Flowers and bees have a long-lasting mutual relationship. Flowers need bees for cross-pollination, which is the starting point for reproduction in flowers, while bees need flowers for nectar and pollen grains, which they feed on to get energy.
Typically, where there are flowers, the likelihood of finding bees buzzing on the flowers as they feed on nectar is very high.
However, bees don’t pollinate all types of flowers but will only go to those which are attractive and scented. The flowers should also have broad petals for the honey-producing insects to settle on as they collect nectar.
Do roses attract bees
If you have a rose flower garden, you will frequently find bees on the flower blooms, especially when they start producing nectar. This confirms that bees like roses. In fact, bees are the greatest pollinators of roses and without bees, rose flowers will not undergo pollination, and seeds may never be produced.
Roses have bright-colored beautiful flowers and a sweet-smelling scent that attracts bees. Additionally, roses produce high but varying amounts of nectar and many pollen grains, making them a suitable feeding point for bees.
However, roses with fewer petals and wide openings are the most loved roses for bees since they can easily access the nectar and pollen grains without searching through many petals.
Surprisingly, not all bees get attracted to roses. Different bees get attracted to different roses depending on the rose size, color, and even intensity of the scent.
The most common bees attracted by rose flowers are the bumblebees and the honey bees. They mostly love roses with many pollen grains, nectar, fragrance, and bright color.
Reasons why bees get attracted to rose flowers
Bees are small insects that are famous for making honey. The raw material for the honey is nectar, which is basically sourced from flowers. Here are some of the common reasons why roses attract bees
- Color: Bees fly at a very high speed when foraging, and thus, they can get a glimpse of anything colorful and land on it. The vibrant colors of rose flowers play a key role in attracting bees. The most common rose colors that attract bees are white, violet, blue, and yellow. It is important to note that red roses do not attract bees because the bees cannot see the red color.
- Fragrance: The sweet rose flower smell is an important factor that attracts bees. The smell is very strong and attracts bees that can feel it from a distance. To add on, roses produce a sweet smell called coumarin, which has a certain smell that also attracts bees.
- Shape: Rises with wider openings and few petals attract bees easily. The bees love such flowers because they can comfortably stand on the petals and easily gather pollen grains and nectar from the flowers.
- Pollen and nectar: Bees feed on pollen and nectar to get energy and live well. Most rose flower types produce many pollen grains that nourish the bees, even though not all roses will produce nectar.
What do roses attract
Other than bees, there is a wide range of living organisms attracted to rose flowers. Here are some of them:
1. Butterflies
Butterflies love brilliant colors and are easily attracted to roses. Their sweet fragrance also plays a bigger role in attracting butterflies. Just like bees, butterflies pollinate roses.
When they land on flower petals, their wings collect pollen grains and use their long appendage to collect nutrients from the flower. Butterflies collect many pollen grains and move them to another plant using their large wings.
2. Hummingbirds
Roses also attract hummingbirds when the roses start producing nectar. Generally, hummingbirds love feeding on nectar, and when they find a flower with it, they will get attracted and feed on it.
This could probably explain why hummingbirds travel long distances to feed. Additionally, hummingbirds have been reported to stay near roses as they hunt for all insects.
Do bees like roses: Conclusion
Bees buzz around flowers as they seek nectar and pollen grains. Roses are a good destination and feeding point for bees since the flowers are showy and have a good scent that attracts the bees.
Their pollen grains are in large quantities; thus, bees can feed to satisfaction and carry some to other roses for cross-pollination.
If you have a rose flower garden, be sure to see bees buzzing, butterflies flying over the beautiful flowers, and hummingbirds feeding on the nectar.
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