Melissodes bimaculatus, two-spotted longhorned bee, on composite flower.

This summer Texas A&M AgriLife is conducting a citizen science project to document the preferred host plants of Texas & Oklahoma pollinators. In the process some energetic volunteers and I will be learning a lot more about how to plant a successful pollinator garden.

Last week I presented information about pollinators and how the project works to volunteers in the Dallas area.  If you are signed up as a volunteer, but missed the training, an edited version of the training is available here https://youtu.be/JfSpwlYcM3s  This training should prepare you to jump in and start recording data today.

• • Click here to get copies of the 2019 OK-TX Pollinator Data Sheet
  • Click here to get a copy of the TOPP Pollinator Project ID Guide that will provide written instructions for filling out the data sheet and pictures of the different pollinators you are likely to encounter.

If you are already an Extension volunteer (Master Gardener or Master Naturalist) and would like to be part of the research, you can still sign up by clicking on this link.

If you are not an Extension Master volunteer, but would like to learn more about our bees and other pollinators, you may find the first part of the video instructive.  Also, why not consider a longer term volunteer role with Extension? This is just one example of the many interesting projects our Texas Master Gardeners and Texas Master Naturalists get involved in every year.