Dateline Castle Rock, Washington. Any summer Friday
morning about daybreak.
Just about the time the sun comes up you will see the
cars of this dedicated band of Bloom Team volunteers begin to line up at Old
Jail Park. Starting as early as 5:30, these “Water Wizards,” as they are
affectionately called, fill tubs and tanks with water and plant food. This has
been happening most summer Fridays since 2012, when the Castle Rock Blooms
Business Sponsored Planter (BSP) program began.
Castle Rock Blooms BSP was initiated after the main
downtown Cowlitz Street renovation. New streets generated enthusiasm by the
local business community and the city for a coordinated floral planter program
that coincided with Castle Rock's first year of participation in the America in
Bloom program. What began with 20 planters, placed and planted by volunteers,
has blossomed into a city-wide program that has spread.
To provide some perspective to this growing program, in
2018 the Bloom Team planted 123 BSP planters, plus 20 more donated to City
Hall, Visitor Information Center, Post Office, Senior Center, etc. and 35 city
streetscape planters.
Bloom Team volunteers takes care of the donated planters
and the city will water and fertilize the city planters one day a week when
they feed the hanging baskets. If the city planters needed more attention, they
were watered by the Bloom Team.
Businesses are given instructions and a jug of Nature's
Source Plant Food,purchased with their
sponsorship dollars. Nature's Source is our nutritional program throughout our
Blooms production and maintenance growing regimen because it is natural,
doesn't leave chemical salts on the new sidewalks, and most importantly it
WORKS!Businesses were asked to maintain
their planters and feed them at least once a week. We assured them that the
Bloom Team would do some 'wellness checks' and be there for support during
extremely hot weather, especially weekends and when businesses were closed or
on vacation.
Even in the earliest years, it was obvious that there
needed to be a coordinated way for these investments in beautification to be
maintained on a consistent basis. The first hot days of the first summer was a wake-up
call for volunteers. Wellness checks revealed that not all watering practices
were created equal. We provided watering cans for businesses that were using a
latte cup to dump water in the middle of their planter. They would often
express dismay when the plants did not thrive. We provided watering tips to
encourage and teach. Some businesses did rise to the occasion and became successful
“planter parents.” But when some businesses still had Nature's Source left over
at the end of the season we knew it was time to mobilize.
"Fertilizer Friday" was born of necessity and
the dedicated volunteers are the “Water Wizards.” This is a group of Bloom
Teamers who don't mind the early hour when it is a peaceful, quiet time to
navigate downtown streets. Some have joined because it is their window of time
that they can give back. There are Water Wizards that don't necessarily
appreciate the daybreak hour, but they embrace the camaraderie of this reliable
group of volunteers. New members participate each year. Some have stepped back
as life happens; some have instead taken on the responsibility of an adopted garden
space. However, the nucleus of the Water Wizards has stayed intact.
Grandchildren, spouses, and visiting children and friends from out of town are
often drafted to help out when needed.
The Water Wizards of Fertilizer Friday work in teams to
efficiently check moisture and to water and fertilize when needed the 178
planters by zone. These volunteers work their magic and can complete their
rounds in about 60-90 minutes and be home for
breakfast by 8 AM.
The businesses appreciate the consistency because they
know the Water Wizards will be there each Friday morning to make sure their
planters make it through a hot, dry weekend. Special attention and extra water may
be
needed for holiday weekends and the Bloom Team is notified when a business'
regular watering person is on vacation.
As with any volunteer program, it is the dedication of
the people involved that is at the very core of the success, recruitment, and
retention of the remarkable “Water Wizards of Fertilizer Friday” Fame. These
community volunteers don't mind the early hour nor hauling tubs of water in the
back of their SUV. Some even choose to install a tank with a pump in their new
Subaru!
The heart of the program is the warm heart of the
volunteers who appreciate the beauty of flowers. Water Wizards understand what
these planters mean to the businesses of Castle Rock.We have become friends. We have fun.
"Water Wizards" Rock!
Biophilia,
meaning the love of nature, perhaps an unfamiliar term to many of us, is the
urge of humans to affiliate with other living things. Although many of us know
this concept intuitively, it can take on many facets and become difficult to
wrap one’s mind around.
The core notion of biophilia is an experience of love or attraction to
living biological systems. In addition, there’s the biophilia
hypothesis, first introduced by
the celebrated biologist E.O.
Wilson in 1984. The
hypothesis holds that human beings, having spent much of their evolutionary
development as a species in nature, are inherently drawn to natural settings. For those who are so inclined, it could be a God thing. Designing a property,
neighborhood or city incorporating biophilic aspects essentially means providing
space for nature in one or more of its many forms.
