Underground Heros - Mining Bees

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So there I was, walking around my lawn when I noticed these

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tiny holes everywhere. Perfect little circles,

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like someone had been going around with the world's smallest hole punch.

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And if you're thinking that's a pest problem,

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you're wrong. What I have is a

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civilization. There's an entire underground city beneath my

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feet, and the residents are about to emerge with timing so perfect

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it would make an Amazon delivery driver weep with envy.

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While you might be worried about moles ruining your lawn,

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there's been a secret society of pollinators building tiny apartment complexes

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in your yard and yards everywhere.

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And they're about to solve a problem honeybees don't even know exists.

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Welcome to the Underground. I'm your host, Kelly from

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Montana. And if you listened to last week's Tomato conspiracy,

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you're probably still recovering from the shock that honeybees are

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the freeloaders in the tomato patch. I know. It's really

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hard to grasp. Well, buckle up, because today

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we're going underground. Literally. We're talking about the pollinators

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that have been living beneath your feet this whole time, and you had

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no idea they were there. These are the mining bees.

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And before you picture tiny hard hats and picks axes,

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let me tell you what they're actually mining for.

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The perfect timing to pollinate fruit trees before

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honeybees even think about getting out of bed.

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Today, you're going to learn why your perfect lawn

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might actually be destroying pollinator habitat. How to

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tell the difference between pest holes and pollinator penthouses.

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And why these underground heroes have been silently making spring gardens

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possible. But first,

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let me tell you about the tiny cities you never knew

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existed. The underground civilization.

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All right, Imagine if I told you that beneath your lawn,

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there's a civilization more organized than most human

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cities. No traffic jams, no noise

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complaints, and everyone shows up to work exactly when they're

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supposed to. Incredible, right? Meet the mining

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bees, also called digger bees, and they're the

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introverts of the bee world who still get the job done.

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While honeybees are all about that hive life, living together,

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sharing resources, gossiping about the queen,

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mining bees are like, thanks, but I'll handle that myself.

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Each female mining bee. And we're talking about the ladies

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here, because the males are basically just there for moral support.

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Digs her own tunnel. Not just any tunnel,

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but a perfectly engineered system that would make subway

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planners jealous. Picture this.

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She starts with a main shaft that goes straight down.

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We're talking 6 to 12 inches deep. That would

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be like me digging a tunnel the length of a football Field straight

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down. That is never going to happen,

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folks. Then off this main shaft she creates

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little side chambers. Think tiny studio apartments

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where she'll stock food and lay eggs.

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Last spring I got down on my hands and knees with a measuring tape.

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Yes, you already know I'm that kind of person. I counted

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47 mining B holes in a 10 square foot area of my lawn.

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47 tiny apartments in the space smaller than my

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bathroom. But here's where it gets

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absolutely mind blowing. These bees just don't randomly

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decide to dig. Oh no. They've been underground all winter.

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And they emerge with timing so perfect it's like

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they have tiny little calendars down there.

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And when they emerge is where

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this story gets really good. The timing

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champions. So you know how honeybees are

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like normal people with regular work schedules.

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Show up when it's nice, take days off when it's cold.

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In general, follow human logic.

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Mining bees are like those people who show up to work an hour early every

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day, fully caffeinated, with their to do list

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already memorized. We all know who those people are,

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except their work is pollinating fruit trees exactly when

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those trees need it most.

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They time their emergence with the first warm days of spring.

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We're talking like 60 to 70 degrees. Which happens

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to be exactly when apple trees, cherry trees and

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early spring flowers are starting to bloom. Coincidence?

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I think not. These bees have

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been tracking soil temperature, day length and probably the farmer's Almanac.

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From their underground bunkers they emerged like tiny agricultural

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consultants who've done their homework.

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Meanwhile, honeybees are still huddled in their hives going is it

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warm enough yet? Should we venture out? What if it gets cold again?

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And by the time they finally show up fashionably late,

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the mining bees have already handled the early shift like absolute

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professionals. I watched this

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happen. In my yard. Mining bees were working my apple

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tree at 7am when it was 62 degrees out.

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Honeybees didn't show up until noon. When it hit 75,

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it was like watching the difference between the opening crew and the lunch rush

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staff. But here's the plot twist that's going

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to make you look at your lawn completely differently.

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Lawns are a mining bee metropolis.

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Okay, I need you to completely reframe how you

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think about your lawn and lawns in general. That perfect

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green weed free carpet you've been cultivating to mining

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bees. It's prime real estate. I bet now

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you're paying attention. See, mining bees need bare or

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sparsely vegetated soil to dig their tunnels. Your lawn,

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especially the parts that aren't thick and lush is

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basically the suburbs for solitary bees. And those little holes

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you thought were pest damage, those are pollinator penthouses.

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Here's how to tell if you've got mining bee activity.

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The holes are perfectly round, about the diameter of a

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pencil, with little piles of soil around them like tiny anthills.

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If you see a bee coming or going, and they're usually smaller than

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a honeybee, often dark colored, you've just discovered

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your underground pollinator workforce.

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Now, I know what you're thinking, but what about my perfect

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lawn? Listen, mining bees are not going

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to destroy your yard. They're not termites. They dig

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clean little holes, mind their own business, and actually aerate

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your soil better than those expensive lawn treatments.

