Native Bees
Texas has more than 1000 native bee species and they are wonderful pollinators! These bees are more efficient pollinators than the domesticated honeybee and are essential to the environment. Most of these bees are solitary and will not sting unless crushed or squeezed. They seek both pollen and nectar to provide their babies with food in their nests.
Common bees that you will see in our area (with websites with more information)
American bumblebees Bombus pensylvanicus
This large bee nests on the surface of the ground and forages on a variety of plants, including goldenrod and boneset.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/american-bumble-bee.shtml
Mason Bees Osmia texana
These bees use mud to construct their nests in pre-existing cavities. They tend to favor tub-shaped flowers or asymmetrical flowers, such as mint and legumes. Mason bees will nest in bee boxes you can make from wood or other materials.
Leafcutter Bees family Megachilidae
These bees use material from plants to line their nests and nest in rotting wood and plant stems. Leaf-cutter bees will also nest in bee boxes you can make.
Sweat bees Halictidae family
These bees are generalists, meaning that they do not seek out specific plants for their pollen and nectar.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/halictid_bees.shtml
Eastern Carpenter bees Xylocopa virginica
Along with the bumblebee, these bees are among the largest native bees. They drill into wood to make their nests and are long-lived. On some flowers that are too small for them to enter, they cut into the bottom of the flower to get the nectar and don’t pollinate it.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/carpenter_bees.shtml
You can check out these links for more information on Houston bees.
PDF of Native Texas Bee PDF http://txmn.org/bptmn/files/2023/01/BPTMN-2023-01-Katie-McElroy-Native-Bee-Species.pdf
100 PLANTS TO FEED THE BEES (book) by the Xerces Society (https://www.xerces.org/ ) is a good resource to find good plants for bees. Some plants this book recommends that attract and support bees can be found in our Seabourne Native Plant Garden (I have added species for local natives) :
- Asters-look for native Symphyotrichum species
- Beebalms (lemon beebalm-Monarda citriodora, spotted beebalm-M. punctata, and M.Fistulosa-wild bergamot)
- Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella)
- Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
- Liatris (L. pychnostachya and L. acidota)
- Coreopsis ( C. lanceolata, C. tinctoria)
- Rosinweed (Silphium gracile)
- Goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens—this does not have rhizomes, S. altissima (tall goldenrod—is tall and does have rhizomes)
- Ironweed (Vernonia missurica)
- Late-flowering boneset (Eupatorium serotinum)
- Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
- Texas Lantana (Lantana urticoides)
- Milkweeds (Asclepias spp.)
If you are creating a backyard flower bed or restoring a former pasture, work to establish plantings that will provide flowers over spring, summer, and early fall. Robust sources of nectar and pollen during these three seasons will help to meet the needs of a wide range of native bees, especially those with long-lived colonies like bumblebees. Try to include as many plant species as possible since native bees vary in their preference for floral color, shape, and size.
The second piece of the puzzle in augmenting native bee populations is to increase available nesting habitats. Ground-nesting solitary bees need access to sunny, well-drained patches of bare ground. Suitable sites can be developed either by manually clearing vegetation from a small area or by creating a sand pit. For the latter, dig down one to two feet in an open, well-drained spot and fill with a sandy loam mix. Be sure to keep this area relatively free of vegetation. Keeping some portion of your flower bed free of mulch, exposing soil, is a quick and easy way to provide habitat for ground-nesting bees.
Bees that use nest blocks are all solitary species that do not defend their nests and are therefore much safer to have around your home. If you are lucky, leaf-cutting and mason bees will fill the drilled blocks with eggs, capping the entrance with mud or plant fibers. Blocks can be left in place throughout the winter or brought into an unheated garage to protect next year’s crop of solitary bees from hungry woodpeckers. Be sure to return blocks outdoors in late winter or very early spring to allow the bees to exit their chambers.
Check out these website to learn more about bees.
Texas Bees Identification Guide: https://www.pollinator.org/pollinator.org/assets/generalFiles/Texas_bee_guide_FINAL.pdf
Houston Native Bees: https://www.houstonnativebees.org/
Choose Natives – Honey Bees? It’s Our Native Bees That Need The Buzz: https://choosenatives.org/articles/native-bees-need-buzz/