Research at the University of Washington and the University of
Illinois reveals that incorporating green concepts into cities reduces crime,
increases retail sales, boosts real estate values, facilitates child learning
and retention levels, promotes a feeling of safety and well-being, fosters
economic development and improves quality of life for residents.
Recognition of the
value of trees to our ecosystems and communities is gaining momentum. In fact,
trees are now valued as infrastructure, similar to water lines, bridges and
storm sewers – known as green infrastructure. Indeed, trees are the only
infrastructure that appreciates in value, over time. All other forms of
infrastructure depreciate in value the day they are installed. Trees have
monetary value and provide environmental services such as storm water
detention, energy conservation, climate modification, air and water quality and
carbon sequestration, among others. They also create a sense of space for
humankind - ceilings and walls we can relate to, while some provide aesthetic
elements such as flowers and fall color, as well as habitat and food for
animals. A professional tree inventory conducted in 1996 valued Akron’s urban
forest (street trees) at 39 million. (60M +/- today)
We’re all biophiliacs to some degree, and the benefits for urban
trees are recognized and considerable. Even though the urban environment is not
a natural setting for trees as would be a woodland setting, the investment is
worth the effort, regardless of a somewhat shortened lifespan. Choosing the
right tree for the right space at the right time, can provide a service life
exceeding 100 years for some species, even in urban areas.
So, in summary, we all
desire natural environments, color trees provide, cool shade on a hot summer
day, clean air and water, low crime rates, green retail space, appreciating
real estate, and the endorphin rush as beauty washes over us. Urban forestry allows
us to enjoy a bit of the natural within the midst of the built environment. The
benefits of urban trees contribute to a better sense of community and pride of
place. Biophilia – for the love of nature, realizing the restorative aspects of
seeing and doing green.
Many gardeners
wish they could raise honeybees to ensure their garden’s pollination but
raising honeybees takes a lot of time, money and training. Some communities
don’t allow honey beekeeping because of safety concerns. The problems facing
honeybee populations are well known but honeybees are not the only bees
suffering due to habitat loss, pollution, disease, and climate change.
Leafcutter bees
are alternatives to honey bees that gardeners can rely on and they are better
pollinators, easier to raise, cheaper, and most importantly, safer for
children.
What are Leafcutter Bees?
Leafcutters bees
are solitary bees, which means each female is fertile and she does all of the chores
to raise her young. There are many different species of leafcutter bees and
some species build their individual nests inside of pre-made nesting holes
while others build nests underground.
Leafcutter bees
get their name from their habit of building protective cocoons for their young
out of pieces of leaves. The mother leafcutter bee builds a leafy cocoon for
each egg and provisions the egg with all the food it will need to eat to grow
into an adult bee. Sometimes a leafcutter bee will gather flower petals instead
of leaves and cocoons made from petals are beautiful.
A reusable wooden nesting tray for leafcutter bees; note rose petal coccoons bottom right.
Alfalfa Leafcutter Bees: Perfect for Farms
& Gardens
One species of
leafcutter bee stands out from the rest and it has many features that makes it
a perfect bee for pollinating summer gardens and farms. Even though it’s a solitary bee, the alfalfa
leafcutter bee (Megachile rotundata) likes
company because they build their nests near one another. There is no sharing of
nests, however. Gregarious, or neighborly bees are prefect for farms where many
bees are needed to pollinate the fields.
A farmer's batch of leafcutter cocoons, many have open holes from bees emerging
Alfalfa leafcutter
bees became heroes in the 1940’s when they saved the declining alfalfa
seed industry. A high protein feed source for livestock, the loss of this crop was
threatening a major livestock nutrient. Hay mixes and seed production
decreased when pollinating bees lost their habitats to changes in agriculture
and residential growth. Farmers turned to leafcutter bees because these bees
are 15 times better pollinators of alfalfa than honey bees. Today, the alfalfa
leafcutter is still used extensively to
pollinate alfalfa and other crops. Although they are named after alfalfa, we
simply call these bees leafcutter bees because they are generalists that love
to pollinate flowers of all types near their bee house.
We cannot easily
raise bee species that nest underground but we can easily raise and, as needed,
move hole-nesting bees. Alfalfa leafcutter bees nest in 6mm nesting holes and
we’ve been raising them for decades and know very well how to care for them.
