Bees in a Box

Bees in a Box is a habitat designed for bumble bees! It provides a place for bumble bees to nest and the ability to provide a continual food source in an attractive way. Everyone can use it! It’s made of cedar and comes with three seed packets that attract all six species of bumble bees in Hampton Roads. These flowers will bloom at different times throughout the season providing bumble bees with food throughout their life span.

Bees in a Box on location

The Ruling Robot Falcons are a First Lego League team, and as part of the FLL, we have a project each year. This year (2016-17) was Animal Allies, and we had to help an animal that helped humans but faced a large threat. We chose bumblebees as three of the six species in Hampton Roads are vulnerable, and not many people know the bee’s strengths and their worth.

Not all flowers are created equal when it comes to feeding pollinators, but the good news is that it’s easy to create a bee-friendly garden by choosing plants that are pretty in home gardens and good for bumble bees! We enjoy many of the same plants as bees.

Many plants sold in garden stores, while beautiful, cannot feed bumble bees and other pollinators. Bumble bees have specific tongue lengths, which means bumble bees cannot feed from many ornamental or non-native plants. Medium and long tongued bumble bees require certain flower shapes and sizes.

Our team spent 6 months researching native plants and their relationship to our local bumble bees. We searched scientific articles, websites, and books, as well as spoke with experts about which plants were beneficial to bumble bees in our area. We conducted our own study by going to multiple parks, yards, and natural areas to see which flowers bumble bees were feasting on. Below is our list of bumble bee friendly plants for the Hampton Roads area. We urge people in other areas to research native bumble bee friendly flowers to plant in their own yards.

When Bumble bees get food and the flowers get pollinated. Everybody is happy.

Spring
Penstemon digitalis	Smooth Beardtongue
Tradescantia ohiensis	Ohio Spiderwort
Lupinus perennis	Wild Lupine
Baptisia sphaerocarpa	Yellow False Indigo
Aquilegia canadensis	Wild Columbine
Geranium maculatum	Wild Geranium
Baptisia australis	Blue False Indigo
Baptisia alba	White False Indigo
Zizia aurea	Golden Alexanders
Penstemon pallidus	Pale Beardtongue
Penstemon hirsutus	Hairy Beardtongue
Penstemon calycosus	Calico Beardtongue
Penstemon canescens	Eastern Grey Beardtongue

  

Summer
Echinacea purpurea	Purple Coneflower
Lobelia siphilitica	Great Blue Lobelia
Silphium perfoltoluim	Cup Plant
Eupatorium perfoliatum	Boneset
Cassia hebecarpa	American Senna
Monarda fistula	Wild Bergamot
Liatris spicata	Swamp Blazing-Star
Agastache Nepetoides	Yellow Giant Hyssop
Vernonia noveboracensis	New York Ironweed
Verbena hastata	Blue Vervain
Blephilia ciliata	Downy Wood Mint

Fall
Chelone glabra	Turtlehead
Solidago spesiosa	Showy Goldenrod
Aster novae-angliae	New England Aster
Oligoneuron rigidum	Stiff Goldenrod
Aster spectabilis	Showy Aster
Aster pilosus	Frost Aster
Gentiana andrewsii	Bottled Gentian