Marietta Daisies Garden Club

"What's the Buzz"

BEE HIVE

EDUCATIONAL NEWS

from the Hive

Laura Guilmette

 A year long educational series.

What to know about bees in North Georgia in the fall

• Increased activity: Honeybee and bumblebee populations reach their peak in the fall, leading to more frequent sightings.

• Behavioral changes: Both honey and wasps can become more aggressive as their food sources diminish and winter approaches.

• Foraging on fall flowers: Look for bees on late-season blooms like dahlias and sedum. Fall flowers that benefit bees, plant asters, goldenrod, sunflowers, coneflowers, and sedum (stonecrop). These late-blooming plants provide vital nectar and pollen for pollinators in preparation for winter, helping them survive and thrive.  

• Preparing for winter: In a honeybee colony, this is a crucial time for raising "winter bees" that will survive the cold, requiring adequate food resources.

• Native bee overwintering: Many native bees, such as leafcutter and orchard bees, nest in hollow plant stems. Leaving these stems in your garden provides essential winter habitat.  

https://bees.caes.uga.edu/bees-beekeeping-pollination/pollination/pollination-plants-for-year-round-bee-forage.html

Honey bees are still collecting nectar and pollen from the lovely

Fall Asters and Golden Rod on our hive property.