A Gentle Giant for Pollinator Week

To help celebrate Pollinator Week I am republishing this post from 2015 on Eastern Carpenter Bees/Xylocopa virginica. I've added a few details and refreshed some photos. I hope you enjoy it! xoxogail 

There's probably no other bee that arouses irritation quite like this gentle giant. Just search "carpenter bee" and you will get hundreds, if not thousands of "results" and almost all are about how to get rid of them.

They're very cool critters and I love them even though they have tunneled into my front porch deck and my carport stained posts. We had the porch painted and they don't like it! They continue to nest in our stained carport wood.

 

Robbing a Penstemon

Five interesting facts about this gentle giant.

1. These big beautiful, noisy bees are excellent pollinators. In fact, they are being studied across the globe for pollinating green house crops like passionflower, blueberries, greenhouse tomatoes and greenhouse melons.

2. They are generalist foragers and are known to pollinate garden crops and garden plants. Like eggplant (Solanum melongena), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) and other species in that genus, cucurbits (Cucurbita spp.), cassias (Cassia spp.), Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens), cigar orchid (Cyrtopodium punctatum), bee balm (Monarda spp.), aromatic sumac (Rhus aromatica), and wild lupine (Lupinus perennis).

3. They are buzz pollinators - meaning they use vibrations, or sonication, to release pollen grains from the flower's anthers. To release pollen carpenter bees are able to grab onto the flower and move their flight muscles rapidly, causing the flower and anthers to vibrate, dislodging pollen. About 8% of the flowers of the world are primarily pollinated using buzz pollination. Wildflower gardeners~all Dodecatheon are buzz pollinated! Eggplants, potatoes, tomatoes, blueberries and cranberries are also buzz pollinated.

Camassia

4. They typically visit flowers that have large, open-faces with abundant nectar and pollen; bloom during the day; are pale or saturated in color; have a fresh odor; anthers specialized for pollen collection by bees; and corollas with strong walls.

5. They are nectar robbers and cheat the pollination process by breaking open the sides of flowers, like salvias and penstemons to get at the nectar! 

Bonus info. The menacing/dive bombing carpenter bee you encounter is only protecting a nest. It's a male drone and he's all buzz and no sting!


Happy Pollinator Week where ever you garden!xoxogail

PS In case you need a reminder! Please, never, ever, ever, ever, ever use pesticides in your garden. The pollinators will thank you by taking up residence and pollinating your fruits, vegetables and flowers!

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Pollinator Week: Xylocopa virginica

 Pollinator Week  has been proclaimed throughout the land! Here to help us celebrate is one of my favorite pollinators, the Eastern carpenter bee.

Five interesting facts about this gentle giant.

1. These big beautiful, noisy bees are excellent pollinators. In fact, they are being studied across the globe for pollinating green house crops like passionflower, blueberries, greenhouse tomatoes and greenhouse melons.


2. They are generalist foragers and are known to pollinate garden crops and garden plants. Like eggplant (Solanum melongena), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) and other species in that genus, cucurbits (Cucurbita spp.), cassias (Cassia spp.), Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens), cigar orchid (Cyrtopodium punctatum), bee balm (Monarda spp.), aromatic sumac (Rhus aromatica), and wild lupine (Lupinus perennis).

 

cheating pollination!

3. They are buzz pollinators - meaning they use vibrations, or sonication, to release pollen grains from the flower's anthers. To release pollen carpenter bees are able to grab onto the flower and move their flight muscles rapidly, causing the flower and anthers to vibrate, dislodging pollen. About 8% of the flowers of the world are primarily pollinated using buzz pollination. Wildflower gardeners~all Dodecatheon are buzz pollinated! Eggplants, potatoes, tomatoes, blueberries and cranberries are also buzz pollinated.

large open faced flowers rich in pollen and/or nectar are favorites

4. They typically visit flowers that have large, open-faces with abundant nectar and pollen; bloom during the day; are pale or saturated in color; have a fresh odor; anthers specialized for pollen collection by bees; and corollas with strong walls.

5. They are nectar robbers and cheat the pollination process by breaking open the sides of flowers, like salvias and penstemons to get at the nectar! 

Bonus info. The menacing/dive bombing carpenter bee you encounter is only protecting a nest. It's a male drone and he's all buzz and no sting!

There's probably no other bee that arouses irritation quite like this gentle giant. Just search "carpenter bee" and you will get hundreds of thousands of 'results' and almost all are about how to get rid of them.

