Should you keep bees?
This post was originally published on the pollinators.msu.edu website: https://pollinators.msu.edu/resources/beekeepers/shouldyoukeepbees/ In Michigan, we have a lovely rare bird called the Kirtland Warbler. It used to be endangered, but with decades of habitat restoration programs and breeding efforts the population is now in better health. If you wanted to help the Kirtland Warbler, you would help put in habitat (Jack pine forests), or you would donate to a conservation fu
Pollinators feed you. What can you do for them?
If you’ve been keeping up with previous posts on the Great Lakes, Great Bees Blog, you already know that bees are very diverse and also very important for our crops and natural ecosystems. In fact, there are over 20,000 bee species in the world and over 450 different bee species in Michigan alone. With this diversity comes many different roles. Some bees are specialists, like the squash bee (Peponapsis pruinosa), meaning that they pollinate just one or a few different plants.
Great Lakes Pollinator Health Project
Dr. Rufus Isaacs (Dept. of Entomology, Michigan State University) and collaborators are currently working on a USDA-NIFA funded project investigating pollinator health in Michigan. This project came about because of increasing concern over documented declines in honey bees, wild bees, and other pollinators. Declines in pollinator populations have been reported around the world, but the Great Lakes region has been of specific concern due to loss of natural habitat. Below, Koh
