#bees habitat

[20may]

Raising awareness of bees' contributions to environmental and social resilience.

“World Bee Day has contributed significantly to raising awareness of the importance of bees and other pollinators and to promoting international cooperation to protect them,” said Nataša Pirc Musar, President of the Republic of Slovenia.

Her country initiated the establishment of a World Bee Day in 2016 at an FAO regional conference for Europe and co-created more than 300 pollinator projects with partners on all continents, she said.

For its part, the United Nations marked World Bee Day 2023 with an FAO-hosted global ceremony emphasizing the importance of these hard-working pollinators. 

Under the theme of pollinator-friendly agricultural production, the event drew attention to the threats endangering these insects and the need to address them.

On Monday, an event at United Nations Headquarters will showcase best practices and innovative projects with a view to raising awareness of bees' contributions to environmental and social resilience.

“Protecting bees and other pollinators is essential to guarantee agricultural production, food security, ecosystems restoration, and plant health,” FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said.

As beekeeper Ms. Moreno Veliz said, “bees are extremely intelligent insects. They are beautiful animals.”

[boo-seb]

Seb detailing his biodiversity projects [2024-10-16]

[dandelionsresilience]

Dandelion News - October 22-28

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my Dandelion Doodles on Patreon!

1. Industrial wastelands to wildlife oases: Five nature wins that have actually worked

“[An archipelago in the Indian ocean] experienced a major whale comeback after signing up to a debt for nature swap[….] In Sri Lanka's capital of Colombo, local efforts have transformed what was once a rubbish dump to a wetland teeming with [wildlife….]”

2. Louisville launches America’s first 100% electric garbage truck fleet

““These innovative EV collection trucks will fulfill our trash, compost and recycling needs, reduce noise pollution, and include larger windshields to increase each driver’s field of vision and lower greenhouse gas emissions[….]” [The trucks are equipped with] audible devices that alert nearby drivers and pedestrians to compensate for their quieter operations.”

3. How a nearly extinct crocodile species returned from the brink in Cambodia

“By the late nineties, [Siamese crocodiles] were thought to be extinct. […] Today there are about 1,000 Siamese crocodiles in the wild[….] The first crocodiles were reintroduced into the wild in 2012 and they have begun breeding in the wild: over a hundred eggs were discovered in the forests in July, the most so far.”

4. Before his death, this conservative combat veteran filmed a PSA advocating for his transgender son

““Eric [“a conservative South Carolina U.S. Army combat veteran and father of a transgender child”] believed in the importance of freedom for trans kids — the right to live authentically and without fear,” [his widow] said. “He saw this not as a political issue but as a human one, recognizing that every child deserves the chance to thrive and feel whole.”” [Curator’s note: obviously, utmost condolences to Eric’s family; I’m including this as good news because it’s impactful to see a respectable member of the political party more often known for transmisia instead publicly advocating for his son’s human - not just political - rights]

5. Azores to create largest Marine Protected Area in North Atlantic – and a 'blueprint' for the rest of the world

““The Azores’ waters are a hotspot for marine life, hosting a third of the world's whale and dolphin species,[…” and harbouring] “cold-water corals and sponge fields that act as nurseries and feeding grounds for countless species, from deep-sea sharks to commercially valuable fish stocks.””

6. ‘It’s a big lever for change’: the radical contract protecting Hamburg’s green space

“Citizen power forced Germany’s greenest city-state into a binding agreement balancing housing and nature[….] The authorities signed an agreement with the citizen’s initiative to protect 30% of Hamburg’s land area – 10% as untouchable nature reserves and 20% with a looser conservation status – and ensure the share of public green space in the city rises over time.”

7. Behind the Scenes at the Federal Bee Lab Powered by Native Plants

“Once native plants reappeared at the lab, he says, the impact was dramatic. In the first year, many of the region’s 200 native bee species arrived in droves. [… B]irds Droege had never before seen on the premises began to turn up to feed on the native plant seeds[….]”

8. Atlanta neighborhood hired case manager to address rising homelessness. It's improving health and safety for everyone

“Michael Nolan, an Intown Cares social worker, is trained in an approach that emphasizes individual autonomy and dignity, recognizes that being homeless is a traumatic experience, and prioritizes access to housing. [… H]iring a social worker has enabled East Atlanta Village to resolve conflicts gently, through conversation and negotiation.”

9. Loggerhead Sea Turtle Nests Make a Remarkable Comeback in Greece

“As long-lived and migratory species, [loggerheads] contribute to the health of seagrass beds and coral reefs, which are vital habitats for many marine organisms. Their nesting activities also contribute to beach ecosystems and help promote biodiversity.”

