Both wild and managed pollinators are disappearing at alarming rates. It's small, and it's bluish-black, and so it's easy to miss. Here is an indigenous Blue Orchard Mason Bee busy pollinating. B.C. There are at least 10 species of native bumble bees and other species of Mason, Leafcutter and Carpenter bees on the Vancouver Island, as well as nonnative bees. Members show Victoria gardeners how to create bee-friendly habitat in their yards by making feeding and nesting sites, providing mud for the nests, keeping empty space, and leaving dead wood.
Bees can thrive in backyards if gardeners plant blossoming trees, bushes, flowers, and vegetables.
LifeCycles also shows gardeners alternatives to using toxic substances to control pests. Threats to Georgia Basin bees Besides pesticide and herbicide use, parasites and habitat loss are taking their toll on bees. The most important bee to B.C agriculture is the honey bee. That clearly puts into focus the absolute interconnectedness between crop production and honey bee pollination. Introduced to B.C. by European settlers, the Georgia Basin's honey bees are threatened by the infestation of a pinhead-sized parasite that lays its eggs in bee hives.