How to Tell if My Bee House Worked

One of the most common questions at the end of the season is: “How do I know if my bees worked?”. Answer the questions below to find your answer.

DID I GET A GOOD YIELD?

Whether you planted an orchard or garden a good yield is a clear sign there was good pollination. If you had a couple gardening hiccups check out this post about garden problems and how to correct them.

DID I SEE BEE ACTIVITY OUTSIDE THE BEE HOUSE? DID I SEE BEE ACTIVITY ON MY BLOSSOMS

Solitary bees don’t swarm around trees like the honey bee so they are a little easier to miss. If you look a little bit it is easy to spot them going about their pollinating business and filling up their tubes.

ARE THERE FILLED TUBES IN THE BEE HOUSE?

Filled tubes are a sure sign that the bees were out pollinating. Solitary bees lay an egg, deposit pollen and then close off each cell. They repeat the process until the tube is filled and move on to the next. The more filled tubes the better! Next year their babies will hatch and pollinate again. If you saw bee activity and had a good yield but don’t have very many offspring check out this post to find out why.

DO I NEED TO BUY MORE BEES?

That all depends. If there were fruits and vegetables with partial pollination you may not have enough bees. To learn about partial pollination click here. However, if you see that your bee population grew (there are more filled tubes now than you put out) your bees may have taken care of that problem for you. If your bee population shrunk due to pesticides, frosts, or predators you’ll have to buy more to boost your bees for next year.