![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090122115144im_/http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/images/line.jpg)
Diane Relf
Virginia Cooperative Extension
The
presence of stinging insects around the garden or yard often
generates concern among gardeners and home owners. Many people
fear insect stings, often believing themselves to be dangerously
allergic. However, the vast majority of people who are stung
will experience no more than a local reaction or at most a
mild systemic reaction. Current evidence suggests that fewer
than 0.4 percent of the population will have a more severe
systemic reaction, with a very much smaller percentage of
that group in danger of a true life-threatening reaction.
Still many people want to control or reduce the number of
stinging insects around the house or garden.
The
selection of flowering garden plants that will not attract
any of the stinging insects is almost impossible. In part,
this is due to the diversity of insects and the wide variety
of factors involved in the attraction of insects to flowers.
One must also realize that not all of the insects attracted
to flowers or garden plants are bees. In addition to a large
number of butterflies and flies (some of which are excellent
bee mimics), many species of wasps visit flowers, some for
the collection of nectar, others in search of insect prey.
The elimination of bee flowers, therefore, will not necessarily
eliminate the insects capable of stinging. Furthermore, a
number of different wasp species can usually be found foraging
around houses and gardens for insect prey, visiting plants
with populations of aphids or scale insects to collect honeydew,
or simply searching for potential nest sites. Yellowjackets,
for example, may construct nests in dense shrubs or in the
ground. Many of the flower wasps (Sphecidae) also nest in
the ground, as do spider wasps and many solitary bees. The
avoidance or elimination of stinging insects thus involves
more than just the elimination of attractive flowers. In fact,
the majority of insect stings are not caused by bees but by
yellowjackets. This group of social wasps (which are often
mistaken for bees) accounts for over 70 percent of insect
stings in most areas. However, if bees are a concern, there
are a number of different types of flowers that are not attractive
to bees and if planted will help to reduce the number of bees
in and around garden areas.
The
selection of flowers that do not attract bees is, in part,
dependent upon an understanding of why bees visit flowers
and what makes a flower attractive. To a bee, flowers represent
a source of food; they are visited for the collection of pollen
and/or nectar. Flowers that secrete large amounts of nectar
or pollen are thus highly attractive, and those that do not
produce much nectar or pollen are rarely visited. Attraction
is also dependent upon color and scent. Brightly colored flowers
usually attract bees, at least for an initial inspection visit.
Blue, yellow, orange, purple, and white flowers are all inviting
to foraging bees. The most attractive floral colors are blue,
yellow, and white; especially yellow and white, which reflect
ultraviolet light. Red flowers, in general, are less attractive
to bees.
With
this in mind, the following list of flowers represents a group
that should be non-attractive or only minimally attractive
to the bees capable of inflicting a serious or painful sting.
(Some of these flowers may attract small solitary bees, such
as the sweat bees, but none of these possess a very potent
sting.) This group includes carnation, chrysanthemum, daisy,
the red dianthus, geranium, marigold, rose, strawflower, and
zinnia. Other flowers may also be minimally attractive to
bees. Those concerned with the reduction of bee populations
should try planting small groups of different flowers and
watching to determine if bees or other stinging insects visit
them.
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090122115144im_/http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/images/line.jpg)
Disclaimer
and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not
represent NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears
by permission of the author and/or copyright holder. More
NASD Review: 04/2002
Diane
Relf, Extension Specialist, Environmental Horticulture
(Originally
published as "Stinging Insects in the Garden," by Rich Fell,
Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, in The Virginia Gardener
Newsletter, Volume 8, Number 8.)
August
1996
|