bees – Maryland Grows

The Shared History of Wasps and Bees, And How Bees May Have Become Vegetarian

May 13, 2024May 10, 2024Maryland Grows2 Comments

We may have all found ourselves in that situation in which we see an insect on a flower and we wonder whether it is a wasp or a bee, and we may have also seen people panic when they encounter a bee, thinking that it is indeed a wasp. Although the two groups are very distinct and there are several ways of telling them apart (check out this previous post to see how to do it), this difficulty is in part a signature of the shared evolutionary history that the two groups have. In today’s post, I want to tell you about the evolutionary origin of bees, how it is interwoven with that of wasps, and how evolutionary studies can help us understand and explain the diversity of our charismatic bees.

Evolutionary histories and the big family we are all part of

Before jumping into the main topic of this blog, please bear with me so I can give you a bit of context for what I’ll tell you, and so you can fully appreciate the power of the discoveries I will tell you about in just a second. One of the foundations of today’s biology and the way we understand life is that living organisms share a common ancestry and that evolutionary processes such as natural selection, mutations, dispersal, and random processes have led to the establishment of new lineages that can evolve into new species and new groups of organisms. What this means is that all the living organisms we know can be placed in a sort of genealogical tree, where more closely related species and groups appear placed on branches of the trees that are also closer to each other (we call these trees “phylogenies” or “phylogenetic trees”). Also, this means that if we were to take these trees, and we were to follow the evolutionary process “backward” (from the tips to the internal branches; that is, from the present into the past), we would be able to identify branching points, which represent the now extinct ancestors of species we know today.

a diagram of a family tree — A phylogeny can be compared to a genealogical tree we may want to build for our family. In this tree, the most closely related members of our family share recent ancestors (marked with diamonds), but are still connected with more distantly related members of the family with longer branches and other more ancient shared ancestors. In the same way, a phylogeny represents the relationships between species or groups of species, with branches connected by their shared ancestors. Image: University of Iowa

Although this may sound like a biological nerd moment of mine, I hope that you will appreciate the enormity of this principle. This simple concept indicates that each of us and all species that exist on the planet have shared ancestors at some point in our history. We are all related to each other, like a huge family… and as for all families, the study of our history can teach us fun and interesting things about who we are, helping us understand and explain things we observe today. Let me tell you what the study of these phylogenies has taught us about wasps and bees (and their shared history) and why this excuses us in part from not always being able to tell them apart 😉.

Bees and wasps, and the vegetarian wasp

As you may know, bees and wasps are both insects that belong to the order Hymenoptera. Despite the fact that people knew they were related but distinct from each other, it was not until relatively recently that people understood what that relationship was. In fact, because they share a lot of common traits, scientists were for a long time confused about what the most closely related group of Hymenoptera was for bees, wasps, and ants. Some years ago, with the development of new methods that allow for more detailed studies of phylogenies, researchers found strong evidence that ants are a group of organisms that is related but distinct from another group formed by bees and by a particular group of solitary and usually ground-nesting wasps called crabronids. Besides the taxonomic and purely conceptual importance of this discovery, what this meant biologically was on the one hand, that bees are evolutionarily extremely closely related to wasps, to the point that we could consider them “non-carnivorous wasps”. On the other hand, this discovery showed that all bees we know today would have evolved from a wasp-like ancestor that was solitary and ground-nesting, like the crabronids we know today.

a family tree of bees and wasps - showing evolutionary relationships — In 2017, Branstetter and collaborators used phylogenies to demonstrate that all bees and a group of wasps (crabronids) shared a common ancestry, indicating that bees can be considered a type of “vegetarian” wasp. In the figure, the position of the common ancestors is shown with arrows and stars. The main groups are labeled on the left. Image: modified from Branstetter et al., 2017

If you’re like me and find this fun, keep reading because it gets even more fun! 😊 So, after this discovery, the people who work on these topics wanted to know more. For example, can phylogenies tell us more about how the transition from a meat-based diet (wasps are carnivores) to a pollen-based one (bees feed mostly on pollen and nectar) could have happened? To investigate this, researchers ran a similar analysis, but this time considering a lot more species of both bees and crabronids. Constructing phylogenies using genetic information, they figured that when the evolutionary relationships of these groups were studied, it appeared that bees were the most closely related to a particular group of crabronids that is known to predate on thrips (a family called Ammoplanidae).

a closeup of a small black bee — Bees have been shown to be very closely related to a group of tiny wasps in the family Ammoplanidae which are known to hunt on thrips. Photo: CBG Photography Group (CC).

