Bees and Pollinators

The way we garden and manage landscapes can help attract bees and other pollinators. Learn how to improve the health of pollinators. And discover beekeeping resources. This information is relevant for homeowners, gardeners, landscape professionals, producers, and commercial and backyard beekeepers.

Pollinator habitat

Living on The Land: Providing Habitat for Native Pollinators

This publication is part of the Living on the Land series. It provides concise information on how to attract and support native pollinators by creating and maintaining the right habitat, including features like nesting sites, ...

Brian Tuck, Rachel Suits | Jan 2017 | OSU Extension Catalog

Bats

Bats, which make a lot of people duck and cringe, are actually invaluable insect predators, and given a second look these furry little creatures are actually quite cute.

Jul 2018 | Article

Resources for building bee pollinator habitat in managed forests.

Postcards showing where native bees nest in managed forests can be obtained from the Oregon Bee Project (oregonbeeproject.org).

Brad Withrow-Robinson, Lauren Grand, Max Bennett, Christine Buhl | Mar 2020 | Article

Explore pollinator habitat resources

Enhancing Urban and Suburban Landscapes to Protect Pollinators

The way we garden and manage the landscapes of the Northwest can help promote the health of bees, butterflies and other insects. Homeowners, gardeners, landscape professionals and volunteer groups all can work to attract a wide range of pollinators to their properties. This guide offers detailed plant lists, garden designs and advice on creating pollinator habitat. Once plants are in the ground, learn to keep them healthy without exposing pollinating insects to pesticides that are toxic to them.

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Photo by Karen Zimmerman

Native bees

Oregon Bee Atlas

Although we estimate there are 500 species of bees in Oregon, there has never been a concerted survey of the state’s bees. Without even a checklist of species, it is very difficult to know whether the health of Oregon ...

Program

PolliNation Podcast

For people making bold strides to improve the health of pollinators.

Podcast

More native bee resources

Mason bees

Nurturing Mason Bees in Your Backyard in Western Oregon

An overview of mason bee basic biology and life cycle, and detailed descriptions of what is needed to start keeping mason bees, including desirable plants, nesting sites and types of nests, and caring for the cocoons over fall and winter. There are many helpful color photos throughout.

Ramesh Sagili, Brooke Edmunds | Feb 2016 | OSU Extension Catalog

Find out more about mason bees

Honey bees

OSU Honey Bee Lab

The Honey Bee Research and Extension program focuses on honey bee health, nutrition, and pollination with a goal of servicing commercial beekeepers, backyard beekeepers, producers, and all citizens that are interested in bees.

Nov 2019 | Online Resource

Honey Bee Health Coalition 'Best Management Practices for Hive Health'

Every beekeeper should seek to have hives that are healthy and productive. Today, the many threats to honey bee health — including parasites, pests, disease, pesticides, and inadequate nutrition — make achieving this goal a major challenge. Successful beekeeping means closely monitoring bee health and taking proactive steps to protect them.

Nov 2019 | Online Resource

109 – Shelley Hoover – Its all in the queen

Honey bee queen quality is an often overlooked dimension of colony health. In this episode we catch up with Dr. Shelley Hoover who is the Apiculture Researcher with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. She tells us about...

Andony Melathopoulos | Aug 2019 | Podcast Episode

Learn more about honey bees

How to Reduce Bee Poisoning from Pesticides

Use this app to learn how a variety of wild and managed bees and their pollination activities are affected by pesticide application. Includes guidelines for how beekeepers, growers, and pesticide applicators can work together to prevent bee poisoning.

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Latest News

Honeybee lives shortened after exposure to two widely used pesticides

Honeybee researchers in OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences found detrimental effects in honeybees exposed to Transform and Sivanto, which are both registered for use in the United States and were developed to be more compatible with bee health.

Chris Branam | Jun 16, 2020 | News Story

Treat yourself – and pollinators – to annual native wildflowers

Put aside an area of the garden for the beauty of native wildflowers.

Kym Pokorny | Apr 10, 2020 | News Story

When planning next year’s garden, turn to popular native plants

If sited correctly, native plants can perform well and attract pollinators.

Kym Pokorny | Jan 3, 2020 | News Story

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Gardening Techniques

Integrated Pest Management

Upcoming Events

Aug 13

At home on the range: Examining native bee diversity and ecology in eastern Oregon

7:00 pm - 8:15 pm PDT Online

Aug 17 - Aug 21

2020 Bee School - Beginners

Corvallis, OR

Meet Our Experts

Gail Langellotto

Master Gardener Statewide Coordinator

Andony Melathopoulos

Pollinator Ecology/Ecotoxicology

Elizabeth Records

Education Program Assistant, Master Gardener volunteer coordinator

Ramesh Sagili

Apiculturist

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Temps are dropping. Should I change the diet for my bees?

Q: I obtained my bees after most of the nectar flow so are needing all the help they can get in obtaining stores to get themselves through the winter. I have been feeding the 2:1 sugar syrup and they have made major ...

A: View answer | View all featured questions

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