12/7/2022 | Marina Montez-Ellis, Garden Program Specialist

Bees are the hardest working animals on earth and certainly one of the most important. Our prairies as well as food crops depend on native bees for pollination. During the winter it's easy to forget about our bee friends as they hibernate and wait for warmer days. Illinois is home to about 500 native bee species. Bumblebee colonies will die off at the end of the growing season while the queen hibernates, usually digging underground holes. Solitary bee species will also seek refuge underground. Honeybees will over-winter storing fat and honey reserves and winterizing their hives with tree resin.

Our gardens, yards, fields and prairies are important parts of bee life cycles. Compost heaps, leaf piles, logs and tree hollows are all places that bees will use for hibernation. Keeping these locations available in your garden during the winter will help support bee populations for the summer. #buffalotraceprairie, #homerlakeforestpreserve, #rustypatchbumblebee, #illinoisbees, #bellbowlprarie, #ccfpdsnowflakesearch,