Easy
to Raise & Better Pollinators
The female leafcutter bee carries
pollen on the underside of her hairy abdomen, and then scrapes the pollen off
within her individual nesting hole. Pollen is carried loose and dry on her hair
and it falls off easily as she moves among blossoms. Leafcutter bees have a
short flying range of only 300 feet from their bee house and you can be sure
they are busy at work nearby in your garden or field. Leafcutter bees are
active in the warm summer months and they are perfect for pollinating squash,
melons, cucumbers, peas and other summer vegetables and fruits.
Leafcutter bees carry pollen dry and loose on their hairy bellies.
Raising leafcutter bees is easy and
doesn’t require much time or training. The steps are simple: set up the house
(like hanging a bird house), set out nesting holes and leafcutter cocoons, wait
and watch, and bring filled nesting materials inside in early fall. There is no
need for protective gear, since the bees overwinter in leafy cocoons and they rarely
sting, nor expensive equipment to rent or buy because there is no honey to
manage (only social honey bees make honey). Watch this video from Crown Bees that explains how setting up leafcutter bees is easy and takes only a few minutes.
Setting
up leafcutter bees is easy and takes only a few moments
In terms of time, plan about 15
minutes to select a location and set up your house. Warning! When your bees
emerge and start pollinating, you’ll have to set aside time to observe them
come and go. Time flies as you watch them laying eggs for next season’s bees!
In late August,
after bee activity stops, store filled nesting holes (open ends up) in an
unheated garage or shed that is dry and secure. Placing filled nesting holes in
a fine mesh bag will protect them from pests. Overwinter bee
larvae in the nesting holes until next spring. In just 1 to 2 hours a year of
your time, you’ll get a healthy garden yield and amazing garden companions. A bonus is that you’ll typically increase your
bee cocoons from when you started. You can share your extra leafcutter
cocoons with local family or friends and help them learn about how to raise
these gentle safe bees.
Leafcutter Bees are Gentle
These solitary female bees can’t
gather pollen and nectar, lay eggs, cut and gather leaves, and defend her
nesting hole. Instead, she may be shy and wait for you to leave the vicinity of
her nesting house or simply fly around you. Leafcutter bees are extremely
gentle and allow you to approach their bee house without fear of being stung.
Although leafcutter bees have
stingers, they will only sting if their life is threatened. Male bees do not
have stingers and stings are only caused when the female bee thinks it is being
squished. Even if you are unfortunate enough to be stung, the effects are
generally no worse than a mosquito bite.
What’s
Inside of a Leafcutter Bee’s Nest?
Leafcutter
bees do not create holes or damage structures to make holes. North America is
home to several native leafcutter bee species. Alfalfa leafcutter bees prefer
nesting holes that are 6mm in diameter, some native North American leafcutter
bees are larger and prefer 8 mm holes. There are even leafcutter bee species
that nest underground!
A female leafcutter bee gathering a leaf to protect her eggs.
The
female leafcutter bee uses her large jaws to make small, oval cuts in
thin-walled leaves that she can then curl in half and carry back to her nesting
site. The leaf texture must be just right, not too thick or spiny, similar to rose,
hosta, and lilac. Some leafcutter bee raisers have not been able to find
evidence of cut leaves, even with hundreds of leafcutter bees in their bee
home. You may want to plant peas for leafcutter bees since peas grow quickly,
are easy to grow, and can be used as sacrificial leaves for the bees.
The mother leafcutter bee builds a protective leafy cocoon for each egg. She
builds the leafy cocoons by starting at the back of the nesting hole. The
interior end of the leafcutter cocoon is round and the exterior end is flat.
Inside the cocoon is a pollen loaf, which is a mix of nectar and pollen, and a
single leafcutter egg. Each leaf cocoon is right next to each other and
sometimes when you harvest the cocoons they are stuck to one another. When the
female bee is done building cocoons in the nesting hole, she adds an extra
thick layer of leaf bits at the opening. She may claim and fill a few different
nesting holes but she works on them one at a time.
The leafcutter egg might hatch right
away or it might go into hibernation for the fall and winter. If the summer
season is long enough, the larva has time to develop quickly into an adult.
These new adult bees are called second generation bees and they go right back
out to mate and start the cycle again. When the second generation bees emerge you’ll
see a large hole in the front flat end of the leaf cocoon. Extra generation of
bees means a leafcutter bee’s pollination season is long, it’s just another
reason why they are great summer garden pollinators.
The BeeHaven leafcutter bee house is an easy way to get started.
Keys
to Successfully Raise Leafcutter Bees
1. Place your
house with nesting material facing the early morning sun. The warmth wakes your
bees earlier to start pollinating. Follow the setup instructions.
2. Leafcutter bees build protective
cocoons out of leaves. If she can’t find the right type of leaf to cut and
carry, she’ll leave your yard and set up her home elsewhere. This is the number
one problem people face. Try planting peas for these superior pollinating
bees.
