Bee City USA

Bees at Home: the Natural History of Bumble Bee Nesting
2022-01-13 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Bumble bees are among the best-studied invertebrates, yet a number of aspects of these important pollinators’ life history remain uncertain. One of these is the ecology of nest founding by queens in spring, and more broadly, behaviors in the nest. More than one-quarter of North American bumble bee species are currently at some degree of extinction risk, so we urgently need more information on how nesting biology impacts colony development and reproduction, and how a changing environment affects bumble bee nesting behavior. In this webinar, we’ll examine what is known of bumble bee nesting biology, and consider some unanswered questions about how cooperation and conflict structure the social lives and growth of bumble bee colonies. Along the way, we’ll answer questions about what queens are up to in early spring and how people can support bumble bees populations.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.
Click here to register and for more information.

Bee City USA-Hampton Pollinator Webinar Series
2022-01-10 19:00 - 2022-01-20 20:00 (America/New_York)
This webinar series take you through a variety of pollinators and how to attract and grow for them. Join us on our pollinator journey!
January 20, 2022: A Year in the Life, Honey Bee and Beekeeper with Al Banwell
February 17, 2022: Beginner’s Guide to Mason and Leafcutter Bees with Marty Wood
March 17, 2022: Growing Butterflies with George Curran
April 21, 2022: Phoebus Waterfront Park Pollinator Garden with April Receveur
May 19, 2022: Container Gardening with Gayle Mooney
June 16, 2022: Pollinators and Beneficial Insects in the Garden with Dr. Barb Abraham
July 21, 2022: There’s More Than One Tree to Help Our Pollinators! with Debbie Blanton

Western Butterflies: History, Threats, and Possible Futures
2021-11-11 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join Matt Forister, Professor of Biology and Insect Ecology at the University of Nevada, as he explores data from different long term sources on western butterfly species and habitats and an overview of threats in the west.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.
Click here for more information and to register.

Climate Change and Land Use Change Impacts on Pollinators
2021-10-21 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Biodiversity across the globe and throughout the tree of life is in major flux, and understanding the nature and causes of these changes is critical for developing effective conservation and management strategies. Pollinators are an especially important group to understand biodiversity change in, given the ecosystem and agricultural services that they provide, and bumblebees are a particularly important group of wild native pollinators found across North America and Europe. Over the last few decades, many species across this group have been declining, with links being made to climate change and habitat loss as the culprits. Join Peter Soroye, Conservation Biologist, to learn about his PhD research, looking at many species across multiple continents to explore how climate change has affected North America and European bumblebees over the last 120 years, and how human land use and habitat loss change that relationship.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Session 2: Practitioners Series - Model Integrated Pest Management Programs for Bee City and Bee Campus Affiliates
2021-10-06 10:00 - 11:45 (America/Los_Angeles)
The City of San Francisco has been a recognized leader in urban Integrated Pest Management for decades. Join Chris Geiger, PhD, of San Francisco (Manager of the Green Purchasing & IPM Programs) to learn what has made San Francisco’s IPM program one of the most recognized in the country. And from Portland Community College, meet Jack Lussier (District Grounds Manager), who oversees its effective campus IPM program. Attend this session to learn about sound, forward-thinking integrated pest management programs that can serve as models for your affiliate’s program. This session is suitable for all Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA affiliates, including grounds staff; city or campus managers; and community members.

Session 1: Reducing Reliance on Pesticides Through Integrated Pest Management
2021-09-29 10:00 - 23:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
To protect pollinators, Bee Cities and Campuses are re-examining chemical-centric pest management practices and reducing pesticide use on city and campus lands. Join us for a presentation by Sharon Selvaggio, Pesticide Program Specialist at the Xerces Society, to learn about proven best practices for cities and campuses striving to reduce their reliance on pesticides. Sharon will also touch on examples of community-based efforts that are inspiring more people to reduce their reliance on these risky tools at home. This session is appropriate for all Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA affiliates, including grounds staff; city or campus managers; and community members.

