Bee hotel. photo by Susan Chan
When it comes to flowers, field crops, fruit and vegetables, our native bees are the workhorses of the pollinator world. Find out more on January 24 in Ivanhoe, when the Hastings Stewardship Council hosts the first event in their 2019 Winter Speaker Series – Native Bees in Ontario: Introduction, Challenges, and Action.
Bee advocate Susan Willis Chan will present an intriguing story of diversity, starring our native bees. After years of bee research and field work, Susan has many photos to share and stories to tell about bee behaviour and the services bees provide to our backyards and farm crops.
Native bees are facing big challenges in agricultural environments. Susan will explain the foraging scenarios provided by farm crops, and the purposeful pollinator habitat created by farmers and others. The effects of insecticide exposure on bees, as well as pesticide exposure routes will be illustrated.
As past program manager at Farms at Work (www.farmsatwork.ca), Susan has worked with many landowners to help create and preserve healthy habitat for native bees, as her slides will demonstrate. Her tips for attracting bees and other beneficial insects to your property will help you create effective habitat for these natural pollinators. Susan will also share new scientific information from her own bee research.
Everyone is encouraged to come to hear the discussion on Native Bees in Ontario on Thursday, January 24 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Huntington Veterans Community Hall, 11379 Highway 62, in Ivanhoe, north of Belleville. Admission is $5 per person (or a donation) which will help cover costs. Children are free.
For more information, contact Ray Wellman at 613-848-7697 or info@hastingsstewardship.ca. For the Winter Speaker Series lineup, visit hastingsstewardship.ca.
Squash Bee. Photo by Sheila Potter
