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Stem-nesting native bees
Stem-nesting native bees
multiple genera (Ceratina, Hylaeus, Osmia, etc.)
Bee
Functional-group entry for the native solitary bees that nest in hollow plant stems through winter. The reason NC State Extension's standing advice for Echinacea, Rudbeckia, and many other native perennials is to cut dead stems to 12-24 inches and leave them standing rather than clearing flush to the ground.
Plants in the catalog
Nectar plants · 2
Common camas
Camassia quamash
Documented
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags Camassia quamash as a plant of special value to native bees, and NC State Extension lists the flowers as "bee friendly." Used here as the closest available native-bee entry; common camas is a spring nectar and pollen source rather than a stem-nesting substrate.
Common manzanita
Arctostaphylos manzanita
Documented
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags special value to native bees and lists it as a nectar source; manzanitas are an important late-winter/early-spring nectar plant for native bees.
Pollen plants · 3
Blueblossom
Ceanothus thyrsiflorus
Documented
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags special value to native bees and a role in conservation biological control; the dense spring thyrses are a heavy pollen and nectar source.
Firecracker penstemon
Penstemon eatonii
Documented
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags Penstemon eatonii as of "Special Value to Native Bees" (a Xerces Society pollinator-value flag).
Pussy willow
Salix discolor
Documented
Willows (Salix) are documented hosts for a suite of pollen-specialist native bees that emerge in early spring to coincide with willow bloom; pussy willow is one of the earliest available sources.
Shelter plants · 13
American elderberry
Sambucus canadensis
Plausible
Elderberry stems have soft pith that stem-nesting native bees can excavate; the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags the species as providing nesting materials and structure for native bees.
Big bluestem
Andropogon gerardii
Documented
Standing clumps and stems provide nesting materials and overwintering structure for native bees.
Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia fulgida
Documented
Canada goldenrod
Solidago canadensis
Documented
Dense blazing star
Liatris spicata
Documented
NC State documents stem-nesting bee use of dead Liatris stems through winter. Cut back to 12-24 inches in late fall and leave standing through the cold season.
Dill
Anethum graveolens
Plausible
Dill's hollow, pithy stems are the kind of standing structure stem-nesting native bees use when left over winter; this is the general habit of hollow-stemmed herbs rather than a dill-specific record in the cited sources.
Garden rose
Rosa (hybrid)
Documented
NC State Extension notes native bees nest in the dead, hollow stems of roses; leaving some cut canes standing provides nesting habitat.
Little bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
Documented
Dense clumps and standing stems through winter provide overwintering habitat for ground-nesting native bees.
Purple coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
Documented
Native bees nest in the dead, hollow stems through winter; the load-bearing reason NC State Extension advises cutting back stems to 12-24 inches in late fall rather than clearing flush to the ground.
Soapweed yucca
Yucca glauca
Documented
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center lists Yucca glauca as providing nesting materials and structure for native bees, and food and nesting for small mammals, birds, and reptiles.
Switchgrass
Panicum virgatum
Plausible
Western redbud
Cercis occidentalis
Documented
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center documents the species as providing nesting materials/structure for native bees; NC State Extension likewise notes native bees use this plant for nesting materials.
Wild bergamot
Monarda fistulosa
Documented
NC State explicitly notes "Dead stems are used by stem-nesting bees" and recommends cutting back to 12-24 inches in late fall to let the standing stems shelter overwintering bees.
Range
Across North America; specific species depend on region.
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