Besides confirming the discoveries of the previous study, this one provided a logical and interesting biological and ecological context for the transition from carnivory to pollinivory in bees. Thrips are a group of insects known to feed on plant materials, often found on flowers, where they feed on pollen. This new study proposed that a possible evolutionary opportunity may have appeared when a lineage of thrip-predating wasps evolved the ability to not only digest thrips meat but also the pollen they contained in their guts (!!). This transition could have set the evolutionary foundations to eventually transition to a diet fully based on pollen, which opened opportunities to the newly emerging lineage to feed on a new dietary resource not already in use by other wasps. If this is true, this transition would have provided an important evolutionary advantage (e.g., reduced competition for food), which would have led to the huge diversification of bees, leading to the extreme diversity we see today.

By Anahí Espíndola, Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park. See more posts by Anahí.

Anahí also writes an Extension Blog in Spanish! Check it out here, extensionesp.umd.edu, and please share and spread the word to your Spanish-speaking friends and colleagues in Maryland. ¡Bienvenidos a Extensión en Español!

Waiting on Spring Garden Cleanup to Support Beneficial Insects

April 15, 2024April 15, 2024Maryland Grows1 Comment

With warmer temperatures and spring blossoms we are likely ready to get back into our gardens. Before we get our hands dirty, let’s learn how to support the beneficial insects in our landscapes that are and will be emerging from their overwintering sites. In today’s post we will review some information and tips on how we can support, and not disrupt, the life cycles of beneficial insects like our native bees, when we do any spring garden cleanup or prep.

Plant stems, leaves, and other debris can be home to many beneficial insects during the winter months that are waiting on warmer days before they emerge this spring. Wait as long as you can before removing any plant materials. Photo: M.E. Potter, University of Maryland Extension

Overwintering beneficial insects

Some insects migrate (e.g. Monarch butterfly) to avoid the cold temperatures, but there are many insect species that overwinter (spend the winter months in one of their life stages- egg, larva, nymph, pupae, or adult) in Maryland. Insects like luna moths (Actias luna) who overwinter in the pupal stage in cocoons within leaf litter (see photo below), the great spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele) who overwinters as caterpillar larvae in leaf litter, bumble bee (Bombus spp.) queens who can overwinter as adults underground, small carpenters bees like Ceratina strenua who overwinter as adults in plant stems, and praying mantids like the Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina) who overwinter in the egg stage as ootheca (an egg case) laid on woody plant stems and other structures. All these examples are of beneficial insects, who provide services like pollination and pest control during their active life stages. This goes to show, even in the cold and quiet winter months, your garden can be full of life!

a luna moth cocoon found in fallen leaves — *Luna moths overwinter as pupae in cocoons made of fallen leaves and silk. In late spring the insect will emerge as an adult moth. Photo: M.J. Raupp, UMD*

When is too early for spring cleaning?

Generally, the longer you can wait the better! Insects do not all emerge at the same time. There are some native bee species that emerge from their overwintering sites as early as March (e.g. some Colletes spp.) and some that typically do not emerge until late May (e.g. Blue-green sweat bees). Due to the changing climate and the diversity of insect life cycles, we unfortunately cannot point to a specific date on the calendar to know all the overwintering insects have emerged from our green spaces. We can look for different cues in our environment to hint at insect emergence.

Before last frost and consecutive warm days

Once we are out of risk of evening frosts and daytime temperatures are consistently above 50°F for several days in a row, many insects will begin to emerge. Otherwise leaf litter and other plant debris are vital for overwintering insects to survive the cooler temperatures. With climate change, and the chances for more drastic temperature changes, fallen plant material becomes even more important for protecting overwintering insect populations. Think of a fallen leaf as a blanket for our beneficial insects!

Looking for spring blooming trees like cherry, peach, or eastern redbuds can clue us in on this year’s seasonal changes and timing when it comes to insect emergence. Once fruit trees have finished blooming, many of our overwintering bees and beneficial insects have likely emerged. Photo: Nancy Lee Adamson, Wild Bee Plantings

Before fruit trees bloom

Many of our fruit trees (along with natives like Eastern redbud and red maple) bloom in early spring, providing nectar and pollen for our early riser pollinators; check out the figure below on native bee and orchard bloom phenology. If you wait for any garden cleanup until these trees have finished blooming (around mid-May), many of our insects will have likely emerged by then. Since phenology (seasonal changes in a plant’s life cycle, such as the timing of bloom) can shift with changing climate conditions, always keep an eye on the trees and blooms around you. A great excuse to get outside and get to know your local plant life.