They're very cool critters even if when they tunnel into your deck/front porch/garage and I love them even though they have tunneled into my front porch deck! They are now nesting in several large cedar stumps that I have placed around the yard....YIPPEE!

Happy Pollinator Week where ever you garden!xoxogail

PS In case you need a reminder! Please, never, ever, ever, ever, ever use pesticides in your garden. The pollinators will thank you by taking up residence and pollinating your fruits, vegetables and flowers!

 Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

My Favorite Pollinator!

To be honest it's my favorite right this minute. But, it's definitely in my favorite pollinator family~Bees!

Some homeowners think this big beautiful bee is a pain in their siding! I truly can't blame them. Carpenter bees love wood and any unpainted wood is very attractive to them! Including the stained posts on my carport!

There's so much I can tell you all about them. Instead, I'll tell you three things that you might not know and suggest you take a look at a post I wrote last year for more information.  Just click on this Carpenter Bees.

They typically visit flowers that are large, open-faced with abundant nectar and pollen, day-bloomers, pale or saturated in color, and that have a fresh odor, anthers specialized for pollen collection by bees, and corollas with strong walls.

Not a pollinator of salvias this Carpenter bee is covered with garlic pollen

They are cheaters in the pollination game when it comes to some flowers. They cannot climb into the flowers of salvias and instead break open the sides to get at the nectar and consequently are not salvia pollinators.

and the final thing, I will share with you is this~

My Carpenter Bees have never, ever, ever had to deal with pesticides. I hung a pottery Red-bellied woodpecker on their favorite of my carport stained pillars and they have moved on! Just like magic!

xoxogail

Flowers from top down!
Lobelia siphilitica 
Pentas lanceolata 
Caryopteris × clandonensis 'First Choice'
Phlox glaberrima (blooming almost non-stop)
Salvia azurea
Coreopsis cultivar

The ceramic bird is by artist Steve Thorstenson.   You can find his work at Montana Birdworks


Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

The Wildflower and The Bee

Baptisia australis, dusk, April 25, 2011

I've been watching and hoping to catch a few pollinators buzzing around Baptisia australis! Today I was rewarded, when this busy Bumble began working its way from flower to flower to flower. What was most astonishing, and I so wish I had been able to capture the images, was watching the Bumble work. She landed on each flower and with her back legs pushed open the petals in order to give her room to reach inside with her tongue to drink the nectar. I've shared with you that long and short tongue bees visit plants; well, this is a plant that is pollinated by bumbles and other long tongued bees. It was the first time I saw how clever these critters are when trying to get at nectar. It was a marvelous dance to watch.

Her pollen baskets are filled with orange Baptisia pollen!

Just look at the pollen that's been collected. She'll take it back to her nest to feed her young, while she feeds on the nectar to maintain her energy for her sunup to sundown job.

The stems stand tall above the plant

Watching her buzz from flower to flower drove home how important it is to plant in drifts. The plants are right there all together and make it easy for bees and other pollinators to do their job~pollinating those flowers! Baptisia with it's mass of blooms is its own drift. But, if you have the space plant more.

Bumble doing her job!

Baptisia australis is a Central Basin native that is happy, happy, happy in my garden! That makes me happy! I love this plant. Love how it looks like a shrub, but, is a herbaceous perennial. Love the trifoliate leaves that remain good looking all season long and add a much needed different leaf shape to my garden. Love the tall flower racemes that bloom for a few weeks, then turn into the most marvelous charcoal colored seed pods. Love that bumbles and other pollinators visit. I so love that it is a host plant for Skippers and little hairstreaks, but, is not tasty to mammals and rodents!

I love purple in a garden

Commonly known as Blue Wild Indigo or Blue False Indigo, Baptisia is a herbaceous perennial in the pea family. It is native to much of the central and eastern North America and is seen in gardens almost everywhere. Blue Wild Indigo prefers full sun, average to well drained soil and is drought tolerant. The blue flowered plants do well in neutral to slightly alkaline soil. Yellow and white Wild Indigo prefer slightly acid soil.

Baptisia Starlite Prairieblues™Parentage: B. australis x bracteata

Baptisia Starlite Prairieblues™ from Chicagoland Grows is one of my favorite of the new hybrid baptisias. The flowers are a gentle bi-colored periwinkle blue that looks beautiful with the pinks and lavenders of the Garden of Benign Neglect. The stems arch rather then stand tall and they require excellent drainage. Which is always a challenge here.

