Mind your bee’s and q’s
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| Bees are small but play a big role in our environment. (URI Photos / Casey Johnson) |
For Steven Alm and Casey Johnson, it’s a bug’s world every day in the University of Rhode Island Bee Lab. With a new exhibit on insects opening at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, they could not be happier to see a new generation of insect enthusiasts get an up-close look at their small subjects of study.
Part of URI’s Plant
Sciences and Entomology department, Alm and Johnson answered
questions on the local bee population for zoo visitors who may be interested in
learning more after their day at the park:
Which bees are most common here in Rhode Island?
We know the most about our bumble bees because they are
large and fairly easy to identify. The Common Eastern Bumble Bee is our most
prevalent bumble bee here. We also have good numbers of sweat, mining, digger,
and cellophane bees.
We have recorded more than 280 bee species in Rhode Island,
past and present; they are incredibly diverse with different needs. Some
species have evolved to only collect pollen from certain plant families or even
a single plant species. This means they are closely linked to these plants and
will disappear if the plant disappears.
The Southeastern Blueberry Bee, for instance, forages only on blueberry, lupine or redbud and nests only in loose, sandy soil. This bee was recorded in Rhode Island for the first time in 2024. The Macropis Cuckoo Bee was thought to be extinct for nearly 60 years until it was rediscovered in Nova Scotia in 2004. Since then, it has been recorded in a handful of U.S. states, including one specimen collected here in Rhode Island in 2024.
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| Mountain mint is a bee-friendly planting choice; beetles like it, too. |
Many bees are specialists: the Beardtongue Scraper Bee dines on beardtongue pollen, while the Pickerelweed Shortface Bee favors pickerelweed, the Eastern Thistle Longhorn Bee uses thistles, and so on.
What are some risks that bees face today and which bees
are most vulnerable here?
Native bees face threats and difficulties from lack of
proper forage plants, loss of habitat, habitat fragmentation, competition from
managed bees, pesticide exposure, weather changes, and more.
In Rhode Island, the Golden Northern Bumble Bee is currently
the most vulnerable bumble bee. In our three-year survey of bumble bees in this
state, we only saw 40 specimens—less than 1% of our total 9,546 bumble bee
observations.
The species is vulnerable elsewhere, too. In 2014, entomologists predicted that this species would go extinct in 70-80 years if something wasn’t done to reverse its downward trend. The conservation plan for the Golden Northern Bumble Bee focuses on early mid- and late-blooming native plants and preserving the nesting habitat that supports it. Efforts by residents can help—for instance, in New Hampshire, people are trying to create 1,000 acres of pollinator habitat there each year. The URI Bee Lab has a fact sheet for those with an interest in preserving that habitat here in Rhode Island.
Which is the largest bee in Rhode Island?
Bee balm is a good bee-friendly plant that supports
local pollinators.
The largest bee in Rhode Island is the Eastern Carpenter
Bee. Females chew tunnels in deck railings, fascia boards, etc. of houses to
provision cells in tunnels with pollen and nectar for their offspring. It’s a
native bee that pollinates many native plants and is part of our ecosystem.
While some people only know them as “pests” from nesting in manmade structures,
they are a great beneficial native pollinator.
The species’ males and females are roughly the same size,
but the males have a large yellow marking on the front of their face. The males
tend to be territorial, staking out certain nesting sites or patches in the
garden, and can sometimes hover in front of your face as a “threat”—however,
male bees and wasps cannot sting, so it’s all for show!
What is a good bee-friendly flower or shrub to grow to
support local bees, wasps and pollinators?
Try planting some mountain mints. These plants are
powerhouses for all sorts of pollinators—from wasps, to bees, beetles, flies,
and more. It is fun to watch and see the diversity of insects that visit the
flowers. Plus, they have hollow stems which can provide nesting sites for
twig-nesting bees when cared for properly (cutting stems back to 8-24 inches
and then not throwing away dead stems). And they smell fantastic!
Visit the URI Bee Lab website for fact sheets on flowers and trees for bees and more bee-friendly suggestions.