Biological Control in Urban Parks: A Study in Bogotá (Colombia)
2021-09-23 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join Paola Olaya Arenas, a postdoctoral fellow at Institute Alexander von Humboldt, as she talks about her research on insect pests and natural enemies in Bogotá.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Eight Action Items to Protect Insects from Global Declines
2021-08-12 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join Akito Y. Kawahara, the lead researcher at the Florida Museum of Natural History’s McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, to learn about how to help save our important insects.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

The Wondrous World of Fireflies
2021-07-01 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Fireflies are surely among the greatest ambassadors for Earth’s natural magic. For centuries their ethereal beauty has sparked wonder and inspired poets, artists, and children of all ages. Yet they also hold so many mysteries! Join guest speaker Sara Lewis, an expert on fireflies, to learn how they got their bright lights, explore their remarkable lifestyles, hear how human activities put fireflies at risk, and learn what you can do to help protect these charismatic insects.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Pollinator Week Panel & Happy Hour: Ask Us Anything about Pollinators
2021-06-23 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Celebrate Pollinator Week by joining in a fun and informative happy hour Q&A with a panel of Xerces Society pollinator conservation experts! For nearly 50 years, Xerces staff have worked to protect and conserve pollinators and their habitats. Our amazing staff are national leaders getting science-based guidance for pollinator conservation into the hands of farmers, ranchers, gardeners, and other land managers. During this Q&A, participants will have the opportunity to directly ask Xerces staff about anything and everything related to pollinator conservation, native habitat restoration, pesticide use and impacts, climate change resilience, grazing management, and more. We’ll also be distributing door prizes such as Xerces Society books, habitat signs, and more to attendees throughout the hour! Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

This event will be emceed by Eric Lee-Mäder (Pollinator Program Co-Director) and the panelists are: Stephanie Frischie (Agronomist, Native Plant Materials Specialist), Kelly Gill (Senior Pollinator Conservation Specialist, Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Region), Sarah Hoyle (Pesticide Program Specialist), Jennifer Hopwood (Senior Pollinator Conservation Specialist, Midwest), Karin Jokela (Farm Bill Pollinator Conservation Planner, Minnesota), Jessa Kay Cruz (Senior Pollinator Conservation Specialist, California and the Intermountain West), Angela Laws (Endangered Species Conservation Biologist and Climate Change Lead), Molly Martin (Bee City USA Coordinator), and Ray Moranz (Grazing Lands Pollinator Ecologist).

Human Dimensions of Pollinator Conservation
2021-06-17 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Usually when people hear the buzz phrase “pollinator conservation” they think of bees and butterflies, not people. However, people have an essential role to play in pollinator conservation. Join guest speaker, Shannon Westlake, to learn about the human side of pollinator conservation and the various actions you can take to get more involved with supporting our native insect pollinator friends.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Bee City USA & Bee Campus USA Series: Comparing Benefits and Costs of Pursuing Bee Campus USA Certification
2021-05-18 10:00 - 23:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
While pollinator conservation efforts among universities continue to grow, many others remain unengaged. Demonstrating the value of pollinator conservations among students may help encourage university leaders to take action. Join Dr. Jerrod Penn to learn about the research that he and Wuyang Hu did to investigate the role of student interest in pollinator conservation actions. This webinar will include an overview of their study and their finding that certification generally creates positive benefits greater than costs.
Jerrod Penn, PhD – Jerrod is an assistant professor of environmental/resource economics and sustainability at Louisiana State University. His work focuses on individual behavior and preferences to understand economic values for changes in the environment such as species abundance and diversity. His collaborations include work on resource conservation for pollinators, sustainable forestry, outdoor recreation, beach management, and agriculture.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Outdoor Landscapes for Bees
2021-03-24 18:00 - 19:00 UTC
Learn more about choosing plants and ornamentals for your outdoor spaces to support the native bee population. Meet the UMD Bee Lab, learn what they do and how to buy UMD Honey. Featuring: Dennis van Engelsdorp, Associate Professor in Entomology and Mark Dykes, UMD Extension Bee Specialist. Zach Jones, Symons Squad member and ’20 landscape management alum will also join us to talk about designing your outdoor spaces. He works for McHale Design as an Assistant Account Manager.

Bee City & Bee Campus Series: Very Special(ist) Bees and the Flowers They Love
2021-03-16 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join Nancy Adamson of Xerces to learn about specialist bees and how you can help document plant-pollinator connections. Many bees are pollen specialists, collecting pollen from a single species, genus, or plant family. Despite knowing many of these plant-bee connections, we do not have good images of all these specialist bees. We would love your help documenting them and other invertebrates visiting their host plants. This program will highlight where to find specialist bee information–primarily for the eastern U.S.—and bee phenology information to guide your efforts. We will also discuss how you can help document wildlife via iNaturalist.org and Bugguide.net.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Bee City & Bee Campus Series