A recent study from the University of Georgia found that lawn grass can be used as a food source for bees.
The study concluded that although bees usually pollinate with flowers in the springtime, urbanization and pesticide use have limited the bees' food options, causing them to turn to centipedegrass, a common turfgrass found in the Southeast.
Shimat Joseph, Oluwatomi Ibiyemi, Karen Harris-Shultz, David Jespersen, Michael Ulyshen, and Brian Schwartz co-authored the study, which was published in the Journal of Insect Conservation.
Joseph, who is an associate professor in the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, told UGA Today, "Urbanization is reducing both nesting habitat and food resources for them, so anything we can provide in addition helps."
The researchers used more than 150 bees of 28 different species, which included bumblebees, honeybees and “sweat” bees, from yards across Georgia. They looked at the pollination mannerisms and they found that adult bees collect the grass pollen to supply food for themselves and their offspring.
Joseph said one of the findings of the study was that cutting back on the frequency of mowing your lawn could help with bee conservation.
The pollen collection for bees was highest between 10 to 12 days post lawn mowing. This allowed the centipedegrass to flower and become properly accessible for the bees to use for food.
“If you skip just one mowing, you create an opportunity for the grass to flower, and bees can use that resource,” Joseph said. “The goal isn’t to stop mowing. It’s to manage lawns in a way that gives bees an extra food source.”
Centipedegrass lasts much longer than traditional flowers, which makes the food source key for the bees, the researchers said. Bees are able to pollinate with centipedegrass well into late September.
“By July and August, many trees have stopped flowering,” Joseph said. “That’s when these grass flowers may become another opportunity for bees. They may not be showy, but we know that bees are definitely using them.”
