Tag Archives: pollinator conservation
Fascinating facts about wasps, hornets: How to get along with these beneficial bugs
Murder hornets may make the headlines because of their frightening name, but they are not in Texas. So, let’s talk about wasps and hornets and precautions you can take to avoid stings. All wasps and hornets are beneficial, said Wizzie Brown, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service entomologist, Austin. Homeowners can appreciate that they protect gardens and landscapes from pests like caterpillars, spiders and aphids and pollinate blooming plants, but a sudden sting can erase that goodwill quickly. Brown said wasps and hornets are focused on building nests and rearing young in… Read More →
The Native Mason Bee
Want to take steps to support a locally found, native pollinating insect? Consider the Mason bee With national pollinator week approaching later this month, it is important to recognize the variety of pollinators that exist in addition to Honey bees. For those who want to take steps to support a locally found, native pollinating insect, consider the Mason bee. Mason bees are major pollinators of orchards and some commercial crops, but you can sometimes find them buzzing around a backyard garden. All told, there are 140 species of… Read More →
New books on bees
If bookstores are any indication, it seems bees are getting lots of love these days. Lots of new resources and references are available on bees. So I thought I would share a few of the resources that I know of that might be of interest to any of you looking to expand your knowledge of these important insects. The Bees in Your Backyard, A Guide to North America’s Bees by Joseph S. Wilson & Olivia J. Messinger Carril. Princeton Univ. Press. I just ordered my copy, it looks… Read More →
What’s all the buzz about insect hotels?
Insect pollinators seem to be receiving some overdue attention these days. Pollinator insects provide incalculable services to humans via increased fruit production and crop pollination. According to the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service, 3/4 of the world’s flowering plants and about 35 percent of the world’s food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce. This new interest in bees is resulting in a renaissance of a sorts in creative ideas for attracting and sheltering pollinator insects in backyards and parks and even hotels. In European hotels and hostels I’m told… Read More →
Powwowing about pollinators
Pollinator protection has become almost trendy recently. One of the spin offs of the honey bee controversy over CCD, is that the spotlight has come to rest not just on honey bees, but on all insects that pollinate plants. And this is a good thing. Today nearly everyone at some point is taught in school, or via Discovery Channel, that bees pollinate flowers; but I’ll wager that relatively few understand what this really means to all of us. Pollination is the biological process by which female plant parts are… Read More →