10. Rapid genome analysis of a Whippet sighthound sets new standard for biodiversity research

“[Scientists] have sequenced and analyzed the complete genome of a Whippet sighthound in less than a week. […] Rapid analysis is increasingly important for the conservation of endangered species, [… giving] insights into their biological relationships, evolution and adaptations to environmental conditions.”

October 15-21 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[ribesaureum]

There is a lovely patch of milkweed at work that just bloomed

In the western US sagebrush steppe ecosystem milkweed are one of the top plants associated with insect diversity (sagebrush comes in first, which is unsurprising as the entire ecosystem is named after it)

There has been a huge push in recent years to plant milkweed, as it helps the Monarch Butterfly, but just like other pushes to restore habitat for a specific species, this also helps so many other species.

Three species of bee in one frame! The abundance of species was glorious.

A red-femored milkweed borer beetle

Nevada Bumblebee

A striped sweat bee

A hairy footed scolid wasp

Cobalt milkweed beetle

Unknown bee species

American sand wasp

....and more

Small changes to human spaces can bring about such big results and it gives me such hope.

[trans-xianxian]

did you know that china has two thirds of the world's honey bee species and 20% of all bumblebee diversity. they have one of the most diverse pollinator populations in the world and as a country china produces a lot of the world's honey. what I'm saying is bee keeper wei wuxian is very feasible

[rebeccathenaturalist]

I made it to the post office to pick up my packages, and look what arrived! The first batch of paperbacks of Butterflies, Bees, Birds, and Bats: A Quick Introduction to Pollinators! You can pick up a paperback for $6 plus shipping at https://rebeccalexa.com/pollinators/, and if you want the ebook for free, join my monthly email newsletter at https://rebeccalexa.com/news-updates/

(Reblogs okay and encouraged - thank you! Also thank you for the reminder about the image ID. I'm pretty good at remembering it in my longer posts, but I sometime forget for these little one-offs.)

[bumblingest-bee]

i just referred, out loud, to applying for a non-theatre job as "auditioning" and. i think there might be something wrong with me

[ghostoffuturespast]

22 September 2023 - Friday Field Notes

Field work is not glamorous.

It doesn’t matter what field you work in. Often times you’re outside for hours on end, the weather doesn’t cooperate when you need it too, you’re covered in sweat, in dirt, you’re overworked, you’re underpaid, your organization is understaffed, you don’t have the resources or the equipment you need to do the work, and trying to get people to give a shit and effect the change that needs to happen is a perpetual uphill battle that rivals Sisyphus’s eternal punishment. But you adapt, you improvise, and you do the work anyway.

Because it’s important. Because it matters. To me. To you. And to every living thing on this planet. You do it so things can grow and thrive.

Part of my job doing restoration work is removal and management of invasive species, like this Mullein pictured above. Now, Mullein is a plant that originated in Europe and Asia and was brought over to North America for cultivation purposes.

However, it didn't originate in the ecosystems in N. America, didn't evolve along with the local flora and fauna, it has no biological checks in the Great Plains to keep it from overrunning an area like it would in Europe or Asia. Not having any biological checks allows species to create monocultures, which isn't great because it reduces the overall biodiversity of an ecosystem, making it less robust and unable to support the vast array of wildlife you should find in a given area. Some species in the Great Plains do utilize the Mullein as a resource, but again, since it didn't evolve here many species are essentially losing food and habitat because of this plant.

Monocultures also reduce the effectiveness of a habitat's ecosystem services that help support life for all living organisms. Including us. Clean air, clean water, nutrient rich soil to support the growth of food, capturing carbon to sequester to reduce climate change... All reliant on biodiversity. All reliant on populations of native plants.

It's not enough to just remove invasive species though. You can't take something out, without putting something back in. Good land management and stewardship practices should also restore ecosystems. Rabbitbrush and Rocky Mountain Bee Plant are both species that are native to my local area, and are a resource for all manner of species.

And that Bee Plant, we planted that last season. It was the only one that grew, but look at all the seed pods on that thing! Hopefully those seeds will go on to make even more Bee Plants and support even more wildlife!

I watched this documentary series last week for work and I'd highly recommend it. It's about the native seed supply chain in the western United States for restoration efforts. A really large area, that needs as much helps as it can get.

https://ser-insr.org/native-seed-film - You can watch it in sections, or they have a couple of different lengths depending on the time you have. But if you only have 12 minutes to give, for sure watch the introduction.

