crepe myrtle

[sds888]

Do honey bees work crepe myrtle? I am new to this and have several trees in bloom. I see bumble bees and other bees working it but not my honey bees. If they do work it is it a good nectar/ pollen resource. They are very easy to grow around here.

[Putz]

I've not seen honeybees on my crepe myrtle here.

[Derek]

They are in full bloom here and no bees working them.

[Tom G. Laury]

Here where I live there are a LOT of crepe myrtles in town. The bees are all over them and suburban beekeepers report surplus during July. Supposed to be water white.

[Troy]

Interesting that they go after it in CA, but not FL. I am in Orlando, and Crepe Myrtle is everywhere. I've never seen a honey bee on them and very rarely have I seen anything else either.

I have however seen honey bees on them in Williamsburg, VA.

[FNG]

When the White ones were in bloom ( Central AL) they were covered with bees. When the red ones bloomed I didn't see any bees on them.

[summer1052]

I also see more on the white than the red/pink/purple. Maybe the whites are less hybridized? :confused:

Summer

[dragonfly]

The white variety is the only one I have seen bees working, but they did appear to be *really* working it.

[saltcube]

in athens ga. full bloom but no bees, all i have is white and thay don't care for them, on a side note thay don't like my sunflowers either what gives?

[sds888]

It would be nice if they would hit it here. They are so easy to grow.

[cow pollinater]

I have a few red ones around. The bees will work them but it seems like a last resort deal. I can almost tell when it's time to irrigate the pasture just by watching the myrtle. When the clover dries out, I see bees on the myrtle.

[BeeAware]

I see more bumble bees than honeybees on our crepes. However, the honeybees love the butterfly bushes and they are really easy to grow. They work the white and purple or lavender bushes best.

[NeilV]

I read somewhere that these plants are usually hybridized and that there are three or four different kinds. Some of the hybrids don't produce nectar, while some of the unhybridized or less hybridized ones do. The white ones, on average, probably have less breeding. However, I also remember reading that color alone does not control, and that offspring from a plant with colored flowers can be white.

Assuming that's all true, I think the answer is that some crepe myrtles are good for bees and some aren't. I suppose is could also be affected by climate.

I have some in my yard that bees don't work, but there are some in the neighborhood that they do work.

ndvan

[paintingpreacher]

I have pink one in my yard and see honeybees on them in the mornings. We have a lot of white ones at our church and they are covered with honeybees. I agree they seem to like the white best. Not sure but they appear to be collecting mostly pollen.

[cdanderson]

I have white ones here and I do see the bees working them. More of butterflies and such but I do see the honeybees on them from time to time.

charlotte

[NasalSponge]

I have seen them on white and pink...if they are a necter source it is good news here because they bloom all summer long and there are thousands of them within two miles.:)

[sds888]

I saw them this morning working the pink at church but wont touch the red white or pink in my yard. The church is right at 2 miles from the house so maybe my bees but that is more wishful thinking.

[NasalSponge]

Update....Wed I spied bees on a dark red one gathering pollen!!

[Southern Bee]

Seems to me like its a matter of preference. If there is something else blooming that they like more, then the Crepe Myrtles are bypassed. If there is not a better source, then the myrtles get their attention. The city where I live has crepe myrtles on every street, mostly pink, and I have not seen much bee activity on them. Then again I haven't been looking all that closely either.
I have lavender planted in my yard, which is listed as a big bee plant, and it is, my bees love it. But it depends on the time of the year and what else is blooming. My lavender is in flower all spring & summer, but in the spring when so much else is blooming you wont see a honey bee any where near it. When the nectar flow dries up they are all over it. For that matter the Tulip Poplar across the street was almost bee free this spring also, I dont know what they were working but it wasn't that.