3. After bee activity stops, store filled nesting holes (open ends facing up) in
an unheated garage or shed that is dry and secure. Overwinter bee larvae in the
nesting holes until next spring. Leaving them outdoors exposes them to pests
and weather elements.
4. Harvest
leafcutter cocoons in the early spring. You will remove pests and diseases as
you harvest cocoons. You will also be able to take inventory of your leafcutter
cocoon stock after harvesting them.
5. Leafcutter bees need to be incubated
in order to develop into adult bees. At room temperature, it takes the cocoons
about 6 weeks to develop and it will take less time in a warmer temperature.
Leafcutter bees that are purchased from Crown Bees arrive incubated and ready to emerge from
their cocoons.
Description of Leafcutter Bees
1. Alfalfa leafcutter bee females are black with pale yellow
stripes on the abdomen and face. They are about 2/3 the size of a honey bee. Male
alfalfa leafcutter bees are overall brighter in color and have green eyes and
longer antennae.
2. In general, they emerge later in the summer when
temperatures are in the 80°’s F (25°’s C). Plan the emergence of your
leafcutter bees for when the temperatures are warm enough and your garden’s
flowers are blooming.
3. The nesting range for these bees is about 300′ (100m)
from their nest.
Morro Bay – A Story
of Cooperation and Celebration
By Walter Heath, Morro Bay in Bloom
The effect of the City of Morro Bay, California’s
participation in the America in Bloom program is lot like the effect of
Professor Harold Hill’s arrival in the mythical town of River City, Iowa in
Meredith Wilson’s The Music Man. In
that beloved American musical, Prof. Hill’s charm cajoled the townspeople into
cooperating and celebrating their strengths. The benefit of America in Bloom is
the realization that, in order to succeed in the program, communities have to
pull together.
The process of identifying, during the compilation of our
first “Community Profile,” all of the good things that residents are already
making happen was illuminating for all the constituent groups of our community.
City staff, the business community, civic groups and, specifically, art, civic-beautification
and heritage-preservation groups became aware of existing investments of time
and energy in our community. The information facilitates understanding that
informs our city’s annual goals-and-objectives setting process.
A group of stakeholders in civic beautification,
environmental, art and heritage preservation meet regularly to formulate a list
of unmet needs that is submitted for review at annual public goals-setting
workshops with city staff and city council. The current America in Bloom
judges’ evaluation is used to develop the list. Some items on the unmet needs
list are budgeted for completion during the upcoming fiscal year. As a result
of public scrutiny during the workshops, aspirational items are prioritized.
As with Professor Hill’s “think system,” the America in
Bloom program has provided Morro Bay an opportunity to discover what’s possible
for our community and to celebrate what we have. We have learned that Morro
Bay’s heritage is primarily cultural and tied throughout the ages to human
interaction with our beautiful natural setting. As one of the last authentic
small beach communities in California, understanding our special qualities
informs the choices we make to shape our future.
Madisonville, Kentucky is a city rich in assets with acres
of prime parkland offering outstanding recreational opportunities, a low cost
of living, exceptional health care, and more.
As the county seat of Hopkins County, Kentucky, the city also benefits
from legal and governmental job opportunities.
Despite these advantages, however, downtown Madisonville entered the
lean economic years beginning in 2008 in a weakened condition which was
threatening to get worse. This was most
apparent in the downtown shopping area which included more than 17 vacant
storefronts and offered little to entice residents to shop or dine in town.
But change was afoot in the city. In 2007, through a grant from the state, the
city had acquired a new City Hall. Also,
the county was preparing to build a large new county courthouse in the downtown
area. Unfortunately, budget overruns mandated that the landscape plans for this
project be shelved, promising a rather stark aesthetic. A group of civic minded
individuals decided that a plan was needed to create a friendlier, more inviting
environment at the human scale for the downtown.
In 2011, Madisonville joined America in Bloom. Under this umbrella initial volunteer efforts
to improve the streetscape included the installation of both hanging floral
baskets and public art displays. Some
building owners volunteered to paint storefronts to rejuvenate the downtown in
the weeks leading to the arrival of the AIB judges. The first year’s AIB score was not impressive,
but the judges’ suggestions for the city were.
Invigorated, more volunteers joined the AIB effort and the improvements
began to take hold.
