Bees are an insect that is often considered a pest but unless you’re allergic they probably provide more benefit than harm. In fact, not all bees sting and only female bees (in all species) have stingers. Bees are absolutely necessary for our ecosystem (there are over 80 species in California), and there’s even been some recent concerns about the declining bee population.

If you aren’t allergic, you may want to consider a bee garden. Having a garden allows the bees to cross pollinate our fruits, vegetables and other ornamental plants. Creating a bee garden isn’t difficult but it is important to use native plants and believe it or not, bees prefer some flowers to others. Other factors in the garden that will attract more bees is a wide variety (at least 10) of flowers, and bees seem to prefer gardens that are less manicured and tended to. You might want to consider including flowers in the bee garden that bloom at different times of the year to keep bees around for a longer period of time.

Did you know? Facts about bees:

• There are about 20,000 known species of bees around the world
• Bees are actually a specialized form of wasp
• Honey bees fly at 15 m.p.h.
• Bees have five eyes
• The first bee appears in fossil records dating 35 million years ago

If you aren’t trying to attract the bees and you suspect you have a problem, call a professional exterminator in California to treat the insects, especially if a hive is present.