I completely encourage you to start a hive in your backyard. Actually, start two hives. Two hives are much better than one - they allow you to reference the health or growth of one versus another and you can steal frames from one and place it in the hive that needs it. You won't believe what another world beekeeping will become for you. As for plants that attract, many herbs will do the trick. Even though our plants on the west coast differ, anything you can plant with the sage (salvia) genus will attract honey bees. Also mint, lavender, clovers... well there is a list so long it is silly for me to mention it. Wait for the bloom of mint, sage, and lavender and you'll see bees for sure. If you want to really see honey bees show up, let some broccoli go completely to flower. When the florets are allowed to bloom to yellow flowers, the yard will sound like you just opened 4 hives at once.

Mrspaul, Sorry to disappoint but I'm not sure I'm familiar with the insect you're speaking about. Because of the nature of this forum (and all the other bee experts here), I try to be very careful in my interruption of certain terms. Perhaps you mean these terms to be more "generic" than how I'm reading them. For instance, at least with regard to honeybees (Apis), I tend to ascribe to the school of thought that the north American continent did not have any "native" honeybees (again, with respect to Apis) before they were brought from Europe - so maybe you're using 'native' in relative terms rather than a strict meaning? And black honeybee, means to me the native bee of northern Europe (Germany, England, etc.). But if you're only describing the actual colour of the bee, then perhaps you're just speaking of the race of Apis known as Caucasians (a dark grey, sometimes called 'black'). In any case, I tend to favor two things: "natural" and "low maintenance" (especially in wild habitat areas). While I'm sure Apis would do fine in your area, they're not completely maintenance free. And since you're not interested in collecting honey or beeswax or pollen, then I see no good reason to select traditional honeybees (and incur the related expense of hive woodenware and maintenance costs). That's about the only thoughts I have on the matter.

MaryLiz: Sounds like an exciting project - you sound like you have a lot of great information already, and a plan of action. Here are some thoughts and suggestions based on my limited experience on a very small plot in eastern Mass. (1) I used John Diekelmann's Natural Landscaping: Designing with Native Plant Communities as my guide. Although some of it was over my head, I found dozens of useful points, plus lists of plants in the back, categorized by type of community (oak-hickory forest, mesic grassland, savanna, etc.). But I also took the advice of the book (and folks at GardenWeb) and learned about the native plants that actually live in my area now. I did this by using field guides and by exploring natural areas (state parks, etc.) to identify what was living in sites similar to mine. (2) As for your book's philosophy that non-invasive aliens are 'bad' too, I feel like that's a matter of semantics. The irises in my front yard non-native garden aren't actively 'bad' for the environment, but they don't do much good either (although you'd be surprised how many native insects and birds enjoy feasting on non-native plants). But for me the more important question is, what plants and animals have evolved together over thousands of years to form a community? These species have slowly pieced together a multi-faceted mosaic with countless connections and interrelationships. There are no places in the mosaic to fit non-native plants and animals - they fit into other mosaics, other communities, where they have evolved, usually far away from here. So one way of native plant gardening (and it is only one of many ways - your way is another) is to plant only those species that are part of the community that you've identified as native to your area and your site conditions. Then, the frustrating part is finding places that sell the plants you identified. (3) As for 'select aliens', I would ask around in the various GardenWeb forums covering your desired landscape type. Woodlands and Meadows & Prairies are two good ones. Folks there will probably steer you to natives, but you'll probably be able to get some advice about aliens/exotics that will behave themselves in among the natives. I've never heard of an invasive hosta, for example (watch someone prove me wrong!). Best of luck, wd

Are you in africanized territory then? Are you in New Mexico? (Is that what the nm in your username is?) I know plenty of older beekeepers and former beekeepers that experienced what you're talking about in the 70's and before (and I experienced it myself in New Zealand in the late 90's), but hives in non-africanized parts of the continental US just don't last anything like they used to. If you make enough splits or catch enough swarms (all of which amounts to significant work, evidenced by what swarms sell for) or buy enough replacements you can stay ahead of the losses (even without medications now, which really wasn't true for the first 10-15 years after the mites arrived), but it used to be hives would last for years and years all on their own (with swarming, but they'd requeen themselves quite reliably and keep going), and it's just a world of difference now. Feeding might be avoidable most of the time if you live in the right location with a good honey flow late enough in the year. Here, for example, our only significant honey flow comes in May, which leaves plenty of time for the bees to rob each other out or deplete their reserves before winter even starts. That can all be managed, potentially without supplemental feeding -- although that's generally decided by the large price difference between syrup and honey -- but either way it takes management. I'm curious, nm, not that I haven't interacted with enough beekeepers to know what can be expected -- I also worked on the retail end of a beekeeping supply business for about 8 years, and I've also traveled by volunteering short-term (about a week at a time) for other beekeepers (in FL, GA, and MS, as well as internationally) just for room and board, so I have plenty of exposure to plenty of different styles of beekeeping in various states and regions -- but how long would you say your average hive would survive if all you did was steal honey? Have you kept hives continuously for all your 9 years of experience?