Bees have Besties
And super picky about flowers - Bees are Nosy Part 2
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Hello and Happy Autumn! Last we met, it was also autumn. We were talking about how nosy bees were and about
changing the lens filter (perspective) to get to know our non-human neighbors. (see Bees are Nosy Part 1 for a little refresher).
You know what I discovered since then? That despite being a lover of nature, I didn’t know much. Not informatively, anyway. Sure, I enjoy my surroundings when I’m outdoors, I admire the flowers and trees, their petals and leaves. But really, as much as I admire, I usually just move along and don’t delve in much deeper. If I do, it’s only on the surface, information occasionally sticking to the brain.
So I figured, why not practice what I preach, and get to know one of my favorite critters: bees!
(If the title didn’t give it away… Surprise!)
Of course, we’ve heard they’re pretty vital to our whole eco-system and survival. And thanks to a bug expert, or entomologist I had bee-friended, I learned I knew pretty much nothing about them. I might have also developed a mild obsession with bees and even an appreciation for wasps - albeit from a distance.
I mean, come on! Look how adorable these little bumbles are.
In the last few years, I’ve met a couple beekeepers and experts in the field. Though I guess that’s inevitable when you hang around people in the field of conservation. And as someone who generally finds bees adorable, I tend to share that with other nature-loving folk (and really, anyone who wants to listen). But I especially love talking to bee-lovers. Have you ever talked to such an enthusiast? It’s so endearing and fun to watch their eyes light up when you mention how nosy bees are, as they enthusiastically agree.
And that is how I met the very talented and knowledgeable entomologist, Julia Virias. We met at a networking conservation event for earth day last year, and after an exciting conversation about bees, she agreed to meet with me for tea to tell me about our fuzzy pointy friends.
Now, before I jump into what I'd learned, I just want to reiterate that my practical knowledge of bees was (and still technically is) limited - like for many of us, I assume. Besides that they range in a variety of blacks and yellows and different shapes and behavior, I know that bees like purple and yellow flowers and that they’re vital for pollination. They like sugar, produce really good honey, and you can technically pet a bumble bee.
I haven’t asked if you can pet other bees. I don't intend to try.
But did you know that bees can see ultra violet colors? I didn’t.
So, Julia graciously chatted with me over tea at Seven Arrows Farm (my first interview for the blog!) as she proceeded to answer all my curious questions about bees, or to be more precise, provided a mini crash-course on bees and her favorite facts about them.
Such as the fact that bees have besties!
Though before I get ahead of myself, let’s start from the very beginning! After pouring some tea, one of the first things I asked Julia was, “what is a bee?”
And she unexpectedly responded with, “vegetarian wasps”. As well as informing me that wasps are indeed carnivores, but not all wasps are mean and not all bees produce honey.
Which I found thoroughly amusing. But what took me by surprise was when she told me about native honeybees. Turns out, honeybees native to the North American continent don't actually produce the honey that we all know and love, or at least not in the same amounts we're accustomed to. It's actually the honeybee's European counterpart that was brought over to the United States and who we think of when we think of the classic bee.
Though regardless of the continent, bees actually have preferences about who they hang out and spend their time with. And while Queen honeybees run the hive as a matriarch, I did not know that the majority of bees are females (contrary to my common knowledge and some misleading animated movies out there...) The queen is also the one that dictates the behavior of a hive, whether they're mild or aggressive and defensive. Plus, they’re super smart! In some ways, you might say that honeybees are democratic and can essentially do math.
Hear me out. Evidently when hives are expanding and bees need to find a new home, these ladies send scouts out to find the best new place. The bees use their bodies to measure the capacity of a space to know if it’d be a good fit. Then those bees come back and do a little dance to convince other bees which place they should move to. And the more bees that copy that pattern (or dance), that’s where the collective moves! How cool is that? We could probably learn a thing or two from these ladies.
And here's (one of) my favorite facts: what if I told you that there are far more bees and wasps than we have comprehended?
If you’re anything like me, you might think of honeybees, bumblebees, a couple types of wasps, and have some inkling that other types of bees exist in the world.
What if I told you there are around 250 bee species in my home state of Rhode Island?
Or that there are 4,000 bee species in the US, with most of the diversity being in Utah?