Before consistent lawn/turf growth

Noticing consistent lawn/turf growth in your area? Cool-season grasses begin their spring growth once soil temperatures are between 50° and 65°F. A general guideline is once lawns need to be mowed it is a good sign it has been warm enough for many of our overwintering insects to emerge. If you have lots of lawn in your space, consider reducing and replacing the lawn with beneficial insect friendly native plants! If you are wondering what you could plant instead, check out Lawn Alternatives. And if you have heard of No-Mow May, check out the Pros and Cons of the No-Mow May Movement and the Controversy Surrounding No Mow May, by Dr. Gail Langellotto.

Sometimes less is more

Less garden cleanup can have a positive impact on beneficial insect populations! Rethink removing plant debris in certain areas of your landscape. Unless the plant debris comes from a diseased or pest infested plant, leaves, stems, sticks and more can be left, relocated, or reused as wildlife habitat. Your plant debris is some animal’s home! Preliminary data from a study conducted by Max Ferlauto, PhD student in the Burghardt lab, at the University of Maryland, Department of Entomology, shows the number of emerging moths and butterflies are reduced by approximately 67 percent in areas where leaves are removed. If you are removing any plant material, consider relocating the materials to an unmanaged, “habitat area”, or to a compost pile after late spring.

Help fight climate change’s impact on beneficial insects by providing shelter to help insects withstand adverse conditions. Consider leaving and/or adding one or more of the following sources of habitat in your green space this spring!

Leaves
Flower stalks/plant stems
Fallen/removed twigs
Wooden logs
Rocks/rock piles

From “messy” to sustainable

If you are worried about your space looking messy from less spring cleaning, there are ways to get creative to transform your and the public’s view of your conservation areas. An opportunity to personalize your green space with unique and practical “signs of care” (also known as “cues to care”).

Signage

A sign in your green space can not only enhance the look but also help educate others. Why are you leaving the leaves? Let others know by adding a sign about how leaves support native wildlife. Look to local artists and organizations to find a sign that works for your space and could convey a science-based message. You can earn a sign from our Bay-Wise Master Gardener program once your landscape is Bay-Wise certified. To learn more, check out our Bay-Wise program page.

Fencing or edging

Even a short fence or edging can make a space look purposeful and cared for. Edging can be made out of repurposed materials (pebbles, stones, sticks, even glass bottles) or can be purchased from most gardening centers or hardware stores. Think of it as putting a frame around the artwork and beauty that is your garden. For ideas check out, Edging Makes Landscape Beds Pretty, Easy to Keep or Landscape Edging Materials.

Tidy, accessible paths

Ensure any pathways, especially areas around public sidewalks, are clear so all can access and enjoy the space and surrounding area. Cut back overgrown plants that may be blocking or obstructing pathways. If you are working in a community garden, consider the accessibility of your landscape so we may create more inclusive green spaces for all. To learn more about accessible green spaces, check out these pages, Create an Accessible Garden for Those of all Physical Abilities and Gardens Are For Everyone: Ideas for Accessible Gardening.

Additional resources

By Madeline E. Potter, M.S.,Faculty Specialist for Entomology and Integrated Pest Management, University of Maryland Extension

Research Update from the Serpentine Grasslands: Pollinators in a Rare and Endangered Habitat

April 8, 2024April 4, 2024Maryland GrowsLeave a comment

Did you know that before European colonization and thanks to native land management, the area that is now northern Maryland was home to thousands of acres of sprawling prairie-like grasslands? It’s a pretty cool thing to imagine, right? Instead of dense urban centers, highways, farms, and patches of forest, most of Baltimore County would’ve been a nearly treeless ocean of swaying grasses and wildflowers! Instead of cars, shopping carts, and the hustle and bustle of people, you’d see majestic herds of deer and elk, a horizon dotted with flocks of birds, and the busyness of bees and butterflies. You can read more in a previous blog post about these eastern ‘Serpentine Grasslands’. Sadly, these grasslands no longer exist in the formerly massive extent they used to occupy, but several preserved remnants still endure here in Maryland to tell the tale of their former glory!

a view of the Maryland Serpentine Grasslands on a cloudy day — *A stormy summer evening at Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area, Baltimore Co. – one of Maryland’s Serpentine preservation areas. Photo: Justin O’Neill*

What is the current status of the Maryland Serpentine Grasslands?

