Carmen Iasiello credits her children, now 8 and 11, with opening her eyes to the wonders of native bees. When their family moved to Cherrydale in 2017, they decided to create an Audubon at Home wildlife sanctuary and planted native plants. The kids were “into anything that looked exciting” and reveled in discovering new bugs.
Whenever they spotted an insect they hadn’t seen before, Iasiello took photos and used the iNaturalist app to identify it. Their favorite so far is the brown-belted bumblebee, with its distinctive brown patch. Virginia boasts 14 species of native bumblebees.
Many eco-minded gardeners, having read news stories about the plight of endangered bees, might be excited to see honeybees pollinating their yards. But recent scientific studies suggest honeybees aren’t the pollinators we should be most concerned about. In the U.S., there are nearly 4,000 kinds of native bees, including varying subspecies of bumblebees, carpenter bees, leaf-cutter bees, sweat bees, mining bees and mason bees. Some 400 types live in Virginia and are critical to both successful pollination and biodiversity.
Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are not native to the U.S. They were brought over from Europe in the 1600s to produce honey and wax. Honeybees have received a lot of attention in recent decades, prompting some well-intentioned souls to try their hand at backyard beekeeping in an effort to fortify our pollinator populations. Many biologists and other scientists now discourage that practice.
“Being a beekeeper is not pollinator conservation. It’s a fun hobby, but it’s not conservation.”
“The reality is that being a beekeeper is not pollinator conservation,” cautions Rich Hatfield, a senior conservation biologist with the Xerces Society, an Oregon-based nonprofit that supports invertebrate conservation to protect ecosystem health. “It’s animal husbandry. It’s a fun hobby, but it’s not conservation.”
Yes, honeybee colonies have faced challenges stemming from diseases, pesticides and habitat loss—but as managed commodities, they aren’t at risk of disappearing like some of our native bees. Though honeybee colonies nationwide decreased by 7% from 2022 to 2023, more than 2.7 million remained, according to the Department of Agriculture, and practiced beekeepers are able to split hives to create new ones. Unfortunately, those large numbers may negatively impact native bee populations.
When you introduce honeybees to a setting, “you’re bringing in competitors for a native species,” explains Sam Droege, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey based in Laurel, Maryland. “A lot of times you don’t need honeybees, for the wild bees are doing everything.”
Nearly a quarter of native bee species in the U.S. are currently threatened, according to the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity. The nonprofit works to protect bee species that are endangered due to habitat loss, pesticide use and—as more worldwide studies are suggesting—competition from honeybees for limited pollen and nectar resources. Widespread development of former fields, meadows and forests, combined with the suburban penchant for lawn grass and non-native plants, has resulted in significant habitat loss for all kinds of bees. There’s only so much pollen and nectar to go around.
In light of those dwindling resources, scientists are concerned that native bees may lose out, or their reproductive rates will decline. An oft-cited 2016 study by USDA and university scientists calculated that “from June–August, a strong [honeybee] colony gathers as much pollen as could produce 100,000 progeny of an average solitary bee.” (Most native bees are solitary, rather than living in hives.) Unlike honeybees, native bees also don’t have large honey reserves to rely on for food if the pollen and nectar supply is low.
While honeybees do play an important role in large-scale agricultural settings (portable hives are sometimes brought in to help pollinate commercial crops), “native bees…are better and more efficient pollinators of native crops,” according to the U.S. Forest Service. Certain plants—such as tomatoes, eggplant and blueberries—require the buzz pollination that native bumblebees and other native insects provide. Their vibrations release hard-to-get pollen that honeybees can’t dislodge.
Native bees play “an integral role in plant reproduction,” says conservation biologist Hatfield, in that they “come in all different shapes and sizes that are attuned to go into the different shapes and sizes of native flowers.” They have evolved ecologically over millions of years to match the needs of certain plants. Some native plants depend on a specific bee to reproduce and, therefore, exist.
Think of the interdependence between milkweed and monarch butterflies (whose caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed leaves). A similar relationship exists for the more than 25% of mid-Atlantic bees that are oligolectic—meaning they require a certain type of pollen from a certain family, genus or even a singular plant, to reproduce.
