Roses are some of the most admired plants on the planet. Humans crave after them, and small creatures such as bees are enticed by them as well.
Unlike most stinging insects, bees are typically known to get attracted to flowers.
Roses are good for bees because they contain a vital substance that bees need for sustainability. Also roses are a very good source of pollen which bees need to produce honey.
But interestingly, their love for roses is relatively questionable. Any homeowner or farmer who has a garden of roses close to the wild will definitely attract bees.
These powerful insects can travel several miles if they need to find water.
Amazing, they sometimes travel this same distance in search of roses. Roses contain a very vital substance that bees need for sustainability.
But as a beekeeper or someone who cares about bees, one would wonder if roses are good for bees.
Thankfully, roses are good for bees. This flower provided bees with pollen – one of the crucial ingredients bees need to make honey.
What makes roses good for bees?
Of all the beautiful flowers that are good for bees, roses are one of them.
Bees love visiting roses for only one reason, to get pollen from the plant.
A lot of people believe that bees derive nectar from roses, but that’s not a factual belief.
Roses are unable to provide these insects with nectar. They can only provide pollen.
Roses are good plants for bees because they are rich in pollen. Bees desperately need this pollen before they can be able to produce honey.
Since pollen remains one of the key ingredients these insects use in making honey, they need to always find roses is paramount.
Bees can travel a few miles in search of roses. They normally spend several hours working on this plant and collecting enough pollen for the colony.
Related: Here is an article I wrote on do bees have venom or poison?
Do roses repel bees?
Bees are attracted to a variety of roses. But surprisingly, there are few types of rare roses that bees don’t like.
These roses may not significantly repel bees like other highly scented plants, but you would barely find any bee around them.
The reason for this phenomenon is that these types of rare roses aren’t rich in pollen.
Since bees are only attracted to plants that provide enough rich pollen for making honey, the insects won’t hover around these roses.
If you own a garden and you wouldn’t want bees to come around, you can safely plant some of these roses that don’t attract bees.
This one effective way to repel bees and prevent them from disturbing your surroundings.
Are roses good for bees?
Beautiful roses are good for bees, especially when they can be pollinated.
Roses without pollen or nectar may not be significantly beneficial to bees, but bees are likely to visit these roses due to their attractive colors.
Roses with bright and beautiful colors can be enticing to bees most times. Whenever these insects observe a plant like this, they come around.
However, the moment they realize that the plant doesn’t provide nectar or pollen, they will barely come close to the plant.
Richness in pollen is the only significant reason why some roses are good for bees. Just as you’ve read earlier, bees need pollen to make honey.
They will do almost anything to have access to plants that can be pollinated.
Also here is an article I wrote on are bees good luck and what do they mean
Do rose bushes bring bees?
Bees don’t need to see a bush of roses before they can be attracted to it. Even a few rose plants compel bees to come around.
Nevertheless, rose bushes will definitely attract bees, as long as the rose can provide bees with pollen.
If you don’t want bees around your home or garden, ensure you don’t plant roses that can be pollinated.
No matter how far these types of rose are from a colony of bees, there are chances of bees locating the plant if they are in dire need of pollen.
There are multiple types of beautiful roses that don’t entice bees because they are unable to provide pollen.
You can choose to grow these species of rose if you intend to repel bees.
Are bees attracted to roses?
Bees are only attracted to roses that they can derive pollen from. Roses without nectar or pollen seldom attract bees or bring them close.
Farmers or gardeners who don’t want bees to come around repel the insects naturally by either planting roses that can’t be pollinated or planting highly-scented flowers.
Wild roses attract bees more than other species of roses.
But interestingly, wild roses typically have small petals, which is the reason why it doesn’t appear to be a plant that has much pollen to offer.
But on the contrary, wild roses are able to provide bees with all the pollen they need to get the colony running.
Amazingly, unlike other species of roses, wild roses are not very difficult to locate by bees. They can be easily seen.
Are roses pollinators?
Roses are probably the best plant with sufficient pollen for bees.
Aside from the fact that roses are beautiful and attractive, their ability to produce good pollen makes them an important plant to the insects.
This is why bees would sometimes go looking for roses in the wild other than other plants that can be pollinated.
Wild roses such as Rosa filipes and Rosa Polyantha are amazing plants that are also very important to bees.
These roses are good for extracting pollen. If you have to come across them in the wild, be cautious of your surroundings.
There may be a colony of bees around, attracted to the plant.
Why do bees prefer purple flowers?
The color purple is quite an appealing color, not only to humans but bees as well. Bees love purple flowers and they prefer to pollinate them due to their natural love for the color purple.
Aside from purple, bees love other bright and beautiful colors such as yellow and orange.
This is one of the reasons why these insects love sunflowers. Irrespective of the nectar bees enjoy from sunflowers, the bright yellow colors of the plant entices the insects.
Bees have good eyesight that can behold colors clearly. When they see a plant with glowing purple color, they hurriedly go there.
Sometimes, bees can hover over a purple flower, believing it has pollen.
But sadly, they’d eventually leave after realizing it’s just another normal plant that has nothing to offer but a beautiful color.
What do bees see when they look at flowers?
Each time bees look at flowers, they see ultraviolet wavelengths.
This is why bees are attracted to most flowers.
Within the petal of almost every flower, there are ultraviolet wavelengths that are quite visible to bees.
When bees see the UV within petals, they are compelled to examine the flower with their sense of smell to discover if it can be pollinated.
So, basically, bees are able to locate flowers with pollen by using their eyesight and sense of smell.
Conclusion
The importance of roses to bees is evident when you realize the reason why the insects go to the plant.
Bees aren’t attracted to roses because of nectar. Roses aren’t sunflowers. They don’t produce nectar.
Bees are only attracted to roses because of the pollen they derive from them. Otherwise, it would be common to find bees hovering over roses.
