Our Native Bees

Honey bees get all the press, but the fascinating story of North America’s native bees—species essential to our ecosystems and food supplies—is just as crucial.

Through interviews with farmers, gardeners, scientists, and bee experts, Paige Embry explores the importance of native bees and focuses on why they play a key role in gardening and agriculture. The people and stories are compelling: Embry goes on a bee hunt with the world expert on the likely extinct Franklin’s bumble bee, raises blue orchard bees in her refrigerator, and learns about an organization that turns the out-of-play areas in golf courses into pollinator habitats.

• Chapter 3 is dedicated to Osmia lignaria (our spring mason bees, also known as Blue Orchard Mason Bees) and Embry's visit to the small but growing Crown Bees warehouse.

"Embry’s captivating profiles ... are as entertaining as they are enlightening." Booklist