Understanding Bumblebee Attractions
To effectively attract bumblebees to your garden or outdoor space, it’s essential to understand what they are naturally drawn to. Bumblebees are attracted to areas that provide ample forage opportunities with a range of flowering plants, a water source, and nesting sites. Below, we will outline the steps to create an environment that is irresistible to bumblebees.
Steps to Attract Bumblebees
1. Plant Native and Bee-friendly Flowers
Start by planting a variety of flowers that bumblebees love. Go for native species whenever possible, as they are likely to provide the right kind of nectar and pollen that local bumblebees are seeking. Flowers such as lavender, foxglove, sunflowers, and borage are great options. Aim for blooms throughout the seasons by selecting plants that flower at different times so bumblebees have a reason to keep coming back from early spring to late fall.
2. Create a Continual Bloom Schedule
Try to ensure that there are always flowers in bloom from early spring when bumblebees emerge from hibernation, throughout summer, and into the fall. This can be achieved by carefully selecting plant varieties that bloom consecutively. Early bloomers might include crocuses and snowdrops, followed by summer flowers like bee balm and echinacea, and ending with late bloomers such as asters and goldenrod.
3. Avoid the Use of Pesticides
Avoid using chemicals in your garden that can harm bumblebees and other pollinators. Opt for natural pest control methods and strive for a balanced ecosystem where predators handle the pests naturally.
4. Provide Water Sources
Bumblebees need to drink, so provide a shallow water source such as a bird bath with stones in it for them to land on. This will prevent drowning while giving them the opportunity to hydrate and cool down on hot days.
5. Leave Some Garden Areas Untidy
Bumblebees often nest in the ground, so leaving a corner of your yard untouched with long grass and leaf piles can offer a potential nesting site. You can also provide a bumblebee box or a pile of untreated lumber or twigs as an artificial nest site.
6. Offer a Variety of Flower Shapes and Colors
Bumblebees are particularly attracted to blue and purple flowers, but they visit flowers of all colors. Also, different species of bumblebees have different tongue lengths, so offer a range of flower shapes and sizes to accommodate them all.
7. Maintain Flowering Herbs
Many common herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, and chives, are very attractive to bees when they flower. Allow your herbs to bloom for a part of the season to provide additional forage for bumblebees.
8. Cultivate Night-Blooming Flowers
Some bumblebees are active at dusk, so including night-blooming plants can provide forage during parts of the day when other food sources are not available.
Conclusion
Attracting bumblebees is all about providing a safe and resource-filled habitat for them. By following these steps, not only will you encourage a thriving bumblebee population, but you will also contribute to the overall health of your local ecosystem. Remember that bumblebees play a crucial role in pollination, which benefits a wide variety of plants, including many of the foods we enjoy.
Keep observing your garden once you’ve made these changes, and consider joining local conservation efforts or citizen science projects to further support bumblebee populations.