To Tom Schroeder, every bee is a work of art.
His own words, backed up with hundreds of photos in his camera roll from the prairies and woods of Kansas City WildLands. With more than two decades of volunteering with the group, he’s become a bee enthusiast– but not an expert, he’ll clarify.
“We’re the ones who are invading the bees’ territory, and so we need to respect and take care of them,” Schroeder said. “It’s fascinating to look at their structures. Just look at them. And see how unique each one is? Many of them have very beautiful colors.”
Missouri and Kansas are home to approximately 400 different bee species, according to state officials and conservation groups.
Bees are essential for pollination, which has a direct impact on food supply and overall plant diversity. The fuzzy bodies of bees are quite literally “built for pollination” by picking up and carrying pollen, said Tamra Reall, a field specialist in horticulture with the University of Missouri Extension.
“Insects can survive without us,” Reall said. “But we actually can’t survive without them.”
However, the populations of all bee species are declining.
It’s unclear when the drop started, but in one piece of evidence, The Ohio State University reported that commercial beekeepers in the United States have recorded honey bee colony loss rates averaging 30% each winter since 2006, as compared to historical loss rates of 10% to 15%.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, habitat loss, the spread of diseases and parasites, misuse of pesticides, and climate change all contribute to the problem.
Misplaced pride and joy
To a large extent, the honeybee is the poster child of the “save the bee” movement — for better or for worse.
Since European settlers introduced honeybees to the United States in the 17th century, they’ve played an active role as crop pollinators, especially in agricultural settings where they’re managed for crops.
Individual conservationists have also popularized backyard beekeeping as a way to preserve bees.
A Facebook page for Missourians interested in beekeeping has more than 19,000 followers and continues to grow. Conversations focus on maintaining hives in both rural areas and urban spots.
“Beekeeping can be a really rewarding way to connect with our food system and the environment,” Reall said. “But it’s not as simple as setting up a hive … if a honey beehive is not managed properly, it can actually become a source of problems.”
Mismanagement can result in parasites, like mites, infiltrating hives. Along with potentially transmitting diseases to wild bee populations, mites tend to feed on the bees in the hive.
Even if hives are well-managed in urban areas, honeybees can cause other potential problems.
“They’re a really charismatic, loved species,” said Hunter Moore, a restoration ecologist and Kansas City WildLands Program Manager with Bridging the Gap. “So I don’t think they’ll ever be officially labeled as this, but from my work and from my perspective, they’re almost like an invasive species.”
A single honeybee hive can hold up to 60,000 bees in the summer, and they can quickly outcompete native species when journeying miles to forage for pollen, according to Reall.
In defense of the honeybee
Today, large-scale agriculture relies on honeybees to pollinate fields because they can be easily transported. But while wild bees are just as important for nature and crops, they can’t be as mobile or manageable in the same way.
It’s not black and white– honeybees aren’t the enemy. Neither are beekeepers.
Despite the backyard apiary and the honey-themed bathroom in their home, Christine and Jacob Faltynowski of KC Bee Lady care for all bees, not just the honeybee.
They started their business nearly a decade ago. Christine struggled to find reliable information about beekeeping, so after getting her own hive up and running, she shifted focus to helping and educating new beekeepers.
At the same time, they let patches of their yard grow wild and encourage any native plants that spring up, including dandelions, to make sure any and all bees that visit their home have the food they need.
“The honeybees are fed by us for the most part,” Christine said. “Then, when we plant, we plant for the native bees.”
For them, beekeeping is just one part of being good stewards of all pollinators and the environment as a whole.
“We just generally care about the bees in nature,” Jacob said. “We’re trying to get people to understand that honeybees are not the native bees’ bane. The bane is the fact that there are no food sources. There are no flowers anywhere.”
Helping the bees in the background
But honeybees aren’t the only bees that need saving. With native bees facing the same threats to their populations, there are ways to support wild bees without wearing a beekeeping suit.
In 2016, a study partially funded by Kansas City Wildlands identified 89 different species of native bees between Jerry Smith Prairie and Rocky Point Glades. Both areas are owned and managed by the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department.
Just as native flora and native fauna evolved together, Moore said, maintaining and planting native plants is one of the best ways to support wild species. Restoring and protecting remnant areas across the metro is the goal of the organization, including Jerry Smith Prairie.
“They look basically the same way they would’ve a thousand years ago,” Moore said. “Overwhelmingly, these natural areas across the metro are, for sure, more biodiverse not only in terms of plants but in terms of insects and specifically native bees as well.”
Protecting acres of land is not the only way to support wild bees.
“If we think about what bees need to survive, they need food and they need shelter,” Reall said. “A pollinator garden, if it’s done well, can actually provide all of that.”
And a huge yard isn’t needed to get started, she said.
Creating a welcoming space for pollinators can be as simple as setting a container on a balcony, cultivating a small patch in the yard, or letting a corner of the lawn grow wild for a bit.
Gardens with a mix of native plants, including a variety of flowers, can provide a sanctuary for pollinators. To make sure there’s a consistent food source for bees, a good pollinator garden features plants that bloom across different seasons, Reall said.
She recommended choosing plants that bloom in early spring, summer, and fall. Planting groups of at least three different types of plants that flower in each of those seasons helps catch pollinators’ attention.
Flowers aren’t the only option either. Many trees and shrubs attract pollinators when blooming at various times of the year.
Defining a pollinator garden
For evidence of individual success, look no further than Lindsay Hoyt’s backyard in her Waldo home.
In 2017, she added native plants along her fence to help prevent stormwater from pooling in her yard. As she continued planting, her motivation shifted from practicality to a deeper appreciation for the visual side of native gardening.
“ Not just the plants, but all this other life buzzing around,” Hoyt said.
Today, patches of colorful flowers and green leaves extend from all sides of her fence. She also founded her own habitat gardening business, Bonny in Time, helping others find space for native plants.
It’s a pollinator garden, but to Hoyt, it’s just part of her home.
“ I don’t feel lost and suffocated by all of the things that are going on around me,” Hoyt said, motioning to her backyard. “But by creating this space outside of the home I live in, I’m extending my living space outside and I’m experiencing wildlife in my own yard.”
Her backyard visitors aren’t limited to bees. Caterpillars, beetles, butterflies, and plenty of birds frequent the garden.
Even with years of work under her belt, Hoyt is constantly learning as her garden changes. It’s trial and error, and it takes time, but it’s something she’d encourage others to try if they’re interested.
“I think when you start, it can be incredibly overwhelming,” Hoyt said. “ Don’t be afraid to just start planting. After planting my gardens and seeing how well they work for the environment and how little input I have to do, it brings me joy, but it also makes me feel like I’m making a difference.”
This story was originally published by Flatland, a fellow member of the KC Media Collective.