Many historic and contemporary human-driven environmental changes have caused these special ecosystems to dwindle to the point of concern; it is currently estimated that only 1.6% of their historic area in the region remains. This precipitous decline of eastern Serpentine Grasslands is concerning because they support many special plant species that are considered threatened or rare in Maryland. Luckily, several private and governmental organizations have taken to conserving and studying these ecosystems in Maryland and elsewhere (check out some of them here: Soldiers Delight and Lake Roland). Although eastern Serpentine grasslands have attracted considerable scientific research interest in terms of their rare and unique plant life, the animals that call these critically imperiled habitats home are virtually undocumented (with the exception of some rare butterflies and moths). Could there be special Serpentine associated species that we have yet to even notice?

a purple wildflower found in the Maryland Serpenine Grasslands — Phemeranthus teretifolius, the Quill Fameflower, is one of the special plants that makes its home on the dry and rocky soils of Serpentine habitats. The flower is only open during a few short hours in the afternoon, during which it is abuzz with small solitary bees. Photo: Justin O’Neill

The mission of knowing what lives there to better protect it

To address this knowledge gap, our team at the EspíndoLab, have set out to start documenting the insects present in Maryland’s Serpentine Grasslands. Our current focus is on flower-visiting insects that could act as pollinators, specifically bees and hoverflies. Given the many rare and threatened plants documented in these areas, we figured it was important to first know what insects might be helping most with Serpentine plant reproduction.

How do we do this?

To document these flower-visiting insects, the lab crew has undertaken 5 years (2019 – 2023) of observations and insect collection in three of Maryland’s most intact Serpentine Grassland conservation areas. Because different flowers bloom during different parts of the growing season (spring to fall), we had to visit these conservation areas many times each year to observe the full range of flowering plants and their insect visitors. So, once every two to three weeks across each season, the Serpentine squad would head out to visit our many field study sites and systematically capture bees and hoverflies seen interacting with flowers. Currently, we are working on the meticulous process of examining each captured specimen with a microscope to determine its species identity using taxonomic guides.

a student researcher collecting insects at the Maryland Serpentine Grasslands — Nets at the ready! The Serpentine squad carefully captures bees and hoverflies seen visiting flowers at several study sites across three of Maryland’s Serpentine conservation areas. Photo: Justin O’Neill

With this information we can begin to catalog the insect species that make up Serpentine pollination communities. This allows us to explore if the communities present in the Serpentines are different from those in nearby habitats and if they possess any rare or unique species. This information will also give us insight on how the plant and pollinator communities interact with one another; informing us about key species that contribute vitally to pollinator persistence or plant reproduction. Ultimately, the knowledge we gain will provide a baseline understanding about the dynamics of pollinator diversity in the grasslands and inform the organizations that conserve and restore these ecosystems.

What are we learning?

So far, the EspíndoLab’s efforts in the grasslands have revealed quite a bit about the broad array of insects that visit these unique plant communities. Notably, among the myriad of beetles, butterflies, flies, and wasps that visit Serpentine flowers, native solitary bees and hoverflies are consistently observed to be the most abundant – and perhaps most important potential pollinators. Interestingly, social bee species, particularly honey bees, that are commonly observed in many pollination communities, were infrequently encountered in our collecting efforts until late in the season, if it all. This suggests that they may pass on the relatively sparse floral resources of the grasslands until the Fall, when dense and attractive patches of goldenrod and aster bloom – potentially providing them an important source of resources as pickings become slim late in the season.

Most excitingly, our collections have revealed 39 unique genera of bees and hoverflies in the grasslands, so far – with more likely to be found as we continue to identify the many insects from our collections. Our efforts have also found several rare bee and hoverfly species; some of which are insects that have never been observed in Baltimore County! Among these rare and interesting finds are two bees and a hoverfly that are particularly special.

The hoverfly, Trichopsomyia litoralis, is relatively new to science – having only been described in 2019. Not much is known about the ecology of this species, but its larvae are known to feed on economically important pests. Encountering this species in the Serpentine grasslands is interesting not only because it is rarely observed, but also because it is currently thought to only inhabit an eastern coastal range (likely associated with sandy sites)! This information could extend our understanding of this hoverfly’s distribution or suggest that these flies undertake long migrations during their life cycle.

