The new seed catalogs are coming!
What should you order? 

Bees like LOTS of flowers (and trees and bushes).  Like a kid reaching for a cookie jar on the top shelf, bees will even try to get to flowers in which their tongues are too short.  The current trend is to try and plant flowers and shrubs that will bloom at various times throughout the growing season.  You get extra bee points if you plant varieties that are native to your area.

Luckily, there are no shortage of flowering annuals and perennials, as well as trees and shrubs that bees race to when the weather warms up.  Today, I'm just going to mention some bee friendly plants in Central Illinois.  However, you can browse many seed catalogs online or call and ask for a "local mix".

You may also want to talk with your local Master Gardener, who can recommend some varieties that will keep your garden blooming from April to October, and your bees happily gathering pollen and nectar.
 
Below are some (of many!) sources for seeds, along with a list of bee friendly plants in Central IL, as provided to me by Friends of Sangamon Valley (Thanks, Verne, LaGess!)
 
Until next time, thanks for reading.
tim
 

Seed Sources (a start):
Your local gardening enthusiasts, garden clubs and neighbors.

Barefoot Nursery:  PO Box 5176, Springfield IL 62704

IL Pheasants and Quail Forever offers a pollinators-mix -  IhuntIllinois.com/seeds.html

Pinetree Seeds : superseeds.com

Seedsavers Exchange (heirloom and non-hybrid seeds):  Seedsavers.org

Wildseed Farms (you can order “zone mixes” for your growing zone:  wildseedfarms.com 

Bee Friendly Plants for Central Illinois
April
Virginia Spiderwort
Wild Hyacinth
Golden Alexander’s

May
New Jersey Tea
White Indigo
Bee Balm
Black-eyed Susan
Patridge Pea
Ohio Spiderwort

June                                        
Butterfly Milkweed
Prairie Milkweed
Common Milkweed
Leadplan
Prairie Coreopsis
Purple Prairie Clover
Pale Purple Coneflower
False Sunflower
Compass Plant
IL Bundle Flower

July
Purple Coneflower
Culverts Root
Dense Blazing Star
Joe Pye Weed
Rattlesnake Master
Prairie Dock
Rosinweed
Western Sunflower
Wild Penstemon

August
True Boneset
Rough Blaszingstar
Round headed Bush clover
Hairy Mountain Mint
September
Rigid Goldenrod
New England Aster
False Boneset
Sneezeweed
Bottled Genetian

October
Smooth Aster
Showy Goldenrod
Stiff  Genitian

 

What do Bees have to do with Christmas?  You ask a great questions.

Bees have a long and lovely friendship with Christianity and its older brother, Judaism. 

Look around your local church and you are likely to find images of bees or honeycomb.

In Scripture, Bees are specifically mentioned 6 times and honey or honeycomb 69 times!Throughout church history, bees have bee used as a natural model of the mystery of the faith, of the model of self-giving labor and of the Virgin Birth of Christ.  The later because in early church history it was not yet known how the queen was able to rear the brood of the hive.

The symbolism furthers the comparisons as bees work without rest and readily offer their lives for the good of the hive. Bees militantly protect against the hive's enemies. The bee protects not only the hive, but the honey within it.

The honey, delicious, is a symbol of the sweetness  of Life in the Spirit.

The purity of beeswax and honeycomb have provided a sacramental nature to the use of beeswax candles in many churches. Because worker bees are virginal, the comparison is made to the purity of the Church, which give its gifts to the world through spreading the Good News, the sacraments and ordinances. Likewise, the bees give us honey and wax. Their wax is considered worthy to burn in the candles on the altar and sanctuary, and as votive offerings because it is produced by pure, virgin labor.

Lastly, as beekeepers and lovers of honey and beeswax and all things bee, we love to give the gift of our joint efforts with our favorite little creatures, to our favorite friends and relatives.

People appreciate our honey and beeswax and look forward to that special jar of love during Christmas.  And we love to share -and tell our closest 20,000 bee-friends a mighty thank you!

Until next time!
Enjoy your Christmas!
tim

Bees do not hibernate.  Bees cluster around the queen and the bee eggs (brood) that are in the hive.  These energetic critters take turns moving in and out of the cluster and vibrate constantly to keep the hive warm.

Of course, the queen is in the middle of all these fine creatures.  She's waited upon and fed and groomed, just like normal, but her egg laying may have slowed considerably or stopped.

Bees are very hygenic:  they will wait for a warm day in order to go out side and relieve themselves.  Talk about crossing your legs!

Bees will go into the honey stores and get some honey and work through the hive this way all winter. The cluster moves accordingly. 

The best thing a beekeeper can do to help the bees in winter is to provide a wind-break.  Also, you may want to feed your bees either with a 2:1 Sugar-to-Water syrup, or put a candyboard on the inner cover.  Your average beekeeper probably also put in a patty or two of pollen as added insurance to boost the bees store of food.

Bees in the winter tend to die from starvation or an excess of moisture, which then freezes them. Properly ventillate so the moisture can escape and not condense inside the hive.  It will then drip onto the cluster and kill the bees. 

Some beekeepers wrap their hives in roof paper to add some extra warmth to the bees.  Not a bad idea, but be careful not to over-do it and cause more condensation.  Plus, the girls need a way to get out on nice days.

Until next time, enjoy your Christmas!
tim

Our little friend, the amazing bee, produces beeswax, which they use to store honey and we use for candles, lip balm, lotions and potions.

Here are some sticky facts for you on beeswax -

Bees need to eat between 7 and 9 pounds of honey in order to produce 1 pound of beeswax.

Bees have special glands from which they "sweat" small wax scales on their abdomen, and they then form these scales into the typical shapes you see above.

Bees can make 35,000 wax cells from 1 pound of beeswax.

It only takes 1 pound of beeswax to store 22 pounds of honey.
 
Under ideal conditions, 10,000 bees will produce 1 pound of beeswax in 3 days.  I hope my bees are reading this!

Until next time, that's the buzz from around the hive!
tim