The Outside Story: Late blooming flowers are important to feed native bees

As the height-of-summer floral abundance fades, goldenrods and asters fill the landscape with hits of yellow, purple, pink, and white. Beyond the beauty they provide, these late bloomers are a critical food source for several native species of wild bees.

It’s often been said that many hands make light work, and that’s certainly the idea behind the volunteer “working bee” groups being organized by The Addison County Relocalization Network.

Make no mistake, honeybees and beekeepers in Vermont are struggling.

Recently I bought a few chrysanthemums and asters from a local hardware store, but as I was about to plant them, I wondered if they too had been laced with the neonicotinoids I’d so carefully avoided when buying my summer bedding flowers.

Some Addison County residents may have been surprised when warm weather rolled in with the beginning of November, bringing sunny days and comfortable temperatures at a time when Vermonters are usually starting to bundle up for the winter.

On a chilly morning earlier this week, a class of Middlebury Union High School students stepped outside to learn about botany from a large group of winged experts — honeybees. 

Wild bees are important pollinators for our crops, gardens and wild plants. In Vermont there are over 350 types of wild bees, including 17 different species of bumblebees.

William Mares will be speaking at Bees Besieged: A History of Beekeeping on Wednesday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. The talk will be held at the Salisbury Meeting House.

People who tend to honey bees warn that Vermont needs to get serious about regulating neonicotinoid poisons. Legislators passed up their chance to do so.

A local group is encouraging people to make their property welcoming to butterflies & bees.

June 21-27 is national pollinator week and it could not arrive too soon. Vermont’s honeybee population and native pollinator populations are challenged.According to researchers, many native pollinators are in decline, or are apparently no longer present i … (read more)

MONTPELIER — Many of Vermont’s pollinator species continue to remain in peril, and as Vermonters are returning to their gardens and landscaping projects this spring, the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department would like to share with the public a few simple a … (read more)

MIDDLEBURY — Local beekeeper Ross Conrad will present a talk on his new book, “The Land of Milk and Honey: A History of Beekeeping in Vermont,” which he co-authored with Bill Mares, on Thursday, March 19, from 6:30-8 p.m., in the Community Room at Ilsley … (read more)