Bee Aware: Celebrating Pollinator Week with Zia Queenbees’ Melanie Kirby

Happy Pollinator Week (June 16-22, 2025)! We reached out to Melanie Kirby, a beekeeper from Tortugas Pueblo, who runs Zia Queenbees in northern New Mexico, and we’re buzzing from excitement when Melanie agreed to a quick interview.

Since 2005, Melanie has raised strong queen bees and starter hives that can handle the tough Southwest climate. Zia Queenbees’ work has helped pollinate crops locally and across the country with their over 50 years of experience of professional bee breeding and outreach. Melanie also teaches tribal youth how to care for bees and works with the Institute of American Indian Arts to support Native-led farming. She was recently chosen to help advise the USDA on protecting pollinators. 

What are some easy things homeowners in New Mexico can do to create a more bee-friendly environment in their yards or gardens?

Homeowners and renters can look to plant a variety of pollinator-friendly blooms throughout the warm season and avoid using toxic pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and rodenticides. For those without a backyard or garden space, planting in a container garden or on window sill pots can also provide some much-needed food for pollinators. 

Are there particular native plants or flowers that are especially good for supporting pollinators in our desert and high desert climate?

Finding plants that are acclimated to our arid climate can minimize the need to water regularly. Planting perennials can bring long lasting and yearly blooms for pollinators such as trees, shrubs, and some forbs (flowering plants). Finding untreated, and non-systemically treated seeds is essential. Look to find locally acclimated options and heirloom seeds at native plant nurseries. Some of my favorite blooms include: Rocky Mountain Bee Plant (Cleomella serrulata), Globe mallow (Sphaeralcea procera), New Mexico locust trees (Robinia neomexicana, Apache plume (Fallugia paradoxa), and Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) to name a few…

What common gardening practices unintentionally harm bees, and what alternatives would you recommend?

Common gardening practices that unintentionally harm bees are broad spectrum spraying of any toxic chemical which can include pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and rodenticides. Toxic residues can contaminate the pollen and nectar sources for bees and other pollinators who are relying on nutritious plants. Another common practice is to have a bird bath which bees can fall into. By placing some “floating islands” such as sticks or a few pebbles or colored marbles in the bath, bees will be able to use those as landing pads so they don’t fall in and drown. 

How do bees contribute to the strength and resilience of New Mexico’s local food systems—especially with crops like chile, squash, and fruit trees?

Bees and other pollinator species including butterflies, moths, beetles, bats, and birds all assist in providing essential ecological services such as pollination which not only helps to produce our favorite foods but also food for wildlife including mammals, reptiles and even fish. Squash bees are important floral specialists in agriculture, and belong to native solitary bees of two genera, Peponapis and Xenoglossa. Some fruit trees rely on wind, pollinators, or humans for pollination as pollen needs to be moved from the anther to the stigma in order to become fertilized which then allows the tree to bear fruit. Chile can self-fertilize – meaning that they do not require multiple plants (male and female), but they do need pollinator support to move the pollen on their plant – which is sometimes accomplished by sonification or the beating of bees’ wings. 

Can you share how climate change and drought conditions in New Mexico are affecting bee populations and their behavior?

Phenology is the study of the timing of nature and when climate is altered, then the timing of blooms, and the entirety of biological cycles can be impacted. With shifting climate scenarios and extremes, plants and animals, including pollinators will be affected. In some extreme cases, some solitary bees may emerge before blooms or vice versa, and so pollination can be missed and nutrition not available for the next generation of bees and plants. 

What role do wild bees play compared to managed honeybees in pollinating crops here in the Southwest?

All bees play vital roles. What many may not realize is that though we consider honey bees to be exotic and not from this area, fossil evidence found in Nevada dating 14 million years old demonstrates that North America did indeed have its own honey bee species- which they call Apis nearctica so today’s contemporary honey bees (Apis mellifera) are considered to be “re-introduced.” In places where today’s honey bees are considered endemic, they also coexist with a variety of solitary and eusocial/social bee species. The bees are not to blame for oversaturation and over-reliance. I often describe honey bees as exploited poster-children of pollinators which they never chose to be. However, honey bees have enraptured cultures around the globe for millenia and they are generalist pollinators so they are quite adaptive to different landscapes- from coastal to desert to tundra landscapes and everything in between where flowering plants exist. Many solitary bee species are floral specific so they have coevolved to exist on one floral source and are only active for a few weeks. There is a need for all kinds of bees and the main needs for all of them are for healthy forage. The main issues they all experience are related to the 4 Ps: Poor nutrition, Pesticides, Pests, and Pathogens so providing healthy and nutritious forage for them is essential for them to have healthy immune systems and life cycles. 

Are there any local programs or community efforts in New Mexico that support pollinator health or educate the public on their importance?

There are several programs in our state that help to raise awareness and encourage healthy pollinator habitat and stewardship including the Institute of American Indian Arts, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, the NM Beekeepers Association, Think Like a Bee, and Poeh Povi: The Flower Path Indigenous Matriarch Collective. There is also the NM Pollinator Protection Plan Working Group which is developing state-wide recommendations for supporting  diverse pollinators and healthy habitats. 

For folks with a little land they can farm—whether in a rural or semi-rural part of NM—what steps would you recommend to support bees on a small farm or homestead?

Integrating pollinator floral oasis plots and pollinator corridors can help pollinators to find healthy forage. 

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As Pollinator Week reminds us, we all have a role to play in helping bees and other pollinators thrive. One easy way to support them is by buying local honey from New Mexico farmers—this helps both bees and beekeepers. You can also support groups like the NM Beekeepers Association, Think Like a Bee, and the Institute of American Indian Arts, which work to protect pollinators and teach others about their importance. And don’t forget: shopping at New Mexico farmers’ markets helps keep local farms going strong, many of which rely on pollinators to grow the foods we love like chile, squash, and fruit. Let’s keep working together to make New Mexico a safe and healthy place for pollinators!