07/28/2026
Been meaning to post this article for a while. It highlights how the issues around colony collapse disorder and the resulting "save the bees" movement helped more people think about pollinators, eventually the native ones. Honey bees are great, they've been our semi-domesticated companions for thousands of years, but they're no replacement for our native bees, and they often compete for resources. Some local apiary operations now plant diverse floral resources around managed hives, in order to reduce competition and even to provide floral resources preferred by native bees.
Much of the habitat management planned and overseen by the Kingston Conservation Department aims to promote vegetative diversity, often targeting availability of diverse native floral resources for pollinators. Equally important is the maintenance regime- many pollinators overwinter as pupae in the stems of these plants, often the flowering stem. When we cut or mow perennial stems before winter, we often inadvertently kill these species, slowly removing the population from the landscape. Our meadows may look a bit "messier," but we never mow an entire field in a given year, leaving many stems behind to allow these species to overwinter undisturbed. In the home garden you can help by waiting until late spring to cut the stems of perennials, and leaving significant height in order to provide nesting stems for the current year.
One other easy property maintenance tactic is ensuring there are areas where leaf litter is left to accumulate naturally. Think a perennial or shrub bed, leaving the accumulated leaves alone- not raking, blowing, or dumping anything in or out of the bed. It provides a natural mulch, protecting the plant roots from extreme heat and cold, but more importantly, MANY species need that leaf litter to complete their life cycles, from moth species to fireflies, to amphibians.
In terms of native bees, try leaving a few bare dirt/sandy spots somewhere on your property. Ground-nesting bees hate dealing with vegetation in their way- after prescribed fires their numbers go way up!
Of course all of this hinges on these parts of your property being outside of any area sprayed with insecticide for mosquito or tick control. Even if using the essential-oil-based products I would not invite pollinators to that area, they likely have detrimental effects on beneficial species.
Honeybees have never been in danger of extinction. But scientists are finding that they can accelerate the demise of native bee populations.