On the other hand, we have found two rare bee species that are really cool: the mining bee, Andrena gardineri; and the nomad bee Nomada seneciophila. These bees are what we call specialists: they have very specific ecological requirements. For example, A. gardineri is known to preferentially forage for pollen on plants from the genus Packera (ragworts or groundsels) – it is considered a Packera specialist. Even though A. gardineri is quite rare in the region, we find it commonly during our spring grassland collections. This is because almost all the conserved grassland areas provide good conditions to host lots of Packera anonyma.

close-up of the face of a bee found in the Maryland Serpentine Grasslands — *A close-up shot of a fluffy male Andrena gardineri specimen. Photo: USGS Bee Monitoring Lab / Brooke Alexander.* *CC 2.0*

The other notable bee we observed, the nomad bee, Nomada seneciophila is a vanishingly rare cuckoo bee (see here what these bees do and why this is fascinating). These bees wander (nomadically so) around in search of other bee’s nests so they can hijack them for their own young to develop in! N. seneciophila, as it turns out, is a specialist of our specialist friend, A. gardineri. That is, this nomad bee species has a very strong preference for stealing the nests of our other rare bee, A. gardineri!

another bee found in the Maryland Serpentine Grasslands — *The waspy-looking Nomad bee: Nomada seneciophila. Photo: Justin O’Neill*

From these interesting encounters, it is becoming increasingly clear that these grasslands not only support remarkable plants; they also provide critical resources and nesting habitat for rare bee and hoverfly species. Although these once expansive ecosystems might not exist on the grand scale they once did, their remnants are unique contributors to the region’s biodiversity. Taking the time to document their floristic and faunistic wonders is important for understanding the historic role they played in shaping regional biodiversity today, and how that biodiversity may respond to the changing environments of the future!

By Justin O’Neill, Ph.D. student, and Dr. Anahí Espíndola, Assistant Professor, EspíndoLab, Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park.

Stem-Nesting Bees in Maryland

March 11, 2024March 8, 2024Maryland GrowsLeave a comment

With their large diversity, bees display a huge variety of nesting preferences. Some bees that are relatively commonly encountered in our region are those that nest in stems. In today’s post, I want to tell you about who they are, their biology, and their preferences when the time comes for them to pick their nesting sites.

Who are the stem-nesting bees in our region?

When we consider bees that nest in stems, we can think about two main groups. In the first group, we have bees that actively dig into pithy stems or wood to build their galleries. In the second group, we have those that use pre-existing cavities in stems and slightly adjust them to accommodate their brood. This difference may seem trivial; at the end of the day, they will all end up in stems, right? Well, that is true to some extent; however, whether we talk about one group or the other will define what actual taxonomic group of bees we’ll be referring to, and a different set of morphological adaptations that allow them to build their nests properly.

In our region both types of bees are present and many of them are relatively common and easily observed in our green spaces.

Stem nesters that dig their nests

In addition to large carpenter bees (Xylocopa), this group includes Halictid bees such as Augochlora and the Apidae Ceratina. Because they all have to dig actively into stems to build their nests inside, all these bees are equipped with very strong mandibles, which have modifications that reinforce them, and strong muscles that allow them to increase the force they can exert on the stems.

a metallic green bee going into a stem nest cavity — Metallic bees are very common in our region. They often can be found emerging or looking for wooden resources to build their nests. Photo: K. Shultz (CC).

Depending on the species, we can find them building nests on different substrates. While Augochlora can often be found building galleries in rotten logs, Ceratina is mostly associated with stems that tend to be a bit hollower, such as those of raspberries and blackberries (you can check out this other post on how to trim those plants to protect their nests), or those of plants of the genus Verbena. In all these cases, the nests have the shape of a gallery, with small cells built consecutively. Each of these cells is carefully built, provisioned with nectar and pollen, populated with one egg, and finally sealed with sawdust or compacted pith.

Stem nesters that use stem cavities that already exist

Several families of bees belong to this group in the Mid-Atlantic. Species of the genus Hylaeus in the family Colletidae are present in our region, and readily nest in hollow stems. Another group that is very commonly seen in our region is that of leaf-cutter bees (Megachilidae). Although this group tends to be more flexible in the types of cavities they will use for building their nests, many species will readily use natural or artificial “stem-like” cavities (these bees are very common in bee hotels).

several bees nesting inside of a plant stem — A small bee commonly seen in bee hotels is that of genus *Hylaeus*, also known as the yellow-faced bees. These bees will readily use small hollow stems and cavities. Photo: R. Cruickshank (CC).