A portion of the downtown was deliberately targeted as an
area for public gatherings and beautification efforts continued. In an effort to bring more people downtown,
live music concerts were initiated and quickly became very popular. Foot traffic in the downtown area
intensified. Through efforts of the
Chamber of Commerce and local businesses, some of the vacant storefronts began
to fill with restaurants and local retail shops. Soon, a bank took over the vacant old
municipal building and, in response to the growing popularity of the downtown
as a gathering space, a public/private effort was initiated to create a
beautiful downtown community park in the green area in front of the bank. Today, this park includes a permanent stage,
greenspace, and art and floral displays and is home to numerous events
including the live outdoor music concerts.
All these efforts over the years have proved contagious,
with people noting the clear visual difference between “then” and “now,” and
many people say, “I stay in town now.” Jenny Gibson, a downtown advocate and active volunteer said
it all in a recent quote about the improvements for Madisonville as a direct
result of involvement in AIB: “Sure! It’s been pretty dramatic. Off the top of my head, I can only think of 7
vacant buildings (one of which is being worked on and that number includes the
old Bart’s building and Blackwells, which we have prospects for). In 2011 I can think of at least 17
vacancies. The occupants have
consistently changed from primarily law and government office to small retail,
food service, and personal services, which is necessary for the district to
thrive. AIB involvement has helped us focus
on building an environment suitable for growth.
The other side of the success has been the more recent businesses’
understanding that together we are stronger than alone. In other words, we work together and help
each other to succeed!”
Bee hotels
are fast becoming a backyard staple. Similar to birdhouses, bee hotels provide
vital and missing nesting habitat. In the wild, hole-nesting bees usually nest
in holes in standing dead trees, fallen logs, and broken branches of bushes and
large grasses. Wild hole-nesting bees are desperately searching for suitable
nesting sites and we’ve seen them make do by nesting in the ends of old garden
hose nozzles, openings in metal garden furniture, and even the hollow ends of
wind chimes. But unlike birdhouses, we can’t just build bee hotels and leave
them alone. Bee hotels need to be maintained and managed or they are destined
to become slums for bees. Our bee guests deserve the best accommodations!
Opening our Eyes to the Real World
of Bees
The bees
that nest in bee hotels are really, really different than honey bees or
bumblebees. We’ve all grown up learning about the social structure of honey and
bumblebees and we’ve come to think that their lifestyle represents all bee
behavior. The truth is, the world is home to 21,000 species of bees (and more
are discovered every year) and a whopping 90% of bee species do not live in
social structures.
Instead,
most of the world’s bees live alone. We call this bee behavior and lifestyle “solitary” and every solitary bee
is fertile. Solitary female bees are fertile queens and they have all the duty
and responsibility to take care of their young. Each female bee has to gather
pollen and nectar, build nests, and lay eggs.
Solitary
female bees are gentle because they are too busy to aggressively protect their
nesting site and they simply can’t risk their lives. Solitary bees will only
defend themselves as a last resort, like when they are accidentally squished or
stepped on. Many solitary bees have barbless stingers and rarely does someone
develop an anaphylactic allergic reaction to their mild venom.
About 1,000 hole-nesting bee species are native to North America
Solitary
bees don’t live in colonies, they don’t build hives, they don’t make honey or
wax, and they don’t form attack swarms. To understand the world’s bees, we kind
of, sort of, have to forget everything we think we know about bees. Out of the
world’s 21,000 + bee species, there are only 7 species of honey bees after all,
and bees are as diverse as apples to oranges and pears.
To Build a Great Bee Hotel, Get to
Know Wild Hole-Nesting Bees
So, if 90%
of bees don’t live in hives, how do they live? About 70% of bees species nest
underground and the remaining 30% nest in cavities or holes in wood or hollow
broken stems. Some hole-nesting bees like to drill their own holes and these
are called carpenter bees. Large carpenter bees, in the Xylocopa genus, chew tunnels
in solid wood and since it takes so much time to dig a good tunnel they reuse
nesting homes. Small carpenter bees, in the Ceratina genus, prefer to chew
tunnels in the soft pith of broken stems like in raspberry and blackberry
canes.
Blue orchard mason bees are gentle, easy to raise spring pollinators
Many
hole-nesting bees are too small (and too efficient!) to chew their own holes in
solid wood. Instead, they save time and energy by nesting in pre-made holes
like old grub tunnels. Or they use the crevice in peeling bark and build just
one wall along the bottom. Hole-nesting bees that nest in pre-made cavities
come in a variety of sizes and it’s best for them to nest in a hole that is
just the right size and depth for them. Examples of popular hole-nesting garden
pollinators are blue orchard mason bees (Osmia
lignaria) and alfalfa leafcutter bees (Megachile
rotundata).
