Ecology and Conservation of Bumble Bees for Bumble Bee Atlas Volunteers, April 15, 12PM-2PM. This webinar will cover the ecology and conservation needs of our bumble bees in much greater depth than we are able to present this material in the training workshops. We're also opening this event to everyone across 15 states who is a Xerces Society Bumble Bee Atlas project volunteer, so the material will not only be California-centered. We think this will be an excellent compliment to what you (will) have learned in the required training workshops! If you'd like to attend, please register.
The nearly fifty species of bumble bees in North America are highly efficient pollinators of our natural areas and farm fields, making them essential to ecosystem function. Unfortunately, substantial declines in widespread and formerly common species have been reported. Between climate change, the widespread use of pesticides, habitat loss, and the amplification and spread of diseases from commercial bees, bumble bees face an uphill challenge to recover from observed declines, and repopulate areas where they’ve been lost. In this webinar we will discuss bumble bee ecology, how that interacts with ongoing conservation issues, and what we can all do to help. The good news is that we can all contribute. Beyond participating in our Bumble Bee Atlas projects (bumblebeeatlas.org), protecting, creating, and restoring habitat is the key. We’ll discuss how to provide critical aspects of habitat to benefit each stage of the life cycle, whether you have a small porch, or manage several acres. While this webinar is directed toward our Bumble Bee Atlas volunteers, anyone is welcome to join. The webinar will be led by the bumble bee conservation crew at the Xerces Society: Rich Hatfield, Laurie Hamon, Katie Lamke, and Leif Richardson, who will be joined by Dr. Elaine Evans of the University of Minnesota.