Native Bees Emerging

Native bees, vitally important pollinators, are emerging from their ground nests now. Rod Simmons, Natural Resources Specialist/Plant Ecologist for Alexandria, circulated this photo of a large aggregation of nests Alexandria. See below for Rod's discussion of this site. You can provide nesting habitat for these harmless bees by maintaining a patch of bare earth in your yard.

Steep bank of loamy Potomac Formation “Golden Sand” (Tony Fleming, geologist) extensively colonized by hundreds of Solitary Bees.  Site is southwest-facing corner of Immanuel Lutheran Church and School at corner of Belleaire Road and Russell Road in the City of Alexandria, Virginia.  “[Solitary Bee]…stings are unable to penetrate human flesh and they do excellent pollination work on early fruit... Unfortunately, some members of the public still think that they are dangerous pests - so if beekeepers get a call to ‘deal with’ swarms of bees living in holes in the ground, this is a great opportunity to do a little education.” (http://www.kilty.demon.co.uk/beekeeping/solitarybees.htm).  More information at: www.earthlife.net/insects/solbees.html  And of course our local experts Alonso Abugattas, LB Nature Center Director; Cliff Fairweather, Environmental Education Director and Naturalist at Audubon Society; John Walsh, City of Alexandria Horticulturist; Mark Kelly, Ford Nature Center Director; Sam Droege at USDA; and others.  Photo by R.H. Simmons, March 22, 2011.