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And here's the bonus. Males can't

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even sting. They're all buzz and no bite,

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like tiny flying toothless chihuahuas.

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The females can sting, but they're way too busy

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with their engineering projects to bother with you unless you literally grab

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them. They're pretty docile, like most native

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bees. And here's the beautiful part.

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If you had mining bees, you're providing habitat for

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some of the most efficient early season pollinators in North America.

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Your lawn wasn't just grass,

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it was a pollinator airport with underground terminals.

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What you missed and what to watch for.

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So if you're feeling a little bummed that you missed this whole underground civilization

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action, don't worry. Now that you know the secret,

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you can watch for it next spring. And trust me, once you see

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mining bees in action, you'll understand why I get so excited about tidying pollinators.

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Mining bees typically emerge on the first consistently

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warm days of spring, usually March or April, depending on where you

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live. You'll see them on sunny days when temperatures hit the mid-60s

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to low-70s.

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The females are usually small, dark colored bees,

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often black or dark brown. And they move with this

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incredibly focused I have work to do energy.

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You might see them hovering near the ground, checking out potential

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digging sites or disappearing into those perfect little holes.

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They're most active in the mid morning to early afternoon. And here's

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the cool part. You can actually watch them bring back little balls of

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pollen mixed with nectar to stock their underground nurseries. It's like

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watching tiny grocery shopping trips.

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If you want to encourage mining bees next year, please resist

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the urge to have a perfectly thick lawn everywhere.

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Leave some thinner areas, maybe a sunny patch near your

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fruit trees where the soil gets some exposure. Think of it

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as a pollinator zone in your yard.

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And once you start watching for mining Bees.

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You'll notice they're often the first pollinators out working

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fruit trees. While honeybees are still deciding if

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it's warm enough, mining bees are already handling business.

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This is just one example of why timing matters so much.

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In the pollinator world, different native bees

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have evolved to emerge exactly when the preferred plant needs them the most.

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It's like nature's perfectly choreographed dance,

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and most of us never even notice it's happening.

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Beyond mining bees. Now, mining bees are

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just one type of ground nesting bee. There are actually hundreds of

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species of native North American solitary

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bees that use similar strategies, digging tunnels,

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timing their emergence with specific plants, and working

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independently instead of in hives. Remember,

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honeybees emigrated from Europe with early colonists.

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Native bees, well, they've always been here.

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And some of them specialize in early spring fruit

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trees. Others time their emergence with summer wildflowers.

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And some don't emerge until fall asters are blooming.

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It's like a whole scheduled system in the bee world that

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makes our human calendars look disorganized.

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And that's what we're going to explore this season. The incredible diversity

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of native pollinators that have specialized timing, specialized techniques,

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and specialized relationships with plants that

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honeybees simply can't replicate.

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Next week, we're staying in late summer. But switching gears

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completely, we're going to talk about the tiny vandals that have

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been cutting perfect semicircles out of your leaves

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all summer. Spoiler alert.

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They're not destroying your plants. They're borrowing craft supplies

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for one of the most ingenious pollinator nesting strategies you've never

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heard of. Picture this.

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You're deadheading your roses when you notice these perfect semicircular

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cuts in your leaves. Your first thought, what pest

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is ruining my garden now? But what

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if I told you these vandals are actually some of your garden's most

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dedicated pollinators? What if those precise cuts are

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being made by tiny bees or with scissors for jaws, and they're

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using your leaves to build waterproof nurseries for the next generation of pollinators?

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It's mind blowing. So next week on the

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Secret Pollinators, the Leaf cutter Bee Vandals,

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where we discover why the most destructive looking damage

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in your garden might actually be a sign of pollinator

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success. Trust me, you'll never look at those leaf cuts

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again the same way. So here's your

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mission this week. Go outside and look for the evidence.

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Check your lawn or any lawn for those perfect little

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holes. If you find them, take a moment to appreciate that you're

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hosting an underground pollinator workforce. It's really incredible.

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And if you find mining bee holes, I want you to share them.

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Take a photo, post it with secret pollinators and tag

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me. I want to see evidence of these underground heroes from pollinator

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detectives all over the country or wherever you might live.

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And better yet, mark a few holes with small stones or flags

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and next spring, watch for the emergence. Set a

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reminder on your phone for the first warm days of March or April.

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Trust me, watching mining bees emerge and

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start their perfectly timed pollination work will change how you see

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your yard forever. I also want you to be mindful of

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chemicals used on lawns because they can kill native pollinators.

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And more about that in a later episode.

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Remember, the best pollinators are often the ones hiding in plain sight,

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or in this case, hiding underground. Now that you

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know their secret, you're part of an exclusive club of people who understand what's

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wrong really happening beneath our feet.

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Until next time, keep watching for the secret pollinators.

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They're all around you, above you, below you.

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You just have to know where to look. And next

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week, we're going to solve the mystery of the leaf cutting vandals that are

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actually pollinator heroes in disguise.

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I'm your host, Kelly from Montana and and this has been the Secret

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Pollinators. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And remember,

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the truth is buzzing in your backyard and apparently tuddling

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underneath it too.