Author and expert gardener Elizabeth Lawrence once said, “The hum of bees is the voice of the garden.” Bees are important pollinators that play a vital role in ecosystems and crop production. While honeybee cultivation often receives more attention, native bee species are also crucial to maintaining healthy environments. A report released on May 22 highlights several ways homeowners can help support these native pollinators.
The topic matters because many native bee species are facing extinction, with experts noting that one in six bee species is regionally extinct and more than 40 percent are vulnerable to extinction per global estimates. Native bees differ from honeybees in their nesting habits and roles within the ecosystem. While honeybees live socially in hives, many native bees lead solitary lives, nesting in the ground or inside plant stems and wood.
Leafcutter bees, for example, have over 130 species native to North America. These solitary bees use decaying wood or hollow stems as homes and require leaves or flower petals for lining nests. They carry pollen on their abdomens rather than on their legs like honeybees do. Native bees pollinate plants such as blueberries, cherries, cranberries, eggplant, tomato, blueberry, kiwi, sweet potatoes, and peppers—many of which require buzz pollination that honeybees cannot perform.
Homeowners can help by adopting several practices: using compost mulch instead of bark to encourage ground-nesting; leaving dead plant stems standing for stem-nesting; bundling hollow stems together as nesting tubes; providing untreated wooden blocks with drilled holes; offering natural materials like mud or reeds; avoiding pesticides; and planting a diverse mix of flowering plants throughout the growing season.
These small changes can make gardens more hospitable for both ground- and stem-nesting bee species year-round. As research continues into the needs of native pollinators, creating suitable habitats at home remains an effective way individuals can contribute to supporting these important insects.
