Tiptoeing Through the Tulips

Honey bees don't like tulips, right?

Right.

You don't plant tulips to attract bees, and you don't attract bees with tulips. 

They prefer such bee friendly plants as lavender, salvia, catmint, sedum, cherry laurels and tower of jewels—not to mention fruit, almond and vegetable blossoms.

But last weekend, a lone bee—probably a confused lone bee—buzzed around our tulips in the back yard and then dropped inside to roll in the pollen.

She stayed inside the tulip for about five minutes. When she emerged, a layer of gold dust clung to her.  

Bees don't like tulips? This one did!


By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Author - Communications specialist

Attached Images:

A HONEY BEE lands on a tulip, a plant generally not a

A HONEY BEE lands on a tulip, a plant generally not a "bee friendly plant." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A HONEY BEE seems quite fond of tulip pollen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A HONEY BEE seems quite fond of tulip pollen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

PURE GOLD--Pollen dust clings to a honey bee as she exits the tulip. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

PURE GOLD--Pollen dust clings to a honey bee as she exits the tulip. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)