A walk through Lake County's Ryerson Woods on an early spring day will reveal carpets of spring beauty, Claytonia virginica, blooming under expansive budding oaks. The hum of insects darting through this floral show includes a breathtaking 58 species of native bees.

Sweat bee. Photo by Rob Curtis/The Early Birder.

Bees are nature's most important pollinators, but their vital role in the sustained health of our ecosystems is often overlooked. Bees use specialized hairs on their legs or abdomen to collect pollen for food — mixed with nectar, it becomes a nutritious paste. By grand design, this self-interested act moves pollen from flower to flower. Without bees and other pollinators, many trees and flowers would go unfertilized or be unable to cross-pollinate. Lack of pollination means less fruit or seed production, and, over time, a decline in the hardiness and reproduction of the plants, including possible extinction. This, in turn, affects birds, mammals, and other species that depend on these plants.

Nearly 300 species of native bees inhabit Chicago Wilderness. Bumblebees usually steal attention from the wide range of shapes, sizes, and colors of many native bees. Though groups of bees have common names like the digger, leafcutter, carpenter, and mason bees, individual bee species are known mostly by their Latin names. Anthidium psoraleae, a black bee with prominent yellow abdominal markings, probes flowers with a long tongue. Osmia cordata sports a dramatic and hairy metallic blue-green body. The small Ceratina metallica measures only five milli-meters and has the same metallic blue-green coloring as Osmia cordata, but with less body hair. And towering above that tiny creature at 13 millimeters, Cemolobus ipomoeae has a black body with brown hair on its abdomen.

	Agapostemon bee. Photo by Rob Curtis/The Early Birder.

Most native bees are solitary, not social hive dwellers, and nest in the ground, tree holes, or other hollow plant matter. Most are so unassuming that if disturbed, they will choose flight over pursuit and will rarely sting.

While relatively unseen and unknown at home, native Illinois bees are renowned on the international stage. Thanks to Charles Robertson, a passionate naturalist, many today view Illinois as the bee capital of the world. Between 1884 and 1916, Robertson assembled one of the most extensive collections of native bees and their flora. His study concentrated around the southern Illinois town of Carlinville, where he discovered 296 bee species. Today his collection remains a significant reference for bee specialists.

In 1932, Jay Frederick Wesley Pearson, a doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago, based his dissertation on Robertson's findings. Pearson's research, conducted primarily in Chicago Wilderness, found that Chicago's flora and bee fauna were similar to Robertson's impressive findings in Carlinville.

"There are probably more bee species in the Chicago region than in Carlinville because the habitats are more diverse here," explains entomologist John Marlin of Illinois Department of Natural Resource's Waste Management and Research Center. Marlin observed Carlinville bees in the early 1970s and found that, despite habitat changes, native bee diversity had changed little since Robertson's time. He believes that the same is true today in the wilder parts of the Chicago region.

Native bees live simply and have two basic needs: a suitable nesting habitat free from insecticides and, since they don't fly long distances, a locally abundant food source. Unfortunately, their basic needs are threatened by loss of native plants, habitat fragmentation, roadside herbicide spraying, and especially the massive sprayings of broad-impact insecticides used in some mosquito abatement programs.

Today, the best bee sanctuaries in the Chicago area are places that are relatively undisturbed, are rarely sprayed, and support a wealth of native plants. Vacant lots and abandoned cemeteries or railways are sometimes good spots to see native bees. More important though are the native prairie and woodland preserves that represent the past and future of local bee populations. By protecting the full range of native wildflowers that bloom throughout the growing season, natural lands provide more consistent food sources for bees, and the native plants benefit in turn from a broader range of pollinators. With continued attention to habitat preservation and reduced spraying, we can ensure that Chicago Wilderness remains a vital part of the world's bee capital.

—Mari Coyne