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Nest of a ground dwelling bee |
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There are approximately 20,000 species of bees in the world. British Columbia has approximately 450 species of bees but with further identification that number could grow to 500 within a few years. Many of the bee species are non-social or solitary. 70% of the bee species in North America are ground dwelling bees including some species of bumble bee (bombus). Although there are obvious benefits to mulching (water retention, weed control) areas of bare earth provide a nesting area for ground dwelling bees.
One of our native bees (Blue Orchard Mason Bee) the Blue Orchard Mason bee likes the clay between rocks. Wood or stem nesting bees prefer a pile of branches and all species need a source of water for nest construction or cooling. It is easy to build your own mason bee home (Mason Bee Vancouver).
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Bumble Bee (Bombus) enjoying a Cosmos (not Kramer) |
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What a bee sees |
we see
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bees see
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add in UV
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red
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black
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uv
purple
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orange
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yellow/green*
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yellow
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yellow/green*
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uv
purple
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green
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green
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blue
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blue
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uv
violet
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violet
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blue
|
uv
blue
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purple
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blue
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white
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blue
green
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black
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black
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Bee Balm |
Dill |

*For a more complete list of plants bees luv go to the Bee Plants page of this site or to the Planting for Pollinators section of our Beekeepers' Library.
Here's a few sources of information for making your garden a bee friendly garden.
Though some of the sources are Californian most if not all of the plants
are grown here:
Bees love sunflowers |
The Melissa Garden
Urban Bee Gardens
Make a Bee friendly garden
Make a Bee friendly garden
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Don't mess with my home, homie |
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The Honeybee Conservancy http://thehoneybeeconservancy.org/ |