Have you ever heard that you should save dandelions for the bees? Here are some things to consider about dandelions and bees. Read on to learn more, and what plants and flowers you should be saving for bees instead.
Do we really need to save dandelions for the bees?
With all of the posts I have on foraging dandelions, dandelion root, and dandelion recipes, I often hear folks saying that I should be saving the dandelions for the bees, especially in early spring.
While I understand the thought behind this, to the surprise of many, dandelions actually do not need to be saved for the bees!
This does not in any way mean that you should spray or otherwise try to eradicate dandelions, however!
It just means that we humans can utilize them as well without worry of harming the bee population.
Below are six things to consider when thinking about dandelions and bees.
Dandelions are NOT a first food for bees
One of the things I hear the most is that “dandelions are a bees first food.”
This is not true!
There are many other plants that bloom before or around the same time as dandelions in late winter and early spring that are much more important for bees.
Here are some examples:
Dandelions are NOT an ideal food for bees
Dandelions lack vital amino acids and nutrients that bees need. They simply are not a quality food source for bees.
Pollen from trees like willow, maple, and fruit trees is a much higher quality nutrient source.
Willow is especially important as it grows nearly everywhere in temperate regions and almost always blooms well before dandelions.
If you’ve ever been around a willow tree in early spring you know that it is likely to be buzzing with bee activity!
Another thing to consider is that dandelions are unfortunately often sprayed with weed killer and herbicides, which we all know is not good for bees (or humans) at all!
There are other early spring flowers we can plant for bees
Besides all of the flowering weeds and tree blossoms that bees love, there are also some early spring flowers that we can plant in our yards for the bees!
Calendula flowers and violas come up before dandelions in my backyard, and borage flowers aren’t too far behind. If you’ve ever seen a patch of borage in bloom then you know that bees and other pollinators absolutely love them!
Some other early spring blooms to plant include crocus, hyacinth, and daffodils.
Most of all, a variety of flowers for the bees is best!
See my list of 12 common flowers to plant for the bees!
Dandelions are more nutritious for humans than bees
While dandelions are not very nutritious for bees, they are full of nutritional benefits for humans!
Dandelion flowers, leaves, and roots have been an important food and medicine source for humans for centuries. They are high in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants as well as being good for the liver, digestion, and skin issues.
Make dandelion salve for muscle and joint pain, dandelion root bitters for digestion, or dandelion pesto for vitamins and minerals.
Dandelions are an herbal ally for us in so many ways!
We should not be made to feel guilty for utilizing a plant that has been a part of human history for so long.
As long as we give the bees plenty of other spring flowers that are better suited for them, let us have our dandelions!
Dandelions come back twofold when picked
If you’ve ever picked dandelions, or tried to get rid of them in your yard, then you know that the more you pick the more they come back!
Many flowers, plants, and trees are like this, which is why pruning can often stimulate new growth. The dandelion wants to flower, needs to in order to spread seeds, so will do everything it can to keep flowering.
So, if you are really worried about bees getting their spring dandelions, you should actually be picking more of them! I know it seems counterintuitive, but it’s true.
Think of it as pruning, don’t take every single one, but enough to stimulate more growth.
There are enough dandelions to share
It’s pretty amazing really. There is no shortage of dandelions, and picking them makes them grow and bloom even more.
We get some, the bees get some, and it’s all good!
Just make sure you are leaving a variety of blooming weeds, trees, and flowers for the bees, and they will be happy!
Absolutely not true in Alaska. There is nothing blooming when the dandelions appear. Not a thing. The trees are only starting to bud, but that can not be counted upon.
Great article – something I’ve been looking for a while. Another point to make regarding dandelions is that they are NOT NATIVE to North America. They are actually a weed (an edible one, but no less a weed) and actually harm native flora by competing with them. There is no way bees could be dependent upon dandelions for first food, there has not been sufficient time for coevolution of such a need, in addition to the many fine points you make. I eradicate them to protect the native plants that I have allowed to take over my yard. No Mow May, my goal is No Mow all Summer.
Thank you so much for your comment, John! I wish more people could understand this.
Honeybees are also an introduced livestock specie, compete directly with, and spread diseases to, the native bees. Where dandelions are native, honeybees are also native.
Exactly
The dandelion meets the criteria for one of the most successful invasive species on the planet (other than us of course). It has impressive allelopathic properties which means it is far more insidious than just taking up space…which it takes up a LOT of space. Where I live the colonizers are wild blueberries and strawberries, which FOR SURE are more palatable than dandelions…but allelopathic plants change the soil in ways were it is difficult to re-establish native plants. And there are so many that many native plants (those sun lovers of poor disturbed soil) no longer have any room and are being moved out of the homes where they evolved. Please eat all you want…but DON’T spread them…and hand dig them without herbicides if at all possible. Plant a native plant instead if you care about North America’s 4,000 or so native bees. Consider growing an array of native plants and support MORE than just bees…and help those bees help native plants reproduce so our ecologies don’t collapse…96% of songbirds need caterpillars, many of which need their native host plants. Even the tiny chickadee needs thousands to complete its life cycle. No we won’t eradicate dandelions…but we should know what they are and not encourage them. They are a little plant Cortez…wanting to conquer everything. Or, just scroll on.
It seems dangerous to assume that science has discovered everything nutritious and beneficial to bees, by focusing only on amino acids and what science may have discovered so far. I’d say let the bees choose from a variety of sources. Nature doesn’t seem to like monocultures. Just look at cattle to see what comes from stuffing them with corn.
I also disagree that dandelions are not an important food source for bees. Bees absolutely love foraging on dandelion and they would not be so prolific on dandelion if it was not an important food source. Any studies that have been done on the pollen is on the pollen alone and does not take into consideration that bees ferment the pollen through the addition of microbes, breaking down proteins into amino acids and carbohydrates into simple sugars. This occurs in the formation of so-called bee-bread which is what the bees consume and convert into glandular secretions. When any food is fermented it offers an array of unexpected health benefits. Bees are intelligent creatures!
