Bee On The Lookout

Andi Sedlacek

Andi Sedlacek is communications director for the DNR.

Have you seen some bees this summer? Don’t fret – they're good for flowers, the vegetables in your garden and other plants. Plus, our bumble bee friends need a little help. Bumble bee populations are declining across the U.S., including in Wisconsin, but you can do some simple things around your yard to keep the bees buzzing this summer and beyond.

❶ Leave the weeds. When a dandelion pops up, you may be tempted to grab the weed killer, but hold up! Maintaining a yard free from pesticides and herbicides is helpful for bees. Insecticides can harm or kill bees, and herbicides can kill the plants they need to survive, so think twice about spraying and help out your local bees.

❷ Offer them a drink. Bees and other pollinators are just like us: They need water to drink. One easy way to provide a bee-friendly watering hole in your yard is to take a shallow container like a pie pan or plant saucer, add gravel or a few rocks (so any pollinators can rest on them while they drink), and add some water. Refresh the water every few days.

❸ Create a cozy place to rest. Bees also need safe places to rest, avoid bad weather and spend the winter. You can maintain brush and leaf piles in your yard and avoid trimming hollow-stemmed plants through the winter to offer places where bees and other pollinators can take a break.

❹ Plant native plants and trees. Early-blooming trees are an important food source for bumble bee queens emerging from hibernation and many other insects, which in turn provide food for birds and bats. Planting flowers that bloom at varied times throughout the growing season — like columbine (spring), bee balm (summer) and goldenrod (late summer and fall) — can fill your garden with colors for months while providing food to pollinators.

❺ Report the bees you see. Think you saw a native bumble bee? The Wisconsin Bumble Bee Brigade wants to know! Visit wiatri.net/inventory/bbb to learn more and find a link to submit your observations. You also can become a trained volunteer with the Bumble Bee Brigade to conduct surveys of bees and attend events to help spread the word about their importance.

The more data we have on bees, the more we know and the better we can manage and conserve their populations. Get involved now to help bees — they would bee so grateful!