Earth Month - April 2023

Happy Earth Month, April 2023. Do your part to help our planet thrive by helping our Earth’s pollinators! Support science-based groups like the Pollinator Partnership that promote practical ways to help pollinators in trouble through conservation, education, and research.

Munching Monarchs

 

Monarch caterpillars are voracious eaters because it is during their larval stage that Monarchs do all their growing. They even eat their shell after they hatch and their molted (shedded) skin as they grow! Look at the mini monarch caterpillar near his giant friend who shows how large they must become before they pupate and hatch as bright orange and black butterflies who are great garden pollinators!

Do Bees Hibernate In Winter?

No, although they stay in the hive as much as possible and eat honey stored for the winter. 

The female worker bees form a large cluster and vibrate their bodies to generate heat to stay warm. The fortunate queen bee is in the center where the temperature is warmer than the outside of the cluster – an advantage to “bee-ing” royalty!

Bees Buzz Over Rosemary

 

Bees adore rosemary, but who wouldn’t? With its fragrant needle-like leaves and flowers rich in nectar, this evergreen plant has white, pink, purple, or, most commonly, blue flowers. It has a long blooming period, spring through summer or sometimes late winter. So go ahead and add rosemary to your garden and watch the bees buzz!

Hummingbirds Pollinate Plants too!

Hummingbirds make fantastic pollinators because they feed so frequently. They visit up to 2,000 flowers a day. With their needle-like bill and long, forked tongues, hummingbirds can lick nectar and draw it up into their throats. Pollen gets stuck to their beaks and heads and is transferred from one flower to the next, aiding in plant propagation. Attract hummingbirds to your garden with plants that have brightly colored, tubular-shaped flowers, such as these natives: Salvia, Penstemon, Firebush, Honeysuckle and Carolina Jessamine. (Hummingbird photo by Dulcey Lima).

Nectar Robbers

 

Theft isn’t limited to our society; crime also exists in the world of bees in the form of nectar robbing. Carpenter and bumble bees are the most common thieves in this respect as they sometimes find themselves too big to fit inside tubular-shaped flowers. When this happens, a bee will bite the base of a petal and insert its tongue (proboscis) to drink the nectar. Scientists call this “robbing the nectar” because these clever insects are “cheating” pollination. But who can blame a hungry bee for performing this ingenious maneuver?

Do Bees Sleep?

 Bees need to rest and sleep at night just like we do! Male bees find a cozy flower to rest on since they don’t have a nest for a home. They hold on to flowers with their mandibles or legs and stay there overnight. You might be lucky enough to catch a bee sleeping on a flower if you take an early morning walk in your garden. A bumblebee sleeping on a daisy-like flower called Gaillardia or blanket flower.