Stem-nesting bees (Hylaeus) were observed in a raspberry cane on May 10, 2023, in Montgomery County, MD. Video: Christa Carignan, University of Maryland Extension

Because these groups do not need to actively dig into wood to build their nests, their mandibles are not as developed as those of the other group of bees I presented above. A common characteristic of all these bees is that they have relatively long and slender bodies, which is believed to allow them to move with more ease in relatively small cavities. It is also for this reason that specialists think that all these species transport pollen either internally or on the lower part of their abdomens (instead of on their legs, for example); this reduces their “width” and allows them to fit into cavities that may otherwise be too narrow. Another characteristic of this group of bees is that they often line their brood cells with special materials, such as leaves, petals, resins, or mud. This means that building these nests is a lot of work!

leaf-cutter bee carrying a leaf piece to a nest — Leaf-cutter bees of genus *Megachile* are also very commonly seen in bee hotels and nesting in cavities around our homes. Here, *M. centuncularis*, brings leaf cuttings to line the nest in a cavity offered in a bee hotel. Photo: B. Plank (CC).

Although bees (and most insects) are generally negatively affected by urbanization, this group of bees appears to benefit from their interactions with humans. Unlike ground-nesting bees which are very negatively affected by land development and urbanization, it seems that stem-nesting bees can easily use many cavities created by humans, such as those appearing in buildings, walls, fences, and gardens.

Read more: This Year, Host Bees in Your Garden

By Anahí Espíndola, Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park. See more posts by Anahí.

Anahí also writes an award-winning Extension Blog in Spanish! Check it out here, extensionesp.umd.edu, and please share and spread the word to your Spanish-speaking friends and colleagues in Maryland. ¡Bienvenidos a Extensión en Español!

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The good and the bad of carpenter bees: Can we get along?

October 10, 2022September 30, 2022Maryland Grows4 Comments

Although we may love them with all our hearts, it is true that every one of our most beloved friends and family have sides that at times make us mad… and that’s no reason for us to love them less. I feel our relationship with pollinators and other beneficial insects is similar to that which we have with our loved ones: pollinators pollinate and play an important role in native plant reproduction and food production… and sometimes can become a nuisance if not properly managed. As for our loved ones, the fact that pollinators can become a nuisance shouldn’t stop us from supporting them; we just need to learn how to sustain our relationship while controlling its negative aspects. In today’s post we’ll talk about one pollinator in particular, with which our relationship can sometimes become complicated. Let’s talk about carpenter bees.

What are carpenter bees?

In our area, carpenter bees are large bees belonging to the bee genus Xylocopa. If you enjoy being outdoors, I am pretty sure you have already seen them. A very common species in our region is the eastern carpenter bee, which is about the size of a bumblebee, has a “dot” on its back and dark wings, and when exposed to the sun, has a shiny abdomen. These bees are very common in our area, and are very regular floral visitors of many ornamental and food-producing plants.

The eastern carpenter bee (left), a native to the mid-Atlantic, has a shiny abdomen, while bumblebees (right) have fuzzy and hairy abdomens. Photos: J. Gallagher, Wikimedia: R. Hodnett.

Because they are about the same size as bumblebees, carpenter bees are often confused with them. To differentiate them, a look at their abdomen will quickly allow us to know who’s who; carpenter bees have shiny abdomens, while bumblebees have very fuzzy and hairy abdomens.

The life cycle of a carpenter bees

It’s not random that carpenter bees are called that way. Their life cycle is tightly linked to wood, in which females dig holes to build their nests. Carpenter bees have impressive mandibles that they can use to chew soft wood to dig galleries in it. Although they may seem impressive, these are peaceful bees that sting only if physically and aggressively disturbed. In the spring, males of these bees establish and defend their territories, a strategy that will win them a female to mate with. During this defense, they “chase away” other males but also people who may be close to what they consider their spaces. These males are harmless, however, since they have no stingers and thus can’t sting.

the life cycle of carpenter bees from spring to fall — Life cycle of a carpenter bee. Photo: NC State Extension.

