September is 'Bee Aware Month' and this year ApiCulture NZ is encouraging Kiwis to ‘Feed the Bees’ by planting bee-friendly trees and plants.
Bees need an ongoing supply of pollen and nectar throughout the year to be strong and healthy, and to stay resilient against the many threats they face. These threats include pests, diseases, climate change, habitat loss and pesticide use.
Planting for bees is a fantastic way to look after nature’s tiniest superheroes as they keep our gardens, food crops and native bush growing.
Some plants are better sources of nectar and pollen than others. And some plants produce nectar and pollen at times when there is not a lot else around for bees to feed on. Read more on the Bee Aware Month website, there's some great resources there.
Also check out these blogs about looking after and encouraging bees to your garden
- Helping NZ Bees: Explains why bees are so important and gives some great tips and resources
- Feed The Bees: Gives some great planting ideas
- Herbs as Bee Food in Your Garden: Provides a list of bee friendly herbs to grow in your garden and tips for growing them.
- Supply Water for Bees: Gives a few good tips on supplying water to bees during the dry months.
- How to Avoid Insecticides that Affect Bees: Great tips for spraying your gardens in a bee friendly way.
- What Else Can We Do: Other ideas for helping take care of our NZ bees.
- Where Would We Be Without Bees: Much of our food supplies reply on bees for pollination, here's a list of foods that we can thank bees for.
