THIS THANKSGIVING, WHY NOT THANK A POLLINATOR?
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Photo: Daria Shevtsova, Pexels
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Blog by Phyllis Stiles, The Xerces Society
Did you know that one in every three bites of food we eat is courtesy of insect pollination? This includes not only tasty things like chocolate, pumpkins and cranberries, but also foods that provide us with a major proportion of essential micronutrients like vitamins A & C, iron, zinc, folate, amino acids and antioxidants. Even the alfalfa and clover that cows eat to produce milk—from which we make cheese, butter and ice cream—and beef, depend on pollinators.
So, as you scoot that cranberry sauce onto your bite of turkey, thank a bumble bee. And when you savor that pumpkin pie, thank a squash bee. If it’s served a la mode, thank a leafcutter bee for pollinating the dairy cow’s alfalfa. If you chase it with a cup of coffee, thank a tropical stingless bee or fly.
Happy Thanksgiving to pollinators and people!
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BEES, BUTTERFLIES, AND HUMANS, OH MY!
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The Sociology Behind How People Perceive and Value Pollinators
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A Bumble bee enjoying crimson clover at the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge in Mississippi. Photo: Shannon M. Westlake
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Guest Blog By Shannon M. Westlake, PhD, Mississippi State University
When someone says the buzz phrase “pollinator conservation” what is the first thing that comes to mind? Bees? Butterflies? Beetles? What about humans? The majority of native pollinator research efforts have focused on pollinator biology and ecology, rather than the sociology behind how people perceive and value pollinators. With my dissertation research, I went one step further. I studied landholder attributes affecting their decisions of whether or not to adopt pollinator best management practices. Over 1,400 landholders responded to my survey study. What I learned about the attributes influencing their involvement or lack there of in pollinator conservation was interesting and informative.
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XERCES PRESENTATIONS AND EVENTS NEAR YOU
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Xerces staff literally criss-cross the country making presentations about pollinator conservation. Here is a sampling of some upcoming events.
Check Xerces'
Events page
for updates and a full list of events.
Nov. 15
Join Angela Laws, Monarch and Pollinator Ecologist, and Sarah Hoyle, Pesticide Program Specialist with the Xerces Society, to learn more about western monarchs, native bees, and how to create meaningful habitat for these important insects in California. We will cover basic ecology and conservation status of western monarchs and native bees in California. We will also discuss threats to pollinators, including pesticide use and climate change. Finally, we will talk about how you can help pollinators and monarchs in your cities and towns, including discussion of plants that pollinators love.
Click
here
for more information and to register
Nov. 19
Join Phyllis Stiles, Bee City USA founder and Xerces Society pollinator champion, to learn about the plant and pollinator love affair that supports the reproduction of nearly ninety percent of the world’s flowering plant species. Responsible for 1 in 3 bites we eat, hundreds of thousands of species of bees, butterflies, bats, beetles, wasps, moths, birds, and flies have co-evolved with plants for their mutual benefit. With special emphasis on native bees, Stiles will explain why pollinators are declining and how each of us can help reverse those trends. This meeting includes a potluck dinner.
Click
here
for more information
Nov. 19
Join Eric Lee-Mader, Pollinator Program Co-Director with the Xerces Soceity, and Corin Pease, Pollinator Conservation Planner with the Xerces Society, for this full day workshop. This course will focus on concepts around protecting and enhancing populations of pollinators and beneficial insects in agricultural landscapes. This course will provide an overview of the farm practices that support pollinators and beneficial insects, such as protecting and creating habitat, modified horticultural practices, and advice on how to manage pests while protecting pollinators.
Click
here
for more information
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Photo: Rich Hatfield / Xerces Society
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Queen Quest
Have you ever wondered where bumble bees spend the winter? WE HAVE TOO! To help answer this question we are happy to announce a new project -- Queen Quest (
QueenQuest.org
).
Form a team, choose a spot and join us on 29 November 2019 (or another time that works for you this fall).
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Photo: Phyllis Stiles / Xerces Society
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Western Monarch Count
Join us! This year the Western Monarch count runs from Saturday November 16th through Sunday December 8th, 2019 & the New Year’s Count: Saturday December 28, 2019 through Sunday January 12, 2020.
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NOTEWORTHY NEWS FROM AFFILIATES
(& WannaBees!)
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A pollinator themed mural on a highway retaining wall created by Bee City Phoenix, Oregon.
Photo: Molly Martin / Xerces Society
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The best part of the Bee City USA network is that we are teaching and learning from one another how to mobilize our communities for pollinator conservation. After seven years of working with communities to conserve pollinators, Bee City USA has officially certified 100 cities! We are so excited to celebrate this landmark with all of the wonderful people whose hard work has brought us to this point.
Check the current
Bee City
and
Bee Campus
pages to see the most up-to-date lists of our combined 183 city and campus affiliates in 41 states.
Welcome to the most recent affiliates to join our network:
- Tualatin, Oregon
- Arlington, Texas
- Inver Hills Community College, Minnesota
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Bee City USA is an initiative of the Xerces Society. Our conservation work is powered by our donors. Your
tax deductible donation
will help us to protect the life that sustains us.
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Bee City USA, An Initiative of the Xerces Society | 503-232-6639 X. 127
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[email protected] | www.beecityusa.org
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