Boise City Parks and Rec has been busy creating pollinator gardens in several city parks. This new one is located at the south end of Quinn’s Pond. We all love to see honeybees on our flowers, but it is important to remember that there are many native bees–nearly 4,00 species in North America–who also benefit from pollinator gardens.
The little bee box behind the sign is full of small tubes for the 30% of native bees, like leafcutters and mason bees, that nest in tunnels. About 70% of native bees, including most bumblebees, are ground nesters. For them, open space between plants is habitat.