Peak-a-boo: a mason bee inside of a cardboard tube
Most
solitary bees have a short lifespan as flying adults. For example, male mason
bees are only flying for 2 weeks, long enough to mate, and female mason bees
are actively flying for 4-6 weeks. With such a short timeframe as adults,
solitary bees do not make honey. This short lifespan also drives some solitary
bees to have a short flying range from home, too. When they first look for a
good nesting spot they may fly a few miles searching, but once they check into
their new bee home they only fly a few hundred feet (about 100 meters) from
their nesting site. Surprisingly, a big chunk of a solitary bee’s life is spent
in their nesting site hibernating over the winter.
What’s Inside a Hole-nesting Bee’s
Nest?
The female
bee is building nesting chambers inside the nesting hole and she builds them in
a series, all in a line. Of course, she starts at the back and each nesting
chamber is provisioned with food for one egg, which is a mix of pollen and
nectar called a pollen loaf. The female bee lays an egg that is firmly placed
in the pollen loaf and then seals the chamber with a protective material to
keep each egg safe as the next chamber is built. The protective material is
either a wall between nesting chambers or it is a protective cocoon that the
mother builds to encase the larva as it develops.
Mud walls, pollen loaves, and larvae inside a mason bee nest
The
protective nesting material depends on the species and when that species is
active in the year. Many mason bees are active in early spring and they use
mud, which is wet and workable for gathering. Some spring mason bees use chewed
up leaf bits (called leaf mastic) or a mix of pebbles, mud, and leaves. Leafcutter
bees build protective leafy cocoons from the summer’s abundance of soft,
pliable leaves. Resin bees gather sap while it is warm and flowing in the hot
summer months. Some bee species mix a few ingredients together and all bees
protect their nesting hole with an extra thick layer of nesting material. This
protective layer is right at the edge of the hole and it’s called a capped end.
The materials used for capped ends and their texture gives us a clue to who
built the nest.
After the
bee egg is laid, it can either hatch and develop into a flying adult right away
or go into hibernation, otherwise known as diapause. Bee larvae are usually
white and they look like chubby grubs. Once the larvae eats its pollen loaf and
has nothing left to eat it spins a cocoon and goes through the cycles of
metamorphosis. Spring mason bee eggs hatch and develop over the summer and they
hibernate as fully formed adult bees, which makes them ready to go as soon as
the daytime spring weather warms above 55*F consistently.
We can easily
and safely harvest blue orchard mason bee cocoons in the fall and take care of
their sturdy, waterproof cocoons by storing them in the fridge. We’re learning
more about how other wild bees develop in their cocoons so that we know when we
can safely and easily harvest cocoons to ensure the bee’s health.
Many
hole-nesting bees that are active in the summer need warm weather to incubate
to finish developing. Some bee species are able to have more than one
generation develop in the long summer season. For example, alfalfa leafcutter
bees can hatch and develop right away and new adults are called second
generation bees. This means that the leafcutter bees can spend even more time
pollinating your garden and farm.
Pests and Diseases that Harm Bee
Hotels
There are
a lot of tutorials for bee hotels and their intentions are great,
but one big piece of knowledge missing about hole-nesting bees is the fact that
they struggle with pests, diseases, and predators just like any other creature.
Man-made nesting holes are not the same as the nesting holes found in nature
and the nesting holes of bee hotels are close enough together for common diseases and pests to spread and overrun a bee hotel.
To reduce and deter diseases and pests is easy, simply harvest cocoons and
separate healthy cocoons from infected nesting chambers.
The three
big problems that hole-nesting bees face are pollen mites (they eat the pollen
and nectar loaf before the bee larva does), chalkbrood (a fungal infection that
converts a larva into a mass of fungal spores), and parasitic wasps (gnat-sized
wasps that lay eggs inside of healthy larvae). As you harvest cocoons, you can
learn how to identify infected chambers and keep healthy cocoons safe.There are larger, more well-known predators
like ants, certain beetles and birds.
Provide easy to open nesting holes
and learn about your native bees
Design Tips for Successful Bee
Hotels
As experts
with decades of experience raising hole-nesting bees, the following are tips
for how Crown Bees would design and manage a bee hotel. Some of the tips sound
time-consuming, but in reality each step should only take a few moments. Our
effort to do things right is well worth it since the UN has reported that 40%
of the world’s insect pollinators are facing extinction. Our bee hotel’s wild
hole-nesting bee residents are the bees that actually need our help.
