I had a few "freebie" common milkweed plants pop up in my small round swamp milkweed garden this spring. So I let them grow. (all for the love of Monarchs, right?) Anyhoo, boy did they grow. They're way taller than me now! When in bloom they attracted bumblebees, honeybees, butterflies, etc. However, to my dismay, I noticed honeybees dead (quite a few of them) on the flowerheads. I KNEW they were not subjected to any poisons so I reached out to my local conservation dept. I was told that it is quite common for the honeybee's feet to become trapped in the flower. They cannot get their feet out, then starve to death! I thought OMG, how horrible! I will be taking out/perhaps transplanting the common milkweeds elsewhere (somewhere that I cannot see the dead honeybees next season) because not only does it break my heart to see them dead on the flowerheads, the common milkweed has pretty much shaded and took over my small pollinator garden. The conservation dept. told me that this does not contribute to the honeybee's decline, but it sure is upsetting to see the dead bees!
I had a few "freebie" common milkweed plants pop up in my small round swamp milkweed garden this spring. So I let them grow. (all for the love of Monarchs, right?) Anyhoo, boy did they grow. They're way taller than me now! When in bloom they attracted bumblebees, honeybees, butterflies, etc. However, to my dismay, I noticed honeybees dead (quite a few of them) on the flowerheads. I KNEW they were not subjected to any poisons so I reached out to my local conservation dept. I was told that it is quite common for the honeybee's feet to become trapped in the flower. They cannot get their feet out, then starve to death! I thought OMG, how horrible! I will be taking out/perhaps transplanting the common milkweeds elsewhere (somewhere that I cannot see the dead honeybees next season) because not only does it break my heart to see them dead on the flowerheads, the common milkweed has pretty much shaded and took over my small pollinator garden. The conservation dept. told me that this does not contribute to the honeybee's decline, but it sure is upsetting to see the dead bees!