I've always had lots of bumblebees but I am seeing an increase in honey bees, too. With colony collapse disorder, I had few honeybees for a couple of years. But last year and this year there's a definite increase. I'm very happy to see that.
I get a lot of bugs, both the good and bad guys because I don't use pesticides. (I gave them up years ago to avoid poinsoning my friends like the bees and hummingbirds). I think that a lot of gardeners don't stop to think about that when they douse their plants with pesticides, especially the systemic ones. It's no wonder the bees are disappearing.
The Japanese beetles are here. They are destroying some of my plants, especially the coleus. Isn't this early for Jap. beetles in zone 6?
I have also been plagued with red spider mites since moving into this house in 1983. Even when I did use pesticides, I couldn't get rid of them. They laugh at my soapy water.
Karen
