News — Nature

Each month our Bee Informed Blog highlights current news, science, and research related to solitary bee conservation, food insecurity, and sustainability. 1. "Students raising mason bees at Orcas School" (The Islands' Sounder) Orcas Master Gardeners Dray Longdon, Laura Walker, Tony Suruda and Nancy Forker visited the Orcas School Garden on Oct. 6 to help the 5th-grade students harvest cocoons of mason bees and prepare them for winter storage. Mason bees are native pollinators that nest in cavities. They harvested nesting tubes that have been at the school from April through October. Mason bees, along with bumble bees, are important early spring pollinators...

Each month our Bee Informed Blog highlights current news, science, and research related to solitary bee conservation, food insecurity, and sustainability. 1. Native Bees Climb Social Ladder (County News) A native bee which nests in tree-fern fronds is helping scientists understand how life developed to be social and altruistic — and how bees evolved to purposefully hatch sterile young, a fact which defies Darwin’s natural selection theory. The Australian bee Amphylaeus morosus only recently made the jump from being a solitary species to a social one — which made them a perfect, and rare, animal to put under the metaphorical microscope. The...

Pollinator Week is an annual celebration in support of pollinator health that was initiated and is managed by our friends at Pollinator Partnership. It is a time to raise awareness for pollinators and spread the word about what we can do to protect them. The great thing about Pollinator Week is that you can celebrate and get involved any way you like! Popular events include planting for pollinators, hosting garden tours, participating in online bee and butterfly ID workshops, and so much more. Visit Pollinator Partnership's website for a list of activities and resources to help you celebrate Pollinator Week! We've also created...

As you may have noticed, much of the country has been experiencing an abnormally long, cool, and wet spring, which has led to a reduction in the number of completed, capped nesting cavities by mason bees. Mason bees are hearty insects that will fly in cooler temperatures and even drizzle. Still, extended periods of temps in the 40s and continuous rain will keep even the most determined mason bees from flying. If that wasn't enough, this year's weather has led to a phenological mismatch. Phenology is the relationship between environmental conditions and biological processes such as bloom timing for flowing...