The life cycle of these bees goes hand-in-hand with the season. In the early spring the hibernating adults emerge, mate, and the females build their nests in the wood. These nests consist of galleries, at the end of which the females lay eggs and store food (nectar and pollen) for the developing larva. The larvae develop throughout the spring and summer, and by the end of the summer emerge as adults. These adults are the carpenter bees we usually see flying in the early fall. Once the weather starts becoming chillier, at the beginning of the winter, these adults return to some of the cavities and overwinter there, emerging the following spring, to restart the cycle.

Why can carpenter bees become a nuisance?

As we saw above, carpenter bees nest in wood. If a house or any structure is built of wood, they may pick it to build their nests. When this happens, these bees have the potential to affect the integrity of our wooden buildings. So, we see that while these bees are very important pollinators native to our region, this particular aspect is the one that can be problematic in our relationship with them. The good news is that there are solutions for this!

a carpenter bee seeks a nest side in wood — Carpenter bees nest in wood, which sometimes can be a part of human buildings. Knowing how to proactively protect wooden structures is the best way to manage this helpful native pollinator, while protecting our buildings. Photo: H. Jacoba.

If there are no nests yet in the wood

The best solution is of course not the reactive, but the proactive one. If we have important wood structures that we don’t want to see occupied by these bees, the best we can do is first to use hardwood (which these bees tend to dislike) and/or to treat the wood. The treatment consists in painting or varnishing the wood, which will deter the adults from nesting in it. A very good treatment is coating the wood with almond oil in the spring, which will deter the bees from choosing that section to nest.

Another proactive action that can be taken along with wood staining is to distract the bees from the wood that we want to protect. To do this, one can use pieces of wood that one may not be interested in keeping, and displaying them in other parts of the open spaces so that females choose to nest in those surfaces instead of in the wood we want to protect. Besides protecting the wood, this also allows us to support these important native pollinators from our region, all while reducing the potential negative impacts on our buildings.

If bees are already established in the wood

If carpenter bees are already established, there are several options. First, if the number of nests is really low, and if the structure can be removed and replaced, then this should be done and the new wood structure should be stained to protect it. If possible, the piece of wood that is removed can then be placed elsewhere in the green spaces around the property, which will provide nesting resources for this pollinator, and will simultaneously protect the house and support native pollinators.

carpenter bees flying around holes in old wood — Carpenter bees can sometimes establish many nests in structural materials. If this affects the integrity of the building, more extreme actions may be needed. Photo: JoeyZ51.

If the piece of wood can’t be removed and, in particular, if the nests appear to jeopardize the integrity of the building, a more radical action should be taken. In that case, the use of insecticides can be considered. If this path is taken, it is important to not perform insecticide applications without proper knowledge, meaning that this should be done by an expert applicator. This point is really important, because non-targeted and improper insecticide treatments can lead to a lower efficiency of the treatment on the carpenter bees, and the death of other non-target beneficial insects (e.g., other bees, beneficial pest control insects, etc.) that may become in contact with the treated region.

Planning your garden to support specialized pollinators

January 10, 2022January 18, 2022Maryland GrowsLeave a comment

Looking out my window, as the ground is covered with snow and I am getting ready for another snowstorm coming tonight, it seems ironic that I have been spending many hours these days ordering seeds and planning my garden. While I am thankful that the winter brings some rest to the soil in my garden, planning this season brings me happy memories of the scents and buzzes in my yard during the growing days… which reminds me that I should also plan for my little buzzing pollinator friends when I plan what to grow this season. In today’s blog, I want to chat about how we can plan for many types of pollinators, with a special focus on planning for specialists and not just for generalist pollinators.

Specialist pollinators – never heard of them?

As we mentioned in a previous post, pollinators visit plants to feed on nectar and/or to collect pollen to feed themselves or their offspring. However, pollen is not just there for pollinators to feed on; pollen is central to plant reproduction, so plants tend to make it both attractive to pollinators but hard to digest. For this reason, and in order to be able to properly digest the pollen, pollinators are often specialized in their pollen choices. This is because being able to digest the compounds that plants add to their pollen to make them hard to eat requires some level of adaptation, which often involves a trade-off with the ability to eat anything. There are, of course, many levels of specialization, and, while many pollinators feed on many plant families, others are more specialized than that, and feed on only specific plant genera or even species! For us gardeners, this means that if we want to support many different pollinators, we need to make sure that we are also providing for those very specialized pollinators as well!

Luckily for us, the floral choices and pollen specialization is known to some extent for Maryland and Eastern USA bees (see this site to learn more). For this reason, we know that many specialized bees in our region are also rare or uncommon… another reason to try to provide resources for them!

Who are pollen specialists in our region?

