Living Green
Stephanie Ho Lem, promoting Living Green
Why Not a Bee Hotel in Your Backyard?
Back in September 2025, I wrote an article for the View entitled “Establishing the Bee-Friendly Pollinator Garden” that covered the importance of bees and why we need to support their survival. Prior to the creation of the Pollinator Garden, my bee knowledge was limited as I thought all bees are bumble bees. When a bee came too close, my first reaction is to move away thinking I will get stung! I’ve read that “Bees are often misunderstood and wrongly considered as pests; they do not intentionally sting humans or animals unless they feel threatened.”
Did you know that there are social bees and solitary bees? Solitary bees make up 75% of the world’s 20,000+ bee species. We have in Calgary more than 300 species of bees. The main types are the social Bumblebee, the solitary Mason, Leafcutter, and Green Sweat bees. The solitary bees as described frequent the Pollinator Garden.
Bumble Bees live in social colonies in small underground nests of 50 to 500 individuals, rather than large, permanent hives. These annual colonies are founded by a single, hibernating queen in spring, with all members dying in autumn except for new queens.
Mason Bees are gentle, native pollinators active in early spring, ideal for fruit trees and gardens.
Leafcutter Bees are non-aggressive, solitary native bees in Calgary that appear later than Mason bees, in early summer, known for cutting neat, circular holes in rose leaves and other foliage for nesting material.
Green Sweat Bees are small, brilliant metallic green or blue-green pollinators commonly found in Calgary gardens and prairie areas.
We are losing bees due to loss of habitat, exposure to pesticides, and climate change that leads to warmer temperatures, unpredictable frosts, and droughts, all affecting bee abundance and plant life cycles. Bees are essential pollinators. If bees disappeared, it would have a massive impact on the world, including the extinction of certain plants and reduced reproduction rates for others, ultimately affecting the entire food chain. We need to help save bees and avoid using chemicals in your garden.
What About a Bee Hotel in Your Backyard? Bee hotels are a great addition to any backyard. They are trendy wooden structures that you can make on your own or you can buy them ready-made. Bee hotels will provide bees with shelter and rest. Think about reducing your lawn and plant native plants, wildflowers, and flowering perennials as bees forage 300 meters or less.
Please note that the content provided is for informational purposes. Sources: Bee Habitat and Bee Hotels-Alberta Native Bee Council, BBC Earth-Bee Facts, Nature Canada, the Buzz about Bees
Click here to the Crescent Heights Community News home page for the latest Crescent Heights community updates.
