Bug Squad
Article

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!