The Buzz On Bees

While going through my hard drive looking for photos to upload to my photo blog I've noticed a trend. I spend a lot of time in the garden photographing the bees that visit. I think I've mentioned here before that my favorite pollinator in my urban garden is the bumblebee but until recently I hadn't noticed that I had quite the bee fetish that my photographs seem to indicate I have. This epiphany of mine has lead to me deciding I want to be part of the solution and do my part in protecting bees. Below you'll find a number of links that you can visit if you want to become involved too. Your recommendations would be greatly appreciated.



Participation:

BeeSpotter-"Partnership between citizen-scientists and the professional science community designed to educate the public about pollinators by engaging them in a data collection effort of importance to the nation." Average people like you and I photograph bees in our areas and help create a tally of variety of bees found in Illinois. There is probably a similar effort in your state.

The Great Sunflower Project-Get free sunflower seeds to plant in your garden. Keep a count of the bees you find in your garden and enter the tally online.

Pollination Canada-Become a Pollinator Observer anywhere flowers grow and submit your information.

Bee groups & blogs:

Chicago Honey Co-op
Solitary Bees
Longworth Allotment Apiary Group

Resources/Information:

Bumblebee Conservation Trust-UK
American Beekeeping Federation-US
Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees-U.S.
Go Beekeeping-Info for the hobby beekeeper
North American Pollinator Protection Campaign
Creating Homes That Please America's Wild Bees
Urbane Bee Gardens-Great website with lots of information for attracting bees
The Xerces Society-International, nonprofit that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat.
BeeProf-Portal of bee related news.
Gardening for Bees -Recommended plant list if you want to turn your garden into a bee garden.
Google For Gardeners-My Google Custom Search Engine. I used to search for the info listed here.

Chicago Public Radio: Effects of Bee Colony Collapse Disorder

Native Bees: Meet Your Neighbors-Chicago Wilderness Magazine article on the native bee species in Illinois.

I'll be making this post on bees a permanent link in the header and updating it as I come across more information. If you have any suggestions for links and projects like the BeeSpotter & The Great Sunflower Project leave a comment or use the contact form to drop me a message. The threat that bees are facing is a worldwide problem so links don't have to be specific to Chicago or the U.S.