To Bee or Not to Bee
By Mary Fitch, Anoka County Extension Master Gardener
I have always had a fascination with bees. As a child, I remember being concerned about planting flowers for them, and I even did a 4-H project about bee keeping. Even then, I knew the importance of the bees’ work.
Fast forward to spring of 2021, and I had a dilemma. Last summer, I had a pile of unopened mulch bags, and my husband placed a tarp over it. In the fall, I noticed that my tidy pile of bags had become home to some flying visitors that looked like bees. Not wanting to harm them or evict them so late in the year, I did nothing. But once I started my spring yard work, I needed the mulch. Was it possible to be a pollinator supporter while still evicting my guests? To learn more, I went online and visited the Bee Lab at the University of Minnesota.
Among pollinators, bees are unique because they spend most of their lives gathering and moving pollen. The pollen sticks to them due to electrostatic forces and the tiny hairs that line their bodies; a honeybee has an average of 3 million hairs. It is estimated that more than one-third of the world’s crops such as alfalfa, sunflower, and numerous fruits and vegetables depend on bee pollination. Honeybees contribute nearly $20 billion to the value of our food crop production each year in the United States. Knowing the important role of bees, I want to preserve their habitat whenever possible.
In my research, I learned that most bees and pollinators prefer a dry environment to nest. Armed with this knowledge, I devised a possible strategy to move my visitors from the mulch pile by simply removing the tarp and letting the rain pour in, making the environment less hospitable. But first, I wanted to identify what I was dealing with. There are approximately 3,500 different species of bees in the United States, and at least 400 reside in Minnesota.
After observing them from a safe distance, I realized that my uninvited guests had nearly hairless bodies with distinctive bright yellow bands across their abdomens, and they were segmented like an ant. Yellowjackets had taken up residence in my mulch pile. While they do not produce or store honey, yellowjackets do pollinate flowers and crops (just not as much as bees). But unlike bees, yellowjackets can sting multiple times without dying. I still plan to proceed with removing the tarp, but now it will require extra speed and caution.
Regardless of whether my plan succeeds in relocating the yellowjackets, the research I did has broadened my knowledge about the many types of bees and pollinators in Minnesota. With this heightened awareness, I have an even stronger resolve to provide habitat and support to our essential friends.
To learn more about the amazing world of bees and pollinators, visit one or more of the following sites:
https://www.mda.state.mn.us/plants-insects/pollinators
https://www.beelab.umn.edu/sites/beelab.umn.edu/files/bees_wasps.pdf
Got yard and garden questions? Connect with Anoka County Master Gardeners for answers! Join us for Ask a Master Gardener Online sessions every Tuesday from 6:30 - 8 p.m. through September. Visit anokamastergardeners.org to learn more. Follow us on Facebook: University of MN Extension, Anoka County Master Gardeners.