Best websites and books about pollinators and native bees

Here are the best websites and books about pollinators and native bees in Michigan:

Web sites

Michigan State University http://nativeplants.msu.edu/publications.htm

Attracting Beneficial Insects With Native Flowering Plants. E-2973

Conserving Native Bees on Farmland. E-2985


Xerces Society http://www.xerces.org/guidelines/

Pollinator-Friendly Parks. How to Enhance Parks, Gardens, and other Greenspaces for Native Pollinator Insects

Pollinators in Natural Areas: A Primer on Habitat Management

Farming for Bees: Guidelines for Providing Native Bee Habitat on Farms


Books

Pollinator Conservation Handbook, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation,

Befriending Bumble Bees, A Practical Guide to Raising Local Bumble Bees, Elaine Evans et al., University of Minnesota Extension,

The Natural History of Bumblebees: A Sourcebook for Investigations, Carol A. Kearns and James D. Thomson, University Press of Colorado, 2001

Michigan researchers find 166 bee species on 15 blueberry farms‏

A study published in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America (March 2009) shows that wild bees are effective pollinators of food crops. (Farmers in Michigan raised more than 100 million pounds of blueberries in 2007. Each berry was pollinated by a bee.)

The article is available at http://www.entsoc.org/wildbees.htm.

In the article "Wild Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila) of the Michigan Highbush Blueberry Agroecosystem," authors Julianna K. Tuell (Michigan State University), John S. Ascher (American Museum of Natural History), and Rufus Isaacs (Michigan State University) report the results of a three-year study which took place on 15 southwestern Michigan blueberry farms. Using traps and direct observation, the authors identified 166 bee species, 112 of which were active during the blueberry blooming period. Many of these species visit more flowers per minute and deposit more pollen per visit than honey bees (Apis mellifera L.), and most of them are potential blueberry pollinators.

"This should help growers know what kinds of bees are in the fields so that they can make informed decisions about whether they should modify crop management practices in order to help conserve natural populations of bees," said Dr. Julianna Tuell.

Unlike honey bees, which live together in hives, most of the bees found by the authors were solitary bees that nest in the soil or in wood cavities. While soil-nesting bees may be difficult to manage, the authors see potential for cavity-nesting bees, such as several species of mason bees, to be managed by growers who can support their populations by providing nesting materials.

"Untreated bamboo or reeds are good materials because they provide natural variation in hole diameter to attract the broadest range of species," said Dr. Tuell. "There are also a number of commercially manufactured options that growers can use, such as foam blocks with pre-drilled holes and cardboard tubes made to a particular diameter to suit a particular species of interest. Drilling different sized holes in wood is another option. If a grower is interested in trying to build up populations of a particular species, there are also details about how to do so available online."

Besides blueberries, many of the species in this study also visit cherries, apples, and cranberries, and managed mason bees are already being used to pollinate cherry orchards.

Honeybee video shows pollination up close

While my primary interest is in bees native to the Americas, a video of honeybees shows nectar and pollen collection in breathtaking close ups.

Bees: tales from the hive (This program gives close-up views of honeybees in action - on flowers and inside their hive. The action photography is unparalleled. If you have any interest in honeybees this is a must-see.

Footage of bees' flower visits, with nectar and pollen collection, are breathtaking. The efforts of other creatures to enter the hive, and the bees' response, are vividly shown. Additional coverage inside the hive includes egg-laying, larval growth, and rivalry among would-be queens. Views of a mating flight are pristine.

The narration is American, and the photography is German. The location is somewhere in Europe. This is hardly noticeable in the first few minutes. But when the bee swarm enters a village, and the streetcar comes to a stop, you'll know this is not North America. The woodland sequence is more subtly European.

Seeing this you'll understand why honeybees have fascinated humans for millennia.