Or would you believe the wild fact that there are more than 20,000 bee species* in the entire world? Don’t ask me how they’re all tracked, you’ll have to delve into that rabbit hole yourself. What I can tell you is that bees are identified by their color patterns on their bodies, and are organized by their nesting patterns. For instance, there are leafcutter bees that make their nests out of leaves, mason bees make nests out of mud, and so on. Also turns out that bumblebees are a bit of a mystery with how and where they nest. Actually, the majority of bee species make nests in or near the ground rather than hives, and only have so many eggs in their entire lifetime - about 20 to 25. So careful when you're cleaning that yard! (Side note, all this time I thought I had bumblebees in my backyard. Apparently they were carpenter bees all along!)
Though a particularly fascinating fact and possibly most important in the grand scheme of all things bee-related, is their symbiotic relationship with flowers. According to Julia, bees adapt to certain flowers that they prefer. Like best friends, they have favorite flowers!
Besides being a really nifty and humanly relatable fact, this is also huge when it comes to nature's evolution. Bees and flowers' evolution influences each other! To quote our entomologist, "flowers are the propellers of bee evolution." Certain flowers attract certain bees and bees have selective nectar pattern preferences. There are some specific flowers that have UV patterns for bees. (Remember that fun fact I mentioned earlier?) So over time as bees evolved, bees have adapted to their favorite flowers. Bees pollinate the flowers and the pollen and nectar sustain bee life. Pollen is fed to larva, adult bees feed on nectar, and hives make a "royal" jelly from pollen to feed the egg chosen to be the queen. Hence, flowers and bees have a beautiful relationship beyond just coexisting!
Which is where climate change plays a big factor in the life of bees. Now you might ask, Kat, how so? What does that even mean?
Well, it’s a good thing I talked to an expert about this.
Certain flowers follow their cycle of life based on the climate they’re in, and bees will come out and buzz around when those specific flowers blossom. As the climate changes, timing of temperature fluctuates, and changes the population range for the bees. In turn, they go north for the temperature. And as the temperatures change and fluctuate, the flowers then bloom at different times. Unfortunately for the bee, they may arrive too early or at the wrong time, and just this has their whole system collapsing. Now I know this turned suddenly depressing. But we all know to some extent how important these active, adorable, sugar-loving pollinators are for all existence. And if we now know the effects of the climate changing, then of course I can only imagine the next thing you're thinking is,
"What can we humble humans do to help our tiny fuzzy friends?"
Well, It's fairly simple. There are a few things you can do. Become a beekeeper.
Just kidding. (Or do, if you want, but do look into native bees beforehand!)
For the rest of us not intending to be future beekeepers:
First off, if you have the outdoor space, you can plant some native bee-friendly plants. If you continue to use pesticides** on your plants, be sure to use some alternative pollinator-friendly methods. If you aren’t really into gardening or don’t have the space, you can always get yourself involved with or monetarily support a non-profit in your area or region that support bees! As someone who volunteers in similar non-profits, I can tell you that many are not rolling in cash or an abundance of people. There are a few good ones*** I made note of below! In the meantime, you can keep getting educated on the matter and share with others what you've learned today. Word of mouth goes along way! Plus, Julia recommended a good book, Silent Earth by Dave Goulson, if you want to delve further into understanding the climate crisis on our pollinators. It's very reader-friendly! And something I think is just as important that you can do: shift, change, or add to your perspective about bees and your relationship with them. Yes, there are some territorial bees that are protective of their homes (and of course do be careful if you're allergic). But these bees are really just trying to go about their day, buzzing along as they make food, fly from flower to flower, and take care of their communities while subsequently taking care of ours. If you walk away with anything, if not a little more fascination or appreciation,
I hope you remember, bees have besties and they're super nosy.
Cheers,
Kat S.
Afterword:
Shout out to star Entomologist Julia Virias for sharing her knowledge with me!
*In recent times, the count of bee species keeps going up with an estimation of over 21-26,000 species. You can check out these sites to learn more! Bee species count estimates and a short USGS post.
**Here is a user-friendly guide/factsheet for alternatives to synthetic pesticides. This was taken from the Pollinator Friendly Alliance nonprofit website.
*** A list of bee-friendly non-profits, though this is far from complete. You may have heard of a few of these:
P.S. This is purely just a snapshot of information! I highly recommend learning more from any of the sources provided here or a fun internet session can also do the trick. Happy learning!
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