Native bees have evolved ecologically over millions of years to match the needs of certain plants. Some native plants depend on a specific bee to reproduce and, therefore, exist.
The early blooming Virginia spring beauty, a woodland wildflower, relies on a specific type of mining bee that’s evolved to emerge from its nest at the perfect time to gather the plant’s pollen (a source of protein and other nutrients), enabling both species to reproduce. The hibiscus bee feeds on pollen from the mallow family (which includes a hibiscus plant native to Virginia). The gorgeous pinxter azalea supplies pollen for another particular type of mining bee. As with monarchs and milkweeds, these symbiotic relationships are critical to the survival of both flora and fauna.
“If we want to continue to live in a diverse, healthy ecosystem, native bees have to be a part of that,” says Hatfield.
Conversely, honeybee pollination may foster the spread of non-native invasive plants. “We have a lot of those European plant species as invasives and as garden plants,” says Droege of the U.S. Geological Survey. (English ivy, clover and Canada thistle are examples.) “The use of those plants by honeybees is almost preordained because these are the same plants they adapted to a long time ago” before they were brought to this area.
All bees are not alike. With the exception of bumblebees, which have the ability to produce a honey-like substance for short-term sustenance, most native bees don’t produce honey, and they don’t live in hives.
Some 70% of native bees live underground, explains Alonso Abugattas, natural resources manager for Arlington County Parks (he goes by Capital Naturalist on social media), while the other 30% live in cavities in trees, plants, walls and other hospitable locations. Native bees range in size, and most have different tongue lengths and adaptations that enable them to pollinate the trickier plants that honeybees can’t crack.
Unlike honeybees and yellow jackets, native bees rarely sting—or have stingers that can’t penetrate our skin. Droege describes most native bees as “single moms looking for food” who are entirely responsible for their offspring. We “walk across hundreds of bees’ nests all summer long,” without even realizing it, he says. Whereas a honeybee colony has bees to spare and will sacrifice them to protect the hive, most native bees don’t defend their nests. In doing so, they might “die and that’s the end of their whole line.”
Bumblebees, which do live in colonies with queens and worker bees, may sting to defend the colony if provoked, but they are the exception among native bees.
When Arlington resident Amy Spector planted a wide range of native plants in her Dominion Hills yard, she was surprised to discover “flying things I didn’t realize were bees. They come in different sizes. They look different and seem very docile. They kind of live and let live,” she says. “Hopefully they’ll keep coming around.”
Understanding that native bees are pretty chill makes it that much easier to enjoy their presence. Matt Bright, executive director of Earth Sangha, a native plant nursery in Springfield, finds carpenter bees “really charming.” When volunteers come to the nursery in the cool early morning hours, he shows them that “you can even go up to ones sitting on flowers and pet them. They just buzz amiably.”
Want to pet a happy bee? One of the best ways to support native bees is to trade the neat-and-tidy aesthetic of a grass lawn for a different type of landscaping. Toni Genberg, a West Falls Church resident who runs the website choosenatives.org, admits that the native field thistle she favors is “tall and prickly” and not ideal for every yard. Yet for her, the reward is “visits from not only cool bumblebees and [other] native bees, but also ruby-throated hummingbirds, all types of butterflies and moths, and then finally the goldfinches that come to consume the seeds.” A hospitable host, Genberg occasionally drags logs onto her property for bees and other insects to use for nesting.
Spector has similarly adjusted her definition of beauty when it comes to yard maintenance. “We do have a lot of leaves that are chewed, and for me, that’s a welcome thing,” she says. “There are insects around.” She’s introduced mason bee houses to her property so that “almost constantly there are bees, working their magic.”
Arlingtonian Nancy Cleeland initially planted her garden in Tara-Leeway Heights with birds and butterflies in mind but was soon smitten with the bees. “I became enchanted, watching them,” she says, finding extra delight whenever she happens upon a bee asleep in a flower. “One time I saw a bee in an aster, and it looked like he was pulling the petals down like a blanket.”
