“The Rise of the City Bee—How Urbanites Built the 21st-Century Apiculture” When most of us think of beekeeping we imagine a rural landscape; perhaps a sprawling meadow filled with wildflowers and the wooden box beehives peppered within. However, Claire Cameron’s piece entitled The Rise of the City Bee- How Urbanites Built the 21st-Century Apiculture paints […]
BeeMachine
Community & Landscape Ecology: BeeMachine v1.0 An important part of bee conservation for gardeners and growers alike is the construction of bee-friendly spaces. A large part of creating a successful pollinator garden is to choose the right plants that will promote visitation. To do this, researchers have to figure out which plants are “attractive” to […]
Bee Neurology and Behavior
Insecticide exposure during brood or early-adult development reduces brain growth and impairs adult learning in bumble bees Social bees such as bumble bees are crucial pollinators whose populations are in decline. One of the reasons for the decline is thought to be exposure to certain pesticides. Commonly used pesticides, such as neonicotinoids, have been shown […]
Resources for Teachers for Pollinator Ecology
The Northeast Pollinator IPM (Integrated Pest Management) Working Group has put together a new website with resources for outreach and education related to pollinator ecology and plant-pollinator interactions! This includes lesson plans developed by PSU postdocs and grad students in collaboration with the Penn State Center for Science and the Schools, as well as some […]
Entomological Society of America Position Statement on Pollinator Health
Pollinators are vital components of natural and agricultural ecosystems. However, both managed and wild populations have environmental and economic value, and both are in decline. Multiple interacting factors cause decline such as pollutants, changes in land use, and climate change. The Entomological Society of America (ESA) has recently updated and rereleased their statement on pollinator [...]
Enjoy 25 Bee Facts on World Bee Day
Happy World Bee Day! Today marks World Bee Day. May 20 is marked as world bee day because it coincides with the birthday of Anton Janša, a pioneer beekeeper from Slovenia born in 1734. To celebrate World Bee Day, check out the 25 facts about American bees produced by the USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring [...]
Urban Greening for Bees: Bloom or Bust
As part of a three-part series on Urban Greening, The National Wildlife Magazine has published an article on gardening for bees in urban areas. In it, Laura Tangley describes the research behind gardening for urban bees, the status of pollinators, and what gardeners can do to help bees. She even gives our five-year research project [...]
World’s Largest Bee Is Not Extinct
Excerpt "The world’s largest bee may also be the planet’s most elusive. First discovered in 1859 by the prominent scientist Alfred Russel Wallace, nobody could locate it again, and it was presumed extinct. The female Megachile pluto, shown here in this drawing by Dr H Friese (1911), is covered with velvety black fur but she [...]
Penn State Center for Pollinator Research Partners with Discovery Space to Create the Hive
The Penn State Center for Pollinator Research is partnering with Discovery Space to develop and expand a new exhibit to educate young children about honey bees.
5 Ways You Can Offset Declining Bee Populations with Your Garden
As you plan your spring garden, consider adding pollinator-friendly trees and plants to provide food and habitat for bee populations that are in decline across the country and worldwide.