1.Protect developing larvae. Plan your bee hotel ahead of time so
that you can remove nesting materials as they are filled and store the filled
nesting holes in a warm location. You want to keep nesting materials in
locations that have similar temperatures as the outdoors, like a garden shed or
unheated garage. Removing and protecting filled nesting holes in a fine mesh
bag keeps the small parasitic wasps from being able to attack larvae. To
protect a drilled block of wood, place liner inserts or rolled paper inserts
(pinch the back end closed) into each drilled hole and remove and replace these
as they are filled.
Keep an
eye on the filled nesting materials. Parasitic wasps may have already attacked
and they are able to develop into adults very quickly, you don’t want them to
harm more larvae. Also watch to see if your bees are the type that develop in
the same season they were laid and are ready to emerge.
2.Provide nesting holes in the proper size range, made of the right
materials. Avoid bamboo and plastic straws, as these do not let the moist
pollen loaf breathe. Many bamboo shoots are much too large for any North
American bee to use. Nesting holes should be between 4-10 mm in size and should
be about 6” long. Nesting holes that are too shallow will skew the sex range of
next generation’s bees. Natural, locally available nesting materials are best.
Crown Bees’ Pollinator Pack provides cardboard tubes and lake
reeds in the right size range and they are easy to open for cocoon harvest.
3. Protect nesting materials from
wind, rain, and birds.
Build a protective outer structure that has a 2-3” overhang. If birds are
attacking the nesting holes, use 1” wide wire cloth and bubble around the bee
hotel. Do not install wire cloth flush against the nesting holes because this
will obstruct the bees from entering. Bees need some landing space for approaching
and taking off.
4. Avoid a hotel that is too large. While a bee hotel that is 4 feet
wide and 6 feet tall looks great, draws a lot of attention and raises awareness
to our bees, this size is much too ambitious and will become a burden to
maintain. Provide a bee hotel that matches what the area nearby the house can
provide, for example, many flowering trees and bushes can provide more pollen
than a meadow of flowers can. Also, think about the time that you can devote to
cleaning and managing the bees that move in.
5. Location and a word about
solitary predatory wasps.
Orient the bee hotel to face the morning sun, as hole-nesting bees are
cold-blooded and need the sun’s warmth to get the energy needed to fly. We know
that mason bees prefer some afternoon shade and have heard that too much shade
could actually attract solitary hole-nesting wasps. Solitary wasps are
predators of garden pests and they fill nesting holes with caterpillars,
aphids, and even spiders. Hole-nesting wasps are great beneficial insects that
are a good indicator that your garden is balanced and supports all insects.
Solitary wasp larvae are also white but their shape and skin are different from
a bee, they are longer with large bumps and they feel waxy.
You might
want to provide two bee hotels in your yard with each bee hotel facing a
different direction. One house can face east and another can face southeast. We
are curious to learn if bee species have a preference for orientation of their
nesting house. You might also want to place a hotel in your yard and one in a
wild location, like a meadow or forest. A natural habitat could be home to a
different mix of local wild bees that you could then introduce to your yard.
To ensure your wild bee’s health, harvest their cocoons
6. Harvest cocoons. After protecting and storing
filled nesting materials over the winter, open materials and harvest
cocoons in the
early spring. If you can, organize and separate cocoons based on appearance and
when their nesting holes were capped. When you incubate in the BeeGuardian bag you have more control for
releasing the bees outside. Incubating inside of the fine mesh bag also helps you
reduce the release of the gnat-sized parasitic wasps.
Join the Native Bee Network
You can
help us all learn more about our native hole-nesting bees by participating in
Crown Bee’s citizen science project. The Native
Bee Network is a
way for gardeners and farmers to gather information and share it with other
growers. Traditional scientific knowledge can tell us a bee’s scientific name
but there is so much more we can know about each bee species. We need to know
what size hole they prefer, what nesting materials they use, if they are
specialists or generalists, and when they are active. The answers to these
questions can be answered by anyone that takes the time to watch the bee guests
and protect their nesting materials.
Join the Native Bee Network to
learn and share knowledge with gardeners and farmers.
My fellow judge, Tony Ferrara and I were not in Kansas anymore or Orlando
for that matter where I caught my flight. After flying for more than eight
hours with an hour car journey from San Diego International Airport, I arrived
in the small, rural, unincorporated county area known as Elfin Forest,
California. No, Tony and I were not on the hunt for garden elves or a yellow
brick road. We had traveled over 2,280 miles to tour the natural beauty of one
of the two last remaining chaparral communities in the world and meet the
dedicated residents who have worked very hard to preserve and protect their
treasured resource.
