A Birds Eye Look At The City
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It can be difficult to closely observe bees in your yard since as we know they will avoid human contact when possible. Many people have an aversion to bees fearing their stings. Imagine being the bee with a hulking large creature standing there – it must be a predator and so their instincts tell them it is flight or fight time. Most prefer flight.
If you do want a closer look, try a few tips and tricks that won’t hurt you or the bees. For instance, a simple insect net can be used to gently swing over a flower with a bee and scoop up the insect without damaging its fragile body structure. Or you can drop a net over a flower with a bee on it, scoop it up with the net and quickly tie off any opening in the net. Once this is successfully accomplished, use a glass jar or any container with a lid and fit the netting over the opening of the container while tightly holding the folds of the net so that only the opening is exposed to the empty container. Hold the net tight as you slide the lid over the top of the container and put the lid firmly in place.
Once this is done, put the sealed container in a cool place, like a cooler or refrigerator for about a half an hour. This will not kill the bee but the low temperature will slow the bee down considerably so that you can get a very good look. If you have a magnifying glass, use it to bring out even more detail of the bee’s amazing structure. It takes two or three minutes for the bee to warm up enough to become mobile. Put the still groggy bee back on a flower and watch as it comes to a full wakening.
Bees, Weeds and Flowers
Maybe you have not considered this before, but weeds that flower provide bees and other insects with pollen and nectar. Bees don’t know they are weeds – that is strictly a human judgment. So think twice before you pull all those nasty dandelions. They could indeed be a bee’s gourmet delight! Clover too is a flowering plant that bees love. Once the flowering process is over you can then pull the ‘weed’.
There are lots of species of weeds that provide pollen and nectar for urban bees. The most attractive weed species are Picris echioides and Taraxacum sp. (Asteraceae), Lotus corniculatus and Trifolium repens (Fabaceae), and misc. Brassicaceae. Wherever these occur naturally, allow them to flower so that they will attract bees. Keeping a close eye will open up a whole world of bees in your garden.
