Today is World Bee Day. Most of us probably know that bees have some issues and there are things we can do to help. Like No Mow May. But I had no idea how many different types of bees there are.
I just happened to stumble on the World Bee Day thing because I was looking into bees. Earlier this week, I mentioned that I suddenly discovered that they don’t like to fly in the rain. Can’t really blame them for that. But what brought about this realization was a flower bush that suddenly went silent just as it started to rain last week.
There were a lot of bees around the bush and not all of them were the same type of bee. Since I don’t know a lot about bees, I decided to look into is a bit.
There are over twenty thousand different bee species in the world. In Nova Scotia, we have over two hundred different types of bees. Some fit the classic bee look that most of us are familiar with. Others might not. And there are a few flies that try to look like bees, so it gets a bit confusing. But it is interesting.
One thing I want to try is bee houses. They aren’t overly complicated. You can by bee houses, which are kind of like a bunch of tubes stuck together. You can also make bee houses by taking a block of wood and drilling holes through it.
Bee houses can attract species like mason bees and leaf cutter bees, according to what I have read. I’m not overly familiar with these bees, but I hear we do have them around the province. And more bees seems to be a good idea.
So we can do things for bees like plant bee friendly flowers and maybe even houses for them. I seem to have flowers they like, although more wouldn’t hurt. And I would like to try bee houses.
I’ll let you know if anyone moves in.