Practically Perfect Pink Phlox pilosa looks lovely at the base of baptisia

Don't you love Spring! I'm so glad you stopped by to help me celebrate wildflowers and to continue our conversation about pollinators.


I'll be celebrating wildflowers everyday this week along with Frances of fairegarden and anyone else who wants to join the party. Post anytime this week~or everyday. Let's just celebrate!

xxoogail


PS. Because it bears repeating~ If you want to attract Bumbles and other pollinators to your garden:

• provide nesting sites for a variety of visitors, some bare ground (ixnay on the plastic landscape cloth), decaying logs and even special bee houses
• plant large swathes of pollinator friendly plants and host plants
• plan for bloom from late winter to late fall
• bee sure to include water
• and, never, never, never, ever, use pesticides in your garden.

This post is also part of a series on native pollinators in the garden~ Earlier posts and their links are listed below for your convenience.

Part I~Now Is The Time To Bee-gin Thinking About Bees ( here)
This Is The Place To Bee ( here)
If You Could Plant Only One Plant In Your Garden~Don't (here)
Must Bee The Season of The Witch (here)
Go Bare In Your Garden (here)
We can't All be pretty Pollinators (here)
Eye, Eye Skipper, Big Eyed Pollinators (here)
What's In Your Garden (here)
Carpenter Bees (here)
Got Wildflowers?(here)
It's Spring and A Gardener's Thoughts Are On Pollinators (here)

Other bee posts you might want to read~
Count Yourself Lucky To Have Hoverflies (here)
Bumblebee Hotel (here)
Still Taking Care Of Bzzness (here)
My Sweet Embraceable You (here)

This post was written by Gail Eichelberger for my blog Clay and Limestone Copyright 2011.This work protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.

It's Spring and This Gardener's Thoughts Are On Pollinators!

Phacelia bipinnatifida with a good friend

I can't help it! My thoughts almost always go to pollinators.

Golden Ragwort with friend this week

You can't blame a gardener for getting excited. The bees have been out and about since late winter; and, now the beetles, hoverflies, skippers and the butterflies are here.

Hover Fly enjoying kale flowers

The garden centers are fully stocked and as a certified plantaholic~I have to remind myself every time I visit a nursery to honor my garden rules for plant acquisition!

• Will they survive the difficult conditions at Clay and Limestone?
• Is this plant a nectar or pollen source for pollinators?
• Is it a host plant for pollinators?
• Is this plant available locally, therefore, more likely to survive the extremes of the Central Basin?
• Will this plant add to the diversity of my pollinator friendly garden?
• Is there a native plant that makes more sense then that seductive exotic?

Pollinators are important in the food web

Let me be perfectly honest! Even though the preferred plant in my garden is a native that is endemic to the Central South/Cedar Basin, I have garden friendly exotics snuggled right next to them. I truly cannot imagine gardening without spring bulbs, herbs, lantana, native wildflowers from the Southeastern USA, zinnias, and my beloved daylilies.

My thoughts are almost always on how I can make my garden pollinator friendly, lovely to look at and fun to visit.


xxoogail



PS If you want to attract pollinators to your garden:

• provide nesting sites for a variety of visitors, some bare ground (ixnay on the plastic landscape cloth), decaying logs and even special bee houses
• plant large swathes of pollinator friendly plants and host plants
• plan for bloom from late winter to late fall
• bee sure to include water

PPS. Because it bears repeating~ Never, never, never, ever, use pesticides in your garden.

PPPS! I've been meaning to link to Clare/Curbstone Valley's wonderful posts on bees and bee keeping. Go here to see her most recent one.


This post is part of a series on native pollinators in the garden~ Earlier posts and their links are listed below for your convenience.

Part I~Now Is The Time To Bee-gin Thinking About Bees ( here)
This Is The Place To Bee ( here)
If You Could Plant Only One Plant In Your Garden~Don't (here)
Must Bee The Season of The Witch (here)
Go Bare In Your Garden (here)
We can't All be pretty Pollinators (here)
Eye, Eye Skipper, Big Eyed Pollinators (here)
What's In Your Garden (here)
Carpenter Bees (here)
Got Wildflowers?(here)

Other bee posts you might want to read~
Count Yourself Lucky To Have Hoverflies (here)
Bumblebee Hotel (here)
Still Taking Care Of Bzzness (here)
My Sweet Embraceable You (here)

This post was written by Gail Eichelberger for my blog Clay and Limestone Copyright 2011.This work protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.

Carpenter Bees

Pollinators In The Neighborhood or Pain In The Neck?