Genberg says the abundance of native bees in her yard lifts her spirits. “Just seeing so much life is hopeful at a time when my eco anxiety is at its highest,” she says. “Planting native plants is the one thing I can do on my property to relieve stress on these native bees and other critters. As individuals, we can make a positive difference. People forget that. We have more control than we remember.”
Common Native Bee Types
As essential pollinators, native bees are keystone species. Their larvae usually overwinter in nests and many emerge in the spring, well before honeybees. Most live a solitarily existence, and many are at risk.
Bumblebees: These large bees (which can measure up to 1.5 inches) live in colonies with queens in hollow places. Their buzz pollination is essential for certain fruits and vegetables.
Carpenter: Measuring up to 1-inch long, these native plant generalists also practice buzz pollination. They bore nests in exposed wood (be sure to seal your home and deck) and may hover to look at you.
Leaf-cutter: Medium in size, they cut leaves (hence the name) to line their nests in trees, logs and other cavities. They pollinate wildflowers, fruits and vegetables.
Mining (Andrenid): With subspecies of varying sizes, mining bees dig holes to nest underground, and pollinate spring-blooming flowers, trees and fruits.
Orchard Mason: These small (roughly half an inch), efficient pollinators, which nest in tunnels in wood, play a vital role in gardens and orchards.
Sweat: Small (half an inch or less) and metallic looking, they collect salt from skin and can sting lightly. They nest underground or in rotting wood and pollinate flowers and crops.
Sources: Virginia Cooperative Extension; Maryland Department of Natural Resources
How to Support Native Bees
Choose native plants. Bees thrive when their habitats are lush with the pollen and nectar that is most nutritious to their particular species. Aim to have native plants blooming from early spring until frost. “The average native bee is only out for like seven weeks and is looking for certain kinds of resources,” says Sam Droege, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. “Different colors and shapes attract different bees, so plant flowers that have different colors and shapes.” True native plants are preferable to cultivars, which are manipulated by plant breeders for size, coloration or larger blooms, and tend to produce less pollen and nectar.
Even small gardens count. If your available space is limited to a container garden on the porch or a few potted plants on the balcony of a high-rise building, you can still have an impact. “Bees will find those flowers and use them,” says conservation biologist Rich Hatfield, and yours, combined with a neighbor’s, might create a functional habitat. Try mountain mint, spring beauty, wild geraniums, sunflowers, asters and goldenrod, along with native blooming shrubs and trees such as spicebush and redbud. Experts recommend clustering the same types of flowers to make foraging easier. “It takes five flowers for a bee to create a nest and create one additional baby bee,” says Droege.
Shop local nurseries. Yorktown resident Rod Simmons, a former natural resources manager for the City of Alexandria, cautions against buying native plants at big-box stores. The reason, he says, is that some greenhouses treat their offerings with systemic neonicotinoids—insecticides “which are absorbed by plants and persist in plant tissue.” Such plants might ironically kill the pollinators that feed on them.
Leave winter leaves and stems alone. Native bee larvae overwinter in underground nests, leaf litter or hollow, pithy stems before emerging in the spring and summer. To avoid disrupting them, Hatfield advocates embracing the “chaos” of messy leaf piles and dead wood through the winter. “If you take all that plant material and throw it in the compost bin or throw it away, you’re potentially killing a lot of overwintering insects,” he says. Once your plants start flowering again, it’s safe to do a yard cleanup.
Don’t spray. While some mosquito-fogging companies claim to use organic materials and/or treatments that spare beneficial insects, the chemicals they use are “highly toxic to bees, killing them on contact and for more days after treatment,” according to the National Wildlife Federation. “There is no way for companies to spray these broad-spectrum insecticides in your yard without also killing other insects they come into contact with, including bees, butterflies, caterpillars and dragonflies.” A better way to control the mosquito population is to support the insects and other creatures that eat mosquitoes.
An Arlington Regional Master Naturalist, Amy Brecount White does her best to create abundant and sometimes “messy” habitats for native bees in her yard—and her neighbors are just fine with that.