Believe it or not, one honey bee colony can pollinate millions of flowers every day. Giving reasons for honey bees to visit your backyard will ensure your flowers, fruits and vegetable plants are pollinated and producing like they should when other pollinating species aren’t around!
Try giving ‘No Mow May’ a chance and allow dandelions to grow. Dandelions are the first great nectar source for honey bees and will help keep honey bees in your area happy, healthy and strong.
How to support honey bees in your backyard
Find these honey bees in your backyard
The European/Western Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera) is the most commonly managed species of honey bee in North America, including Southern Ontario. It is a highly social insect, with large colonies consisting of a queen, drones, and female worker bees.
This is the species of Honey Bee on the Pollinator Path.
Plants that will attract and feed honey bees in your backyard
Honey bees are known to be attracted to Dandelions because they are an excellent source of nectar and pollen. Dandelions are one of the first plants to bloom in the spring, making them an important food source for honey bees early in the season when other flowers may not yet be available.
The nectar produced by Cosmos Flowers is highly attractive to honey bees due to its high sugar content and sweet taste. The shape of the cosmos flower also makes it an attractive food source for honey bees. The flowers have a shallow tube-like shape, which makes it easy for bees to access the nectar inside.
Honey bees like Wild Bergamot
(bee balm) because it produces large clusters of lavender-pink flowers that are rich in nectar and pollen. Wild Bergamot is a good source of food for honey bees, and its flowers are easy for bees to access and collect food from.
