How To Attract Bees and Pollinators

Attracting bees and other pollinators into your garden is very important as these valuable insects pollinate so many of the fruits and veggies we grow. Without them the veggie patch and orchard would look pretty bare.

Even though honey bees are the best known pollinators there are many other insect pollinators that we can attract including native bees, bumblebees, adult hoverflies, and more.  Despite their diversity they’re all after one thing and that’s the food found in flowers – pollen and nectar.

So having more flowers in your garden will attract more pollinators.

In the world of flowers though some are more attractive to pollinators than others. This is because they may have more pollen and nectar than other flowers, they may flower at a time when there aren’t many other plants in flower or the flower structure may just be more conducive to landing and feasting.

Pollinator Attracting Plants
There are plenty of plants which will attract bees and other pollinators but here are some of the very best:

• Annuals – alyssum, cosmos, Queen Anne’s Lace, calendula, phacelia, sunflowers, echinacea, zinnia
• Perennials – daisies, salvias, forget-me-nots, catmint, nasturtiums, pentstemons, lemon verbena, echium (vipers bugloss), California poppy & nigella
• Herbs (when in flower) – lavender, rosemary, oregano, borage, basil, yarrow, bergamot, dill, parsley and thyme
• Trees & Shrubs – all stone & pip fruits, citrus, blackberry, hawthorn, koromiko, lacebark, NZ flax (phormium), eucalypts, pohutukawa, five finger, rata, bottlebrush, manuka

Tips for “Bee Appeal” Planting

• Plant generous clusters of the same species, you’re more likely to attract bees into your garden
• Plant flowers for each season. A steady source of nectar and pollen all year round sustains bees
• Be sure to select cultivars that attract bees:
• Select “single” flowers not “doubles” or “triples”
• Choose simple traditional flowers not highly modified flowers

Insect Hotels
Recently there’s been a surge of “Insect Hotels” for sale in stores and DIY instructions available online. However pollinators will naturally find existing nooks and crannies for nesting and sheltering in without the need for an official “hotel”.  But hey they do look cute and if they attract some native solitary bees and other guests that’s just a bonus.

Native Beehives
Did you know there are 28 species of native bees in New Zealand?  These tiny insects spend most of their day working hard gathering nectar and pollen to feed themselves and their young. In doing this they transfer the pollen of our native plants from flower to flower. Most of our native bees are solitary – which means they don’t have a large hive like the common introduced honeybee and they nest in tiny holes in the soil often with the nests grouped together in one area.

Generally, our native bees are non-aggressive and very rarely sting. You can spot them as they are smaller than honey bees and bumble bees and are generally black. They have evolved to pollinate our native plants such as pohutukawa, manuka and native mistle toe but have adapted to some introduced flowers including ragwort.