Honey bee on white flower

Honey bee. Photography by Judith Griesedieck

Bee kind
Six ways you can befriend the bee population
By Kim Kiser

As the temperatures warm, staff from the University of Minnesota’s Bee Lab wrap up preparations for summer. They finish bottling honey and rendering wax from honey bee colonies for candles, clean equipment, and prepare for upcoming classes on bees and beekeeping.

At the same time, bees are starting to emerge from their winter hideouts. Bumble bee queens that have been living underground start hunting for new nests to form their own colonies. Honey bees, which cluster down into a tight ball in order to keep warm over the winter and eat the honey they stored, start taking “cleansing flights.”

“Honey bees don’t poop when it’s cold outside,” says Jessica Helgen, program director for the University of Minnesota’s Bee Squad, which educates the public and beekeepers and manages about 250 bee colonies on campus and around the Twin Cities. “So everyone who parks near the apiary in spring ends up with what looks like little spots of mustard on their cars.”

Spotting bee poop is just one way to become aware of bees’ activity in your area. Once they start to take flight, here are some ways you can help these pollinators, which are so critical to our food system and the environment, survive and thrive.

Bumble bee in garden
Green metallic sweat bee
Honey bee on poppy
  1. Get to know them. Did you know Minnesota is home to more than 500 species of bees, including 23 species of bumble bees, five of which are considered endangered or vulnerable? “Some are really small,” Helgen says. “There are green metallic sweat bees, bumble bees. Some people just think of honey bees, but once you know more about them, you will start seeing them everywhere.” Helgen says she has a purple aster plant in her yard that’s a magnet for different types of bees. The plant is a late bloomer and attracts honey bees, bumble bees, sweat bees, and other solitary bees. “It’s so fun and happy. It helps you see the diversity of pollinators, even in one urban yard,” she says.
  2. Always have something blooming. Helgen says one honey bee colony forages in a 2-mile radius. Bumble bees and native bees have a smaller range. That’s why you want to plant flowers and shrubs that bloom during the early, mid-, and late seasons.
  3. Avoid pesticides. Read the labels and make sure you understand if the pesticide contains an insecticide, and, if it does, which insect it’s targeting. Also look to see if it contains fungicides, which destroy beneficial yeasts and microorganisms in bees’ guts, and if it contains herbicides that kill weedy flowers that provide nectar and pollen.
  4. Embrace the mess. Bees love a wild yard. “People want to do something like ‘No Mow May,’” Helgen says, “but think about the idea behind it: We want to allow plants to bloom in May, which is a really important time for many types of bees, as they’re just coming out and need the food to raise their offspring.” But bees need fuel all season, which is why she recommends that you avoid cutting anything that’s blooming. “When they’re finished blooming, cut off the tops and leave the stems. Solitary bees like to hollow them out and nest in them.”
  5. Buy honey from a local beekeeper. Beekeepers in the United States need to abide by strict standards: honey has to be honey and can’t be adulterated. “Knowing where your honey comes from is a great way to make sure you get quality honey,” Helgen says. And if you buy from local beekeepers, you can try local flavors and provide them with the resources they need to raise new queens and split colonies when bee populations drop after winter.
  6. Support the Bee Squad and bee research, education, and outreach at the University of Minnesota. Helgen says donor funds are used to support a variety of Bee Squad programs, including education for hobby beekeepers, pollinator outreach at local events, training volunteers to search for bumble bee nests, and demonstrations for youth at University of Minnesota summer camps.
What we’re learning about bees

A number of bee-related research projects are happening at the U of M.

  • Perhaps best known is McKnight Distinguished Professor Marla Spivak’s queen breeding program. The goal: to control disease and parasitic mites in honey bees. Spivak retired at the end of 2024, but the Bee Squad, which she founded, continues her work.
  • The Bee Squad also collects bee samples from 250 colonies around the Twin Cities for U of MN virologist Declan Schroeder, who is studying the genome of honey bee viruses. “His lab is seeking to characterize the role of Deformed Wing Virus and other honey bee viruses in colony health,” says Bee Squad program director Jessica Helgen.
  • Associate Professor of Entomology Dan Cariveau is studying the habitat of native bees. His recent work has focused on restoration ecology as a way to conserve biodiversity.

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