Hi Karin, thanks for sharing. My main point with the article is to help people understand that there are many early spring flowers that are important to save for the bees, with many being even more important than dandelions. Also that we humans can use dandelions as well without worrying too much that we are taking them from the bees.
Correct, and if you do not mow, those other flowers will also grow and bloom. You cannot have a dandelion free law without chemicals or countless hours of work in your yard. So it’s kind of a mute point to demonize this since it’s better overall to leave it all grow and let the bees decide what they want to eat.
What I have noticed is that when there are only dandelions blooming, the bees use them as a food source. But when there are many other plants that are considered to be better food sources for bees, they are scarce or completely missing on the dandelions. It doesn’t mean that the food source is good for them just because they take nectar from them. There’s often simply nothing better for them to eat.
Imagine humans in winter if no fruit was available. Think of the diseases we succumb to when there is not winter fruit. The same is true of bees, and because non-native foods often lack proper nutrients, in the end the bees, especially the natives, do not thrive if this is all they have.
By your logic, MacDonalds and Baskin Robbins are the best food source for humans because lots of people go there. Oh BOY! Also, in a depauperate environment (which we have made suburbia into) you can expect to have insects get food however they can. It is not just about bees…it is about biodiversity, native plant reproduction, the massively MORE numerous butterflies and moths that need to eat that feed the birds. Try to look a little deeper…unless maybe you have a vested self interest?
There’s bees and then there’s bees… Sometimes comments made about honey bees do not apply to other varieties.
This. Any evidence that native bees (versus naturalized European honey bees) rely on dandelions as an early food source?
While dandelions may not be the best food for our honeybees, it is one of the FIRST foods made available to them after a long winter. Please leave the first dandelions of spring to the honeybees until other food options open up plentiful for them. Without honeybees we wouldn’t HAVE another weeds to forage.
Just food for thought.
Hi Sue, if you read the article you will see that the first thing I list is that dandelions are not a first food for bees. There are many other plants and weeds that bloom before dandelions, most notably willow. That said, I never suggest that anyone picks all the dandelions available, there is usually enough to share!
Are you a bee keeper? Why do you have to dismiss the need for bees to have dandelion just so you can suggest human eat them? You don’t have to diminish it as bee food to support humans eat them.
No, I’m not a beekeeper, but if you ask one, they’ll tell you that dandelions lack the important amino acids that are essential to making the protein needed to raise their young.
Where I come from they are the first thing to bloom other than Daffodils. My reason for not getting rid of my Dandelions is that they are the first source for all pollinators. Wasp, Sweat bees and Hover Flies. It will take all of us to learn about what grows where and protect it for future generations.
Wow. I read this article as saying that we should think about planting other things which can provide nutrition to the bees – and I think that’s important because the reality is that many folks turn to toxic chemicals to eradicate dandelions, whereas with clover and barge etc – they would not. The deep taproots of dandelions make them difficult to remove and, again, WHILE we inform people of thei importance, for every person who hears this, ten more will be spraying poison so. Let’s just accept the reality of it and FOR NOW plant additional, alternative sources for bees.
I am NOT in agreement with your statement with regard to Honey Bee’s and Dandelions. As all beekeepers will tell you, conditions are ever changing and the bees forage on what is needed for their colony at a given time. It is a silly statement to make and inaccurate. Your statement assumes that nature is static and predictable year after year. Nature is neither. Here in South Africa Honey Bees forage on dandelions and they do provide both pollen and nectar. Bottom line – all things need to be in balance. Too much of anything is not good. Picking or harvesting all the dandelions when insects are out foraging is not practicing mindful co-existence. Leaving all the dandelions untouched when clearly they provide wonderful alternative uses for humans is also not necessary.
Respect for all creatures and finding a balance is the answer. Bees forage or Dandelions and depending on the conditions it can indeed be their first choice of spring food. True story!!
Hi Natasha, I hear what you are saying, but the point is that dandelions are often not the first or only food for bees. They are also not very nutritious for bees. It’s better to plant and leave a variety of early spring flowers for the bees. Here in the US, people have been so focused on “saving the dandelions for the bees” that they are forgetting about all the other flowers! And I never recommend to pick all of the dandelions, but I do think there are enough to share.
The article seems to make sense but the author apparently thinks that conditions where she’s at are the conditions everywhere else. Not so. Dandelions here in central Alaska are very important in early spring. Prior to their blooming in mid-May there is only willow producing any pollen. Other plants are either not blooming, or not even out of the ground. This spring I spotted the first dandelion blossoms May 15th, and saw the first loads of pollen coming in to the hives yesterday the 17th. Granted, it may not be the finest source at this time of year, but its what we’ve got.
Willow is a much better food source for bees and it blooms earlier than dandelion. We should be saving the willows for the bees and stop worrying so much about dandelions!
Dandelions can be used as a great example when educating the public on avoiding the use of round-up and other “weed” killers – which kill dandelions and some of the other early foraging plants for bees that you mentioned.
The focus on dandelions works because they are often seen as blight and drive people to use neonicotinoids and other nasty stuff on their lawns, which harms bees. So, if there is an extraneous focus is on accepting dandelions, it serves a good purpose.
Besides, even if dandelions don’t have all the essential amino acids bees need in their diet, they DO supplement pollen and nectar early season and can be very beneficial to both native and honeybee populations.
I have bees and I pick my flowers at the end of they day – they get their dandelions during the day and I grab them in the late afternoon/early evening. They only last a day so it is a win-win for both of us – and their is a whole new batch in the morning!