Blackberry Bees

Blackberry Flowers with Honey Bee (May 21, 2009)

I have been keeping notes on where my honey bees forage. I found a few of them at a time on my blackberry patch in the yard. I noticed the bees stay a long time--maybe a minute--on a flower. I wondered if that is how they are picking up the varroa mites.

Black Bees on Blackberry Blossoms (May 21, 2009)

On the blackberries, honey bees forage right along side the native bees which outnumber them by about 10:1 most times I have observed. These black bees are about the size of the honey bees. Like the other native bees, they forage quickly. For the entomologists, please identify these for me.


Carpenter Bee on Blackberry (May 21, 2009)

The large Carpenter Bee seems to pollinate every flower in my yard. About this time, I noticed this and other native bees on my Rhododendron shrubs but no honey bees. Then, I read several accounts that the blossoms of the Catawba Rhododendron blossom have toxic nectar so I was glad they didn't forage on them.


Other Native Bees (May 21, 2009)

These unknown bees were also prolific on the blackberries, flying quickly from flower to flower. The small one is about the size of a sweat bee while the larger one is about the size of a honey bee only slimmer (or is it a wasp?).

Today, I see that there's a berry growing where each flower was so these pollinators were quite effective!

I found a great slide presentation "Native Bee Pollinators" given recently by Nancy Adamson of Virginia Tech. Gardeners and farmers alike will find good tips on pollinating their crops.

The presentation made me quite aware of where the native bees are nesting in my yard. The other day, I was putting up a trellis and noticed that the black bees shown in the the second photograph were flying in and out under a big rock at the edge of the flower bed. I didn't look under the rock but guess that's where they're living.

Bumble bees are nesting in my clay birdhouse on the front porch. It's usually occupied by Carolina Wrens but they are nesting on the other side of the porch in an A-frame birdhouse. To make a good nesting site for bumble bees you can use an empty clay flower pot--on its side with the flower end covered so that the bees will use the small hole in the bottom as an entrance.

A Berry Good Summer

Nature has provided a bounty of blackberries this year as if to comfort us for the high food and gas prices. I have seen families picking them on the side of the road, taking advantage of the free wild food.


Photo: July 27, 2008

I picked them every few days when they started to ripen in early July (stashing a quart of them in the freezer a few minutes before we left on vacation on July 9). Since we returned July 19, I have been picking them every other day, using mostly for ice cream sauces and cobblers. I plan to make jelly soon to use the bounty I have stored in the fridge.


Photo: July 27, 2008

I don't worry about collecting them all because some fall while I pick them, letting whoever might come along (turtles, mice?) to feast as well. It is also impossible to get to many of the remote briars. So, the birds (Cardinals, Turkeys, Towhees) and insects (wasps, ants, bees) have plenty to eat.

Blackberries grow best in disturbed ground such as the edge of our field that was brushhogged two years ago. In our yard, I am letting the blackberries fill in at the edge of the lawn so we don't have to mow quite as much.


July 27, 2008

This Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) grew along with the blackberries in one patch. Like others in the mint family (bee balms, many herbs), it has a square stem.



Photo: July 22, 2008

I fed some berries to this Box Turtle I found in the yard who seemed appreciative as he went on his way. I put the berries in front of him and left alone and he and the berries were gone about a half hour later.


Photo: July 22, 2008

Later that same day, I found two more turtles in the yard. I am hoping to keep track of these over the years by taking their pictures. Each one seems to differ in size, color, and pattern so maybe I should name them too to help me remember.

I had worried about Box Turtles when I read a newspaper article that reported they were threatened and will probably go extinct someday because of loss of habitat. These turtles, however, looked healthy so I felt good about them. As long as it rains (not a given since we had the drought last year), these turtles should continue to prosper around here.

Dirty Dancing Hotel & Nature

Yesterday, I led 70 first graders (in 3 separate groups) on a short hike on one of Mountain Lake Hotel's trails. We scared most of the birds away but did get a good look at a robin's nest with the panicked mother nearby and a Rose-Breasted Grosbeak. Warblers scattered before we were able to identify or even see them really. The kids also examined several holes and had some pretty exotic ideas of what animal might live in them (dinosaurs, boa constrictor snakes!) instead of the probable chipmunk (small hole) or ground hog (large hole).

Mountain Lake Hotel's elevation is about 4000 feet, almost 2000 feet higher than where I live. Consequently, I can see early spring again as the trees were just beginning to leaf out. Along the trail, we saw a few flowers.


Photo: May 21, 2008

This Painted Trillium (Trillium undulatrum) bloomed in the dappled sunlight. I only find this flower on Mountain Lake's and the Cascades Trails in this area.

After the school children left in the afternoon, I strolled around the grounds. I saw Dark-Eyed Juncos which stay here year round while others have left my place a couple of weeks ago. Barn Swallows swooped across the man-made wetlands area and back to their nests on the porch of the hotel.


Photo: May 21, 2008
The hotel was the location for one of my favorite movies, Dirty Dancing. This view is similar to the first shot of the hotel in the movie.


Photo: May 21, 2008

The gazebo was built for the movie (scene where Baby went to get Johnny to help Penny). It is popular for weddings in the spring and summer. The first graders played a camouflage game here. In the background, you can see the greatly diminished lake. The natural lake is fed by several springs but holes in the bottom drain it. Most times the lake is up due to ample moisture. But, the lake has not recovered from the severe drought even with the recent rains.


Photo: May 20, 2008

Back at home, blackberries are blooming while the shrub is just beginning to leaf out at Mountain Lake. If the rain keeps up, we should have lots of blackberries in July.


Photo: May 20, 2008

The Yellow Poplar trees are also blooming, mostly at the top of the trees. The large flower--3 inches across-almost looks tropical. I didn't see any poplars at Mountain Lake while this is the most common tree we have here on our land.

My nature hike was part of the environmental education programs of Mountain Lake Conservancy which is dedicated to educating people about nature using the lands around Mountain Lake Hotel.