Elfin Forest is home to about 210 homes surrounded by over 3,000
acres of preserved land. In the 1940s this area was described by a botanist as
the best example of an elfin forest he had ever seen where low rainfall creates
a forest of miniaturized trees. This enchanting name stuck and the residents
soon identified their community as Elfin Forest, installing custom-wrought roadway
monuments along the two public roads that pass through it and diligently
working to keeping this area rural.
As you may realize by now, this community is not a typical America in
Bloom community. It lacks municipal buildings, sidewalks, streetlights, sewer, and even stop signs. There are no historic structures and few businesses. With
no tax revenues, the community relies solely on donations and volunteerism to
maintain its private roads, trails, and fire-wise demonstration garden.
Low rainfall (less than 6 inches a year) limits the installation of typical
floral displays and landscape beds. However, in 2005 Elfin Forest invited America
in Bloom to tour their community and assist them in discovering more
opportunities to preserve and celebrate their natural heritage. They were
pleased with the results from implementing some of the recommendations from
their evaluation. Now, with heightened development pressures all around them,
Elfin Forest reached out to America in Bloom for more ideas to help them transition
from acquiring land to land management and conservation education, as well as
ways to create an even greater sense of community.
In just two days of touring we meet with members of the volunteer
town council, the Rancho Santa Fe Fire Department, local businesses, the
Escondido Creek Conservancy, the Olivenhain Municipal Water District and
numerous residents. We received a clear picture of how this community, loosely
organized in the 1970s, had successfully grown into a strong team of volunteer
committees and most importantly, a cooperative spirit of dedicated neighbors.
Now
that we have returned to our respective homes, after another long day of
travel, our job is to assimilate Elfin Forest’s Community Profile, numerous
publications and our notes from the past two days of touring. Then we will supplement
with our own research to write an extensive evaluation with five
recommendations in each of the criteria America in Bloom evaluates: floral
displays, landscaped areas, urban forestry, environmental awareness, heritage
preservation, overall impression and community involvement. We’re just rolling
up our sleeves.
No,
we may not have found storybook elves, but we did find many hard working
“elves” that make up the community of Elfin Forest.
Castle Rock Blooms BSP was initiated after the main
downtown Cowlitz Street renovation. New streets generated enthusiasm by the
local business community and the city for a coordinated floral planter program
that coincided with Castle Rock's first year of participation in the America in
Bloom program. What began with 20 planters, placed and planted by volunteers,
has blossomed into a city-wide program that has spread.
To provide some perspective to this growing program, in
2018 the Bloom Team planted 123 BSP planters, plus 20 more donated to City
Hall, Visitor Information Center, Post Office, Senior Center, etc. and 35 city
streetscape planters. 
Businesses are given instructions and a jug of Nature's
Source Plant Food, purchased with their
sponsorship dollars. Nature's Source is our nutritional program throughout our
Blooms production and maintenance growing regimen because it is natural,
doesn't leave chemical salts on the new sidewalks, and most importantly it
WORKS! Businesses were asked to maintain
their planters and feed them at least once a week. We assured them that the
Bloom Team would do some 'wellness checks' and be there for support during
extremely hot weather, especially weekends and when businesses were closed or
on vacation. 
Even in the earliest years, it was obvious that there
needed to be a coordinated way for these investments in beautification to be
maintained on a consistent basis. The first hot days of the first summer was a wake-up
call for volunteers. Wellness checks revealed that not all watering practices
were created equal. We provided watering cans for businesses that were using a
latte cup to dump water in the middle of their planter. They would often
express dismay when the plants did not thrive. We provided watering tips to
encourage and teach. Some businesses did rise to the occasion and became successful
“planter parents.” But when some businesses still had Nature's Source left over
at the end of the season we knew it was time to mobilize.
"Fertilizer Friday" was born of necessity and
the dedicated volunteers are the “Water Wizards.” This is a group of Bloom
Teamers who don't mind the early hour when it is a peaceful, quiet time to
navigate downtown streets. Some have joined because it is their window of time
that they can give back. There are Water Wizards that don't necessarily
appreciate the daybreak hour, but they embrace the camaraderie of this reliable
group of volunteers. New members participate each year. Some have stepped back
as life happens; some have instead taken on the responsibility of an adopted garden
space. However, the nucleus of the Water Wizards has stayed intact.
Grandchildren, spouses, and visiting children and friends from out of town are
often drafted to help out when needed. 
The businesses appreciate the consistency because they
know the Water Wizards will be there each Friday morning to make sure their
planters make it through a hot, dry weekend. Special attention and extra water may
be 
The heart of the program is the warm heart of the
volunteers who appreciate the beauty of flowers. Water Wizards understand what
these planters mean to the businesses of Castle Rock. We have become friends. We have fun.
"Water Wizards" Rock!
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