The Mining Bees in Your Garden
Seventy percent of our native bees are ground nesters, including mining bees. |
One category of ground nesting bees are mining bees from the Andrenidae insect family. These bees create underground nests, using their front legs and mandibles to dig through loose soil. The resulting piles of soil can be confused for fire ant mounds. As you can see from the photo below, bee mounds have coarser soil piles than ant piles. Also, mining bees are often out and active in March (in Georgia) when we don't generally see many fire ants. So, please pay attention before treating any soil mounds. |
Since Miner Bees are out in March for only a few weeks, they are important pollinators of our early spring fruit trees and bushes. These bees are docile and non-aggressive, so don't worry about stings. If you find them in your landscape you are a fortunate gardener so enjoy watching them! |
Young bees emerge in the spring, looking for mates. Mated females will dig tunnels in loose soil for egg laying with balls of pollen and nectar set next to eggs in the tunnel chambers. New adult bees will emerge the next spring. Tolerating, and enjoying, these bees and the soil disturbance will pay off in pollination services. |
The Bees of Georgia website created by Dr. Mark Schlueter has wonderful photos and information on native bees. Join us on social media as we discuss plants, insects, and habitat! Find us at Southeast Pollinator Census Facebook group and @SoutheastPollinators on Instagram. Our website has all the information you need to plan for participating in the 2025 Census. Contact your state Census Coordinator for more information on what is happening in your area. South Carolina Census Coordinator - Amy Dabbs - adabbs@clemson.edu North Carolina Census Coordinator - Amanda Bratcher - amwilkin@ncsu.edu Florida Census Coordinator - Jeremy Rhoden - jeremy.k.rhoden@ufl.edu Alabama Census Coordinator - Bethany O'Rear - bethany@auburn.edu |
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