Now, I'd like to point out, these large scale efforts are important, but restoration efforts don't have to be big or elaborate. If you have a spare planting pot or a backyard, you have the ability to restore native habitat. You can bring those ecosystems to you. And it doesn't necessarily require you tearing out your whole yard or sacrificing the plants you do grow.

It may require a bit more homework (you're gonna have to research what plants are native to where you live), and some trial and error, but there are a lot of gorgeous native plants out there that require very little work once they're established compared to "traditional" garden plants.

Humans have carved out huge swathes of land for our own purposes, often to the detriment of other living things and ourselves. We've destroyed entire habitats and ecosystems due to human vanity and simply walked away. Cut our losses. Those habitats and ecosystems are lost. But the land is not gone. And who's to say all those things that are lost can't be found.

It's not easy work, but with some compassion, and a little bit of knowledge, and the willingness to be patient, perhaps we can weave the land back together. Not the way it was, but rather better.

A ghost can dream, right? And perhaps this Pronghorn does too.

It's hard to appreciate the subtle beauty of the prairie. It's not a forest. Not the ocean. Most people might only see grass and not see the richness. The diversity. But I've done a shit-ton of digging this week to try and install a native plant garden.

Field work, manual labor and sweating outside with a shovel, is not glamorous.

But I'm doing this so people can hopefully see the beauty of the prairie, so they can see the beauty in the land around them and perhaps consider planting some native plants of their own. So every living thing out here, big or small, can have a home.

And here's a Megacyllene (sp?), probably a Locust Borer Beetle. It has wasp stripes to dissuade predators from trying to eat it.

[the-habitat-ring]

Can you spot the native bumblebee on my hairy penstemon (penstemon hirsutus)?

Native plants like penstemons are vital for supporting native pollinators like bumblebees.

[riseupriseupandcomealong]

every time someone in north america says they want to save the bees and then they put a honeybee hive in their yard and/or “revamp” their brush pile or bare ground spot by planting flowers i cry. okay i’m done bee posting for now

[blujayonthewing]

unfortunately spiders are a pretty popular part of traditional gnomish cuisine

[20may]

Pollinator-friendly practices include crop rotation and diversity, reducing the use of pesticides, and restoring and protecting their habitat.

Ensuring bee health is a goal of the United Nations food agency, especially in light of threats against them, including unsustainable agriculture, pesticide abuse, and intensive monoculture production.

Pollination is essential for the maintenance of plant biodiversity, the survival of the world’s ecosystems, with about 75 percent of crops – which produce fruits and other seeds for human consumption – depending, at least in part, on pollinators, including bees, FAO said.

Pollinator-friendly practices include crop rotation and diversity, reducing the use of pesticides, and restoring and protecting their habitat. Even the adoption of precision agriculture tools and innovation can protect bees, the agency said.

To help to better protect the pollinators, the agency hosted and co-organized on Thursday the second International Symposium on Biosecurity in Beekeeping, bringing participants up to date on the latest developments in bee biosecurity and the initiatives that the international organizations involved are applying in different areas of the world to ensure bee health.

[b-blushes]

mwah ha ha it's all coming together....... >:3

[bumblebeeappletree]

Creating habitats that provide NYC's bees, butterflies, and birds with much-needed nourishment is is an important function of our gardens. How can these gardens also function as classrooms? The National Wildlife Federation helps create Schoolyard and Community Habitat gardens all over NYC. During this webinar, they teach you how to to create a habitat garden that cultivates curiosity, and offers an array of rich educational experiences.

Facilitated by Sarah Ward, National Wildlife Federation

Moderated by Mara Gittleman, NYC Parks GreenThumb

This webinar was part of 2021 Earth Week at GreenThumb, where we learned about and uplifted the ecological benefits of native plants in community gardens.

[cryptid-kratt-kid]

You know what im genuinely surprised we don't have an episode about? Bees! Not even specifically honeybees! There are over 20,000 species of bees and I have been OBSESSED with them!

Did you know that 75% of wild bee species are ground nesters? That all worker honeybees are female? Or that African honeybees are actually hybrids? that there's a bee called the bumblebee-mimic digger bee that makes little sandcastles as nests? That there's bees that litterally air drop their eggs into the nests of other bees? That the majority of bees have special indents in their legs called "pollen baskets" that they use to carry little balls of pollen around while they fly?

I know they made a cameo in the flight of the polinators, and that the bros almost got vibe checked by them in the honey badger episode, but bees seriously deserve an entire episode dedicated to them specifically! Bees are one of the most interesting insects on the planet!