Monarda and a gentle giant carpenter bee~

There's probably no other bee that arouses irritation quite like this gentle giant. Just search 'carpenter bee' and you will get hundreds of thousands of 'results' and almost all are about how to get rid of them.

I can hear you now! You're wondering if I am going to tell you let these creatures bee. Let them tunnel into your outdoor furniture, your decks or the eaves of your house!

Proof is in the pollen covered bee on chive flowers!

No, I'm not going to tell you that. What I will say is that these big beautiful, noisy bees are excellent pollinators. In fact, they are being studied across the globe for pollinating green house crops like passionflower, blueberries, greenhouse tomatoes and greenhouse melons.

I will tell you that they are generalist foragers and are known to pollinate garden crops and garden plants. Carpenter bees are known to pollinate eggplant (Solanum melongena), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) and other species in that genus, cucurbits (Cucurbita spp.), cassias (Cassia spp.), Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens), cigar orchid (Cyrtopodium punctatum), bee balm (Monarda spp.), aromatic sumac (Rhus aromatica), and wild lupine (Lupinus perennis).

Robbing the nectar on salvia

I will tell you that they are buzz pollinators - meaning they use vibrations, or sonication, to release pollen grains from the flower's anthers. The most efficient pollination is accomplished by a few species who specialize in sonication or buzz pollination. In order to release the pollen, bumblebees and carpenter bees are able to grab onto the flower and move their flight muscles rapidly, causing the flower and anthers to vibrate, dislodging pollen. About 8% of the flowers of the world are primarily pollinated using buzz pollination. Wildflower gardeners~all Dodecatheon are buzz pollinated! Eggplants, potatoes, tomatoes, blueberries and cranberries are also buzz pollinated.

I will tell you that they typically visit flowers that are large, open-faced with abundant nectar and pollen, day-bloomers, pale or saturated in color, and that have a fresh odor, anthers specialized for pollen collection by bees, and corollas with strong walls.

I will tell you that they cheat and break open the sides of flowers, like salvias to get at the nectar! So they do not pollinate salvia!

Salvia azure is in this bee's sights

I will tell you that I never, never, never use pesticide in my garden. Ever!


I will tell you that they have bored their way into my garden and my carport! Let me be perfectly honest~I would very much appreciate them not using their powerful mandibles to create nests in my carport timber! But, I am not going to use pesticides to kill them. Instead, I've located benches made in one of their favorite woods, thick pieces of pine, horizontally laid tree trunks and branches to encourage them to move to a new nesting area.

Gathering strength for the coming winter

They're in the garden today...It's near 80F (26C). That's the perfect warm weather to bring the males and females who over wintered in the nesting tunnels out. They are darting and buzzing madly around~ I can't tell if these are two males 'fighting' over territory or a male and female courting. Soon, the females will begin boring new tunnels or excavating the old tunnels. Inside their rounded branched galleries, they'll form pollen/nectar loaves upon which they lay their giant eggs (up to 15 mm long). The female forms partitions between each egg cell by mixing sawdust and her saliva together. (source) The female will seal the tunnels and soon die~In a few months the new generation of males and females will emerge, forage the rest of the growing season; then they'll hunker down in the old tunnels all winter long; and, wake up next year on a warm spring day and start it all over again.

I will tell you~ that I sure hope they like the redwood benches or the thick untreated pine board or the dead tree branches!

xxoogail

PS It bears repeating~ If you want to attract pollinators~Never, never, never, ever, use pesticides in your garden.

This post is part of a series on native pollinators in the garden~ Earlier posts and their links are listed below for your convenience.

Part I~Now Is The Time To Bee-gin Thinking About Bees ( here)
This Is The Place To Bee ( here)
If You Could Plant Only One Plant In Your Garden~Don't (here)
Must Bee The Season of The Witch (here)
Go Bare In Your Garden (here)
We can't All be pretty Pollinators (here)
Eye, Eye Skipper, Big Eyed Pollinators (here)
What's In Your Garden (here)

Other bee posts you might want to read~
Count Yourself Lucky To Have Hoverflies (here)
Bumblebee Hotel (here)
Still Taking Care Of Bzzness (here)
My Sweet Embraceable You (here)


*Weathered woods are a common target of carpenter bees, to deter this behavior, keep exposed wood surfaces, including nail holes and saw cuts, coated with polyurethane or oil-base paint.

This post was written by Gail Eichelberger for my blog Clay and Limestone Copyright 2011.This work protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.