Galleries

Gallery

We've all heard that "pictures speak louder than words". Here are some of my favorite images and videos of our native bees at work, and the results of their labor. Enjoy!

Our Bee Houses in the Community

Members of the Environmental Research Club at Thomas Jefferson High School

Our mission at Our Native Bees is to educate people about our valuable and efficient native pollinators, and to help them increase solitary bee populations in their own communities as a supplement to honey bee pollination. We're proud to say that our Plan Bee Houses now grace the gardens of many schools, parks, corporate headquarters and historic homes throughout the area. Take a look at who has our Plan Bee Houses hanging in their gardens!

Nesting Behavior

These bees are so fascinating to observe, which is way I take so many photos of them! The first time you hear them crunching out of their cocoons, you'll be hooked. You'll watch them haul mouthfuls of mud and nectar, see their fuzzy bellies covered with yellow pollen, observe the way they back into the nesting straw to lay an egg, hear the loud buzzing if another insect enters their nest, witness the precision with which they cap a straw with mud -- and you'll never have to worry about being stung!

Birds in Winter

I know. These are birds, not bees - but I just love taking photos of nature. So when the east coast experienced more than two feet of glorious snow in December, 2009 I just had to try to capture it all before it disappeared. Little did I know it would only be the first major storm of three!

Look Inside

Two of the cells started hatching as I photographed them. See the legs? Ewww.

You won't believe all the strange (and sometimes pretty nasty) things you'll find when you open a cocoon that's been invaded by mites, parasitic wasps and other bee predators. Some scenes might not be suitable for younger viewers: ;-)

Bees Heart Flowers!

These are wonderful photos showing a variety of native bees doing what they do best . . . pollinating! I found most of them via internet searches and would love to give credit to the photographers, if you happen to have that info.

2010 Spring Hatch

Spring was unusually warm in the east this year, so the bees hatched a bit early. More photo ops for me! I've already taken hundreds of pictures of the bees hatching from their cocoons and nesting (hooray for digital film,) so have a look - and if you capture some cool bee activity that you'd like to share, please send it to me, and I'll post it here, with kudos to you.

Evil Lurks in Dirty Nesting Holes

Many people think that you can just drill a hole in a piece of wood, or put a rubber band around some dried reeds, and that's providing healthy nesting sites for native bees. Think again. If you don't line the nesting holes with replaceable paper straws - whether you buy them or roll them yourself - you are doing more harm than good. Guess what: bees collect pollen in those holes [which attracts pollen mites]; bees deposit nectar in those holes [which is irresistible to ants and others, who kill the bee larvae to get to the sweet goodness]; wasp predators love to lay

Wondering if those are bees or flies on your flowers?

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether the insects you're seeing on your blooms are bees, wasps or flies. One quick way to tell the difference is that bees and wasps at rest fold their wings close to their bodies, while flies hold theirs in a V-shape, like a stealth bomber. Also, bees and wasps have two sets of wings (flies have one); and bees and wasps have antennae (flies - nope.)

Did you know?

There were NO honey bees on the North American continent until the 1620’s when the colonists brought them to Jamestown, Virginia so they could harvest their honey.