Pollinators come in all sizes and shapes from bees and butterflies to moths, beetles, and flies. You will even find that birds and bats fall into this category of “pollinators”. In last place would be man with his paintbrushes and gadgets to try and mimic that which happens in nature.
I believe the best way we can help is to educate ourselves and others on identifying and understanding how these pollinators work in our gardens and neighborhoods. Today’s blog is a comprised list of web sources and books compiled by Dr. Kimberly Stoner that we can affectionately call “All about Bees”.
Information on Bees and Ways to Help Them
Dr. Kimberly Stoner
Planting for Bees and Managing Nest Sites for Native Bees
Eco-Regional Planting Guides: http://www.pollinator.org/guides.htm
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (Focus on native bees and native plants)
Many resources available here (Fact sheets for Farms, Parks, Roadsides, Schools, Natural Areas)
http://www.xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/
Regional information for the Northeast (includes Plant Lists, Nurseries with Native Plants, Native Bee Nest Management Guides, Bee Identification and Monitoring Resources) http://www.xerces.org/pollinators-northeast-region/
Nest Box fact sheet: http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/nests_for_native_bees_fact_sheet_xerces_society.pdf
Book: Attracting Native Pollinators
http://www.xerces.org/announcing-the-publication-of-attracting-native-pollinators/
US Department of Agriculture Publications
New England NRCS Pollinator Handbook http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_010204.pdf
Gardening for Native Bees in Utah and Beyond (information on attractiveness of many garden plants to bees) http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/20800500/Gardening.pdf
Sustaining Native Bee Habitat For Crop Pollination http://plants.usda.gov/pollinators/Agroforestry_Sustaining_Native_Bee_Habitat_for_Crop_Pollination.pdf
Improving Forage For Native Bee Crop Pollinators
http://plants.usda.gov/pollinators/Improving_Forage_for_Native_Bee_Crop_Pollinators.pdf
Enhancing Nest Sites for Native Bee Crop Pollinators http://plants.usda.gov/pollinators/Enhancing_Nest_Sites_For_Native_Bee_Crop_Pollinators.pdf
Native Bee Images, Observation, Identification, and Monitoring
Encyclopedia of Life – Bee Observer Cards: http://eol.org/info/disc_observer
Discover Life: Online interactive key for bee identification: http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Apoidea
Bug Guide – Insect images. Hymenoptera (Bees, Wasps, Ants, Sawflies) http://bugguide.net/node/view/59
Beautiful close-ups of bees and other insects: http://www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/sets/
Pennsylvania Citizen Science Bee Monitoring Guide and Pocket Guide
http://www.xerces.org/download/pdf/PA_Xerces%20Guide.pdf
http://www.xerces.org/download/pdf/PA_Pocket_Guide.pdf
Key for bee genera of Eastern Canada
http://cjai.biologicalsurvey.ca/pgs_03/pgs_03.html
Stinging Insects: Wasps and Bees
Yellowjackets: http://www.ct.gov/caes/lib/caes/documents/publications/fact_sheets/entomology/yellowjackets_2013_pdf.pdf
Nuisance Wasps and Bees: http://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/insects/nuisance-wasps-and-bees-5-525/
Honey Bees
Marla Spivak’s TED Talk: Why Bees are Disappearing
http://www.ted.com/talks/marla_spivak_why_bees_are_disappearing.html
Bee Informed Project: Using beekeepers’ real world experience to solve real world problems
https://beeinformed.org/
National eXtension website on Bee Health: http://www.extension.org/bee_health
US Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency Report on the National Stakeholders Conference on Honey Bee Health
http://www.usda.gov/documents/ReportHoneyBeeHealth.pdf
Books:The Beekeeper’s Handbook by Diane Sammataro and Alphonse Avitable
Natural Beekeeping: Organic Approaches to Modern Apiculture by Ross Conrad
Garden Plants for Honey Bees by Peter Lindtner, Wicwas Press
Bumble Bees
Bumble Bee Watch: http://bumblebeewatch.org/
Xerces: Conserving Bumble Bees: http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/conserving_bb.pdf
Eastern bumble bees http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/Eastern_Bumble_Bee.pdf
North American bumble bees http://www.bumblebee.org/NorthAmerica.htm
Books:
A Sting in the Tale: My Adventures with Bumblebees by Dave Goulson (popular book)
Bumblebees: Behaviour, Ecology, and Conservation by Dave Goulson (scientific book)
Pesticides
US EPA – Evaluating Risks of Pesticides to Pollinators
https://www.epa.gov/pollinator-protection/how-we-assess-risks-pollinators
Xerces Publications on Pesticides: http://www.xerces.org/pesticides/
Are Neonicotinoids Killing Bees? A Review of Research into the Effects of Neonicotinoid Insecticides on Bees, with Recommendations for Action
http://www.xerces.org/neonicotinoids-and-bees/
Beyond the Birds and the Bees: Effects of Neonicotinoid Insecticides on Agriculturally Important Beneficial Insects
http://www.xerces.org/beyond-the-birds-and-the-bees/
USDA –Pesticide Considerations for Native Bees in Agroforestry: https://plants.usda.gov/pollinators/Pesticide_Considerations_For_Native_Bees_In_Agroforestry.pdf
Resources on Native Plants in the Landscape
Connecticut Botanical Society – Gardening with Native Plants
https://www.ct-botanical-society.org/Gardens/view
Connecticut Native Shrubs for Beautiful Landscapes
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/cipwg/pdfs/CTNativeShrubList_Lubell.pdf
Connecticut Native Trees for Beautiful Landscapes
http://cag.uconn.edu/plsc/plsc/People/Faculty/Lubell_28_1457177207.pdf
Wild Ones http://www.wildones.org/
The Meadow Project http://themeadowproject.com/
Books:
Pollinators of Native Plants by Heather Holm
Native Plants of the Northeast: A Guide for Gardening and Conservation by Donald J. Leopold
Urban and Suburban Meadows: Bringing Meadowscaping to Big and Small Spaces by Catherine Zimmerman
The New England Wild Flower Society Guide to Growing and Propagating Wildflowers of the United States and Canada by William Cullina (and similar books for trees, shrubs, and vines)
Designing Gardens with Flora of the American East by Carolyn Summers
Links to More Information on the CT Agricultural Experiment Station Website
CAES Factsheets, information from our conference, Successfully Establishing Plants for Pollinators, and more: http://www.ct.gov/caes/cwp/view.asp?a=2826&q=578322&caesNav=|
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
123 HUNTINGTON STREET, P.O. BOX 1106, NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT 06504
Putting Science to Work for Society
Protecting Agriculture, Public Health, and the Environment
Founded 1875
Phone: (203) 974-8500 Fax: (203) 974-8502
Toll Free: 1-(877) 855-2237
WWW.CT.GOV/CAES
