removed, a sign of bees moving in.

You can also bundle stems for other tunnel-nesting bees, drill holes in a block of lumber, or build brush piles or rock piles where bumble bees and other wildlife may take up residence. We have many ideas for how you can create nest sites for bees that are both fun and easy to do.

And, don’t forget egg-laying opportunities for our butterflies. The butterfly experts we work with are concerned about the declines that they have seen in even common butterflies over the past few years. Plant flowers that both you and the butterflies would love to have in your garden.

Resources for bee nest sites and butterfly host plants:

• Nest-plants for bees: We worked with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to create a list of plants in which bees will make nests.
• Fact sheets about making and maintaining artificial nests.
• Host Plants for Butterflies: A fact sheet that gives simple information about butterfly gardening.
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: plants of value to butterflies and moths.

Find Out More:

To discover more ways to support pollinators, including ideas for creating a bee garden in your own community, visit our Bring Back the Pollinators webpage.

Thank you for doing your part!