Greg Hunt, Honey Bee Specialist
Purdue University

The article Gardening for Native Bees in Utah and Beyond should be of general interest to readers. Most of the types of bees (or genera) in Utah also occur here in the Midwest. Of the five USDA bee labs, the Logan, Utah lab is the only one that focuses on native bees. There are about 4,000 species of native bees described in North America, north of Mexico. Native bees are fairly difficult to identify, but many have distinctive features. For example, unlike other bees, the leafcutters (Megachilids) carry their pollen on their bellies and not on the hind legs. Digger bees (Anthophorids) have very hairy hind legs. Other species come in bright metallic colors. The native bees are almost all solitary species – a single female makes and provisions the nest, which is usually a burrow in the soil. The table of plant recommendations for attracting bees in this article should be useful any where in the United States. Read the article at:

Editor’s note: Additional resources from Michigan State University related to planting native plants to attract pollinators can be found at: http://nativeplants.msu.edu/pollinators.htm