Native Bee Spotlight: Cuckoo Bee ~ Nomada spp.

Cuckoo Bee ~ Nomada spp.

There are many types of native Cuckoo Bees, this Cuckoo Bee falls in the same family (Apidae) as Bumble and Honey Bees.

As the common name suggests, like Cuckoo Birds, Cuckoo Bees lay their eggs in the nests of other bees. In our region, the Cowbird would be a good comparison.

Why go to all the work of collecting pollen and nectar to provision a nest when another bee can do it for you?

I typically see this particular Cuckoo Bee in early spring, from March - May. A cleptoparasite of Mining and Sweat Bees, females sneak in to the ground nests of the host bee, lay 2-4 eggs alongside the host egg. When the first Cuckoo Bee larva hatch it kills its siblings and host egg/larva.

As the Nomada larva develop, it consumes the host bee bread (a combination of pollen and nectar).

Nomada sp. are typically a reddish-brown color with yellow spots, thick antennae and thin legs. The rear legs do not have any pollen collecting hairs because they have no need to collect pollen. If you see Cuckoo Bees visiting flowers, they are only there for the nectar.

Pictured visiting the flowers of Wafer Ash (top), American Bladdernut (middle), and Wild Geranium (left).

Also on spring beauty (left).

I have Mining Bees (Andrena spp.) nesting in the sandy soil of the south slope in our yard. In early spring, several of these Cuckoo Bees will be flying low to the ground landing on sticks and leaf litter seeking out the nests of the Mining Bees.









Source: Attracting Native Pollinators: The Xerces Society Guide, Protecting North America's Bees and Butterflies

Native Bee Spotlight: Mason Bees ~ Osmia spp.

Mason Bees ~ Osmia spp.

Mason Bees were one of the first native bees we knew were nesting in our landscape because we provided bee boards for them. They will nest in many types of natural cavities such as under rocks, behind bark or in the pithy stems of plants.

Mason Bees are a small to medium sized bee, with a blue/green metallic body which is moderately hairy.

There are many types of cavity nests that you can create, simply drilling holes in an untreated wood block and hanging it in a sunny location works well.

We started with some holes drilled in the end of a 2x4 board (maximizing the hole depth). For the first couple of years, we had a lot of Mason Bee activity.

We have since made simple wood holders out of plywood that are stuffed with hollow plant stems (Cup Plant, Pale Indian Plantain). Stems can be changed out every two years (after the adult bees emerge in spring). This ensures that you are providing clean nesting cavities.

Females collect pollen and nectar, combine the two ingredients forming a bee bread. They deposit the bee bread at the back of the cavity, lay a single egg on it where the larva will develop and consume the bee bread. She repeats the process of depositing bee bread in the cavity, walling off each section creating separate brood compartments.

We start to see these bees active in early spring, visiting Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum) flowers in May. Females collect pollen on their abdomen as illustrated in this photo.

They also love our American Plum (Prunus americana) tree which is extremely fragrant and a great pollinator plant.

Mason Bees are being used as alternative pollinators of commercial crops. They have been fairly successful in filling voids left by honey bees for almond tree pollination in California.

These medium sized bees seem surprisingly strong, able to pry open the Wild Lupine (Lupinus perennis) flowers to access the rewards offered.

We see the last adults in early June visiting the Ohio Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis) flowers.

There's lots of resources online on how to build Mason Bee houses, and some very creative examples.

A Mason Bee house is a great holiday gift idea for the wildlife gardener.







Source: Attracting Native Pollinators: The Xerces Society Guide, Protecting North America's Bees and Butterflies

Native Bee Spotlight: Small Carpenter Bees ~ Ceratina spp.

Small Carpenter Bee
on Hepatica flower

Small Carpenter Bees ~ Ceratina spp.

In my landscape, I start to see Small Carpenter Bees in March when the first woodland ephemerals are blooming.

Small Carpenter Bees are very tiny, for identification I look for white markings on the face and a shiny blue-green to black body. Not all species have white on the face although.

Small Carpenter Bee on
Wild Geranium ~ Geranium maculatum

These native bees nest in cavities of plant stems. Females will chew holes through the center of soft, pithy wood and create a nesting cavity. The female "places herself as a guard at the entrance. She will die during the winter but remains in place to block the nest access." (Attracting Native Pollinators, p. 248.)

Small Carpenter Bee
visiting Virginia Waterleaf

Leaving dead plant material in your landscape standing helps provide habitat for cavity nesting bees. If you have Elderberry species, think of those soft wood branches that often die back significantly each season providing nesting habitat.

This Small Carpenter Bee is visiting a Bluestar flower (Amsonia spp.) looking for available nectar and pollen.

Small Carpenter Bees continue to visit my native perennials throughout the spring into July. Pictured here on Ohio Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis).

Also Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia). Their small size gives them an all access pass to small open flowers.

Look for these bees also on Beardtongue (Penstemon spp.),

Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa),

Wild Petunia (Ruellia humilis),

and Prairie Coreopsis (Coreopsis palmata).

Native Plant of the Week: Riddell's Goldenrod ~ Oligoneuron riddelli

Riddell's Goldenrod ~ Oligoneuron riddellii (Solidago riddellii)

Riddell's Goldnerod flowerered earlier this year, like most plants due to the early, warm spring. Last year, it was in full bloom in the first week of October.

Riddell's Goldenrod is a native perennial of moist prairies, wetland edges and calcareous fens. It's distribution is somewhat sporadic in its range because of its favored habitat.

Flowers are comrpised of a branced cluster with a large number of flower heads, each with several rays.

Leaves are narrow, arching downwards in a concave curve away from the stem. The center vein is very pronounced and many field guides describe the leaves being folded along the midrib.

Image ©Katy Chayka
Minnesota Wildflowers

Last year, I did not get a chance to observe insect activity when it flowered in the first week of October. This year however, it was a magnet to many native bees including Bumble Bees, and Mining Bees.

If you have a moist, limy location in your landscape, Riddell's Goldenrod would be a good candidate. Be sure to buy seed or plants from reputable growers. Riddell's Goldenrod is listed as threatened in Manitoba and Arkansas.

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP).
2011. North American Plant Atlas. Chapel Hill, N.C.

Riddell's Goldenrod is native to the midwest and southern Great Lakes states. See map for range.