The Great Native Bee Count: Mapping California’s Bee and Plant Connections
Crowdfunding Underway
The E.L. Niño Bee Lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, has launched a UC Davis Crowdfund effort to fund "The Great Native Bee Count: Mapping California’s Bee and Plant Connections."
The project, affiliated with the UC Davis Bee Haven, will begin next spring and is geared toward engaging "Californians of all ages as community scientists documenting the relationships between bees and the flowering plants that sustain them."
The crowdfunding ends at 11:59 p.m., Oct. 31. This is the link to donate to the Bee Research Fund to make this all happen.
There are more than 20,000 bee species throughout the world; more than 4000 in the United States, and more than 1600 in California.
As explained on the crowdfund page:
"California is home to more than 1,600 species of native bees, alongside managed honey bees that support our agricultural landscapes. The Great Native Bee Count is being developed to engage Californians of all ages as community scientists documenting the relationships between bees and the flowering plants that sustain them.
"Gifts to our campaign will provide research support for the E. L. Niño Bee Lab, including our current priority of putting community science tools into people’s hands to generate valuable bee and floral resource data.
"The project will guide participants in using their phones to record flowering plants, when and where they see them, and, when possible, photograph visiting bees. Together, these observations will help answer a simple question: What bee is visiting what plant, where, and when?
"Our goal is to contribute useful observations to existing biodiversity and community science databases while building a richer picture of California’s bee and plant interactions across regions and seasons.
"The project builds on UC Davis Bee Haven’s network of more than 5,000 community members, providing a strong foundation for statewide participation.
"What we notice, we can better understand.
"Your support will help put practical tools and science-based guidance into people’s hands while contributing to a growing understanding of California’s bees, flowering plants, and forage landscapes. This knowledge can benefit pollinators, native bee stewards, beekeepers, growers, researchers, land managers, educators, and communities statewide."
UC Davis Bee Haven
The UC Davis Bee Haven, a half-acre demonstration garden installed in the fall of 2009, is directed by bee scientist Elina Niño, professor of Cooperative Extension, Apiculture, and a member of the Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty. She founded and directs the California Master Beekeeper Program.
The garden, open to the public from dawn to dusk (free admission), is located next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facilty on Bee Biology Road. Samantha Murray serves as the education and garden coordinator.
The late UC Davis Distinguished Emeritus Professor Robbin Thorp (1933-2019) identified more than 80 different species of native bees in the garden. The bee families: Andrenidae, Apidae, Colletidae, Halictidae, and Megachilidate.
For more information on the Bee Research Fund or the haven, contact [email protected].