Are you noticing less bees in your garden this year?
We live in Northern Michigan near Thunder Bay.
We have gardened for 20 years and for the past 2 years have noticed not as many bees in our garden.
This year especially...barely any.
We have a plot of oregano that we let go 6 years ago and were going to cut it down, until we realized that a huge amount of bees were working it and some even sleeping in it.
So we've kept it and built our garden around that plot to give them a place to gather and do their thing.
There are none in there this year and I've only seen 2 bumble bees.
I'm wondering if the 2 ice storms, only 350 days apart, destroyed a ton of colonies or if it's something else on top of the storms.
Our vegetables and plants are still getting pollinated, but not having a bunch of those winged workers, (which I was scared to death of before I started a garden and realized they are free labor and so important), around has made me feel not just sad, but concerned.
What part of Michigan are you from and have you noticed the same thing?
Any Idea why this may be happening where we are located?
Please feel free to add anything else you've noticed about bees in your area of how it's affected your plants or garden.
It's nice to meet you all and have a place to try and figure this out.
Thanks.