I had no idea that there are so many different types of bees. And some look like flies with shiny green bodies. Pretty cool, right???
Here's a few photos that I took of a bumble bee.
In general I'm a little afraid of insects that can sting, so when the Bee Squad members started giving out containers for us to CATCH bees... well, let's just say that I took a few steps back and let everyone else catch the bees!
It was so interesting to look at all the different types of bees and all the flowers and weeds that they love to get pollen and nectar from. I had a blast!
The only thing that I didn't like was that it didn't seem like there was enough time to talk about the flowers and weeds that bees like. I did learn that the plants they liked last year aren't the same as this year. Part of the problem with my yard is that we have a lot of shade so it's hard to grow full sun plants. I'd love to have some echinacea but it has died and not thrived in my yard - I'm thinking it might be the soil type, I may have to take a sample and send it in to a lab to see what I need to do or what I need to add to compost to make it better.
In the photos the flower is a purple bee balm - I have hot pink bee balm but I think next year I'm going to get some purple bee balm to have some variety for bees for next year.
Overall, I had a great experience with the U of M Bee Squad and if they offer another class, I will definitely take it!
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