The genus Lavandula is recognized globally as a major attractant for a wide range of pollinating insects. These aromatic plants offer a consistent and rich food source throughout their blooming period, making them a preferred destination. Lavender’s reputation as a magnet for bees stems from a combination of floral chemistry, structure, and high-quality nutritional rewards.
Why Lavender is a Highly Effective Pollinator Plant
The primary appeal of lavender to bees lies in its high-yield nectar and pollen rewards. Lavender flowers produce abundant nectar, rich in the sugars required for bee energy, making them a highly attractive source for foraging. This nectar is consistently available over a long blooming season, often filling a forage gap when other plants have finished flowering.
The plant’s distinctive fragrance, caused by volatile organic compounds such as linalool, acts as a long-distance beacon to guide insects toward the flowers. Once closer, the visual signals become important, as the purple and blue hues of lavender stand out vividly against green foliage to a bee’s ultraviolet-sensitive vision. Some lavender flowers also possess UV patterns that function as nectar guides, directing the insect to the reward site.
The structure of the small, tubular florets is physically suited for many common bee species. When a bee enters the flower to access nectar, its hairy body brushes against the anthers, facilitating the efficient transfer of pollen grains. This pollen is also high in protein, which is essential for larval development and the overall health of the bee colony.
Key Pollinator Species that Visit Lavender
Lavender fields and garden patches support a diverse array of pollinators, though the frequency and efficiency of visitation differ significantly between species. The European honeybee (Apis mellifera) is a dominant visitor, especially in large agricultural settings where they are managed for honey production. Honeybees exhibit high flower constancy, meaning they tend to stick to lavender during a single foraging trip, which makes them highly effective cross-pollinators within a lavender monoculture. They collect both nectar to convert into honey and pollen to feed their brood, utilizing the plant as a primary resource.
Bumblebees (Bombus species), with their larger size and longer tongues, are often more efficient foragers on lavender than honeybees. Research has shown that a bumblebee can extract nectar from a tubular lavender flower in as little as 1.1 to 1.4 seconds. In contrast, a honeybee must push deeper into the flower, taking approximately 3.5 seconds per floret to reach the same reward. This anatomical advantage allows bumblebees to maximize their foraging returns, making them prominent visitors early and late in the blooming season when temperatures are cooler.
Solitary and native bee species, such as mason bees and leafcutter bees, also frequent lavender for both nectar and pollen collection. These bees may be less numerous than honeybees or bumblebees, but they contribute significantly to pollination diversity. Beyond bees, other insects are drawn to the lavender’s strong scent and nectar, including butterflies and moths, which use their long proboscis to access the deeply set nectar.
Cultivating Lavender to Support Bee Populations
Gardeners can maximize the benefit of lavender by selecting specific varieties and adhering to bee-friendly maintenance practices. For the highest nectar yield, English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) cultivars like ‘Munstead’ or ‘Hidcote’ are generally preferred by bees over species like French lavender (Lavandula stoechas). Hybrid varieties, known as Lavandins (Lavandula x intermedia), such as ‘Grosso,’ are also prized for their dense, high-nectar flower spikes.
Lavender plants thrive in full sun, requiring a minimum of six to eight hours of direct sunlight daily, which is also when bees are most active. Planting lavender in well-drained, sandy, or rocky soil with a slightly alkaline pH mimics its native Mediterranean habitat and promotes healthy growth and high flower production. Gardeners should avoid using synthetic pesticides, especially systemic types or those applied while the plant is in bloom, as these chemicals can be carried back to the bee colony.
To ensure a continuous food supply, allow the blooms to remain on the plant for the full season. After the first flush of flowers has faded, a light pruning can encourage a second, smaller round of flowering, extending the foraging window. Planting a mass of lavender together, rather than single plants, creates a larger, more obvious visual and olfactory target, further concentrating bee activity.