Many known pollen specialist bees in our region belong to bee genera Andrena, Colletes, Osmia, and Melissodes, which have many species considered rare or uncommon in Maryland and Mid-Atlantic.

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How do pollinators find plants and flowers?

December 13, 2021May 16, 2023Maryland Grows1 Comment

As we know, pollinators help plants spread their pollen among flowers, and many plants do indeed need them to be able to reproduce and set seeds. We also know that by planting flowers and providing nesting habitats, we can help pollinators’ populations and thus assist with plant pollination. However, how do pollinators find plants? In this post, we will talk about that topic, which can help us become even better at helping pollinators and the plants they pollinate.

The big picture – pollinators need to be in the area

In order for pollinators to find plants, pollinators need to be present in the general region. In fact, although the vast majority of pollinators can move and travel from place to place, all of them have limitations on the distance they are able to travel. For example, hummingbirds can travel for miles (in Maryland, they are migratory), while large bees are able to travel relatively large distances for an insect (~500m-1km), and smaller insects will not be able to travel that far. This means that if, say, we lived in the middle of a very developed area with very few pollinator-friendly resources (few flowers, lots of cement, no green areas, etc.), planting a pollinator garden will attract few pollinators at first. This is due to the fact that it is likely that few pollinators are present in that area, and thus it will take a while for certain groups to arrive and establish in our garden.

It is for this reason that many communities tend to try to establish joint pollinator-friendly actions, and encourage many people in the region to participate (e.g., becoming Bee City USA-certified, creating “pollinator highways or corridors”). By increasing the regional number of pollinator-friendly resources, the whole region becomes more pollinator-diverse, and any supplementary action is more likely to improve pollinator support. As we talked about in a previous post, if you are interested in promoting pollinator-friendly habitat on your property, it may be a great idea to talk to your neighbors or your City, and see if others may also want to participate. In terms of pollinator-friendly activities, the saying “the more, the merrier” is very much true!

pollinator habitat sign in a garden — Pollinator-friendly actions are very effective when they are coordinated across regions. Photo: A. Kokai.

The local picture – different pollinators prefer different plants

As we mentioned in other posts, not all pollinators are made equal, and this is also true in terms of what plants will be found by what pollinators. For example, hummingbirds tend to visit tubular and reddish flowers, while syrphids prefer open flowers, and bees tend to visit flowers that they can access with their mouth parts (see this post to learn more).

These floral preferences are due to the different pollinators’ abilities to see different colors, the presence of specific attractive floral scents in different plant species, and the ability of different pollinators with different body and mouth part shapes to handle and feed on flowers, and the matching of pollinator presence and flowering time. The practical consequence of this is that if we want to help many different pollinators find their preferred plants, it is necessary to grow different types of plants in our green spaces. By doing this, we would always provide resources that will be preferred to at least one pollinator, and by providing different types of resources, we can make sure that many different types of pollinators are supported by our plants. In order to do this, there are different floral mixes that exist that allow us to plant diverse floral resources appropriate for our region, which lets us build a diverse and welcoming floral bed for many pollinators.

Planting diverse floral resources will attract many different types of pollinators. Photo: C. Celley/USFWS.

The super-local picture – pollinators need to see the plant to access it

This will sound silly, but pollinators need to be able to have access to the plant to find it. For example, if a plant is not clearly displayed or hidden by many other plants or structures, it will be hard for pollinators to find it… even if the pollinator is present in the area and the plant in question is a preferred plant. This means that for us to help pollinators, we need to make sure that our plants are findable by the pollinators. Picking appropriate parts of our green spaces to plant our pollinator-friendly plants is thus key! For example, plants that require full sun to grow should be planted in those conditions and not under the shade of other plants or behind structures.

To know what these specific conditions are, there exist several resources (for example, see this useful and simple resource (PDF) published by the City of College Park, MD). These resources allow us to pick the best growing spot for our plants, making them easily findable by their pollinator friends.

Finally, pollinators are more likely to find plants if there are several of them! This is particularly true for smaller herbs, which may not display many flowers. By increasing the number of plants planted in an area we are also making the plant species more easily findable to the pollinators.

By Anahí Espíndola, Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park. See more posts by Anahí. Anahí also writes an Extension Blog in Spanish! Check it out here, extensionesp.umd.edu, and please share and spread the word to your Spanish-speaking friends and colleagues in Maryland. ¡Bienvenidos a Extensión en Español!