We still have some summer left and some crops and many flowers are blooming. The drought in parts of our area is causing some flowers to die more quickly this year, so get out soon. You can continue to contribute until the last flowers are gone.
If you are visiting us for the first time, it’s a great time to get started. Lots of bees flying so you can learn them all. How many Small Dark Bees can you count in this goldenrod photo?
Growers who might want to track their wild bee pollinators next year can learn the ropes now and get an idea how many bees they already have. Having other flowers before and after crop bloom is going to support crop pollinators and help them stick around and increase in numbers.
Have honey bees? What are they foraging on now when there are fewer crop flowers? Count visits and track your local data. You can see where others find them by filtering our live Data Dashboard by “honey bee” and “compare crops/flowers.”
Wildflower and ornamental enthusiasts have lots of choices right now, such as asters and goldenrods which attract some of Wisconsins late season bees that fly especially in August and September. For example, check out the small dark Pseudopanurgus andrenoides, the harry-banded and aster mining bees and even a few leaf cutter bees such as silver tailed petalcutter bee, which sometimes collects flower petals to line its nests.