The Xerces Society, one of the leading worldwide insect conservation organizations, put on a four-hour Bumble Bee Atlas webinar a couple of weeks back. Right in the middle of it, the presenter, Professor Rich Hatfield, paused in his recitation on bumblebees and placed the illustration at right of the Asian giant wasp on the screen, […]
bees
Posted inNews
Murder Hornets! Panic! Freak Out!
A local beekeeper weighs in on the recent “murder hornet” buzz
While “murder hornets” – otherwise known as Asian giant hornets – consistently make headlines, it turns out that while vigilance is important we truly have nothing to worry about.
Posted inCulture
Birds, Bees and Wildflowers—Oh My!
The 30th Central Oregon Wildflower Show is coming to the Sunriver Nature Center this weekend
On July 6, the Sunriver Nature Center will host the 30th Central Oregon Wildflower Show—but this time, the focus is not just on the flowers, but also on the pollinators that help them along. Amanda Accamando, Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory nature center manager, says this is the first year the show will feature pollinators—the […]
Posted inBend Nest
Be a Bee Friendly Family This Summer!
The spring thaw is approaching, and Central Oregon families are dreaming about bountiful gardens and lovely lawns, with pots of blooming color and nary a weed in sight. But what would a bee see in that yard? She’d see that perfect grass as a desert, with nothing to eat and no place to call home. […]
Posted inOutside
Bee Well
Backyard beekeepers buzzing along
Tumalo Bee Academy is led by long-time local beekeeper Stephen Harris, who has been working with bees in Central Oregon for about the past 40 years. His business card reads, “Saving the honey bee one new beekeeper at a time.” The goal of the bee academy is to educate and encourage as many new beekeepers […]
Posted inNews
What in the World: Booze, Bees, Bikes and Fashionable Fugitives
BOOZE: Do you consider yourself a “heavy drinker“? What does that even mean? Well, the Centers for Disease Control has an idea, but you probably won’t like it. If you have more than a drink or two a day (depending if you’re a gal or a guy), you may meet the qualifications. (CNN) BEES: The Oregon Department […]
Posted inOutside
Consider Your Back Yard Pollinators
The buzz about bees
What follows, dear readers, is hard stuff to take, but it is vital that everyone who has a garden or lawn to take into consideration. YOU can make a difference in your own backyard, and put a stop to those elements that are making Earth a dangerous place to live. There is no longer any […]
Posted inNews
New Lead in the Case of the Disappearing Bees
Much has been made of the troubling spike in bee deaths and resulting scarcity of the industrious little pollinators. The bee-shortage, which we wrote about two weeks ago (See: Bend’s Buzzing), is a big deal because A. bees pollinate 40 percent of the food we consume, and B. that’s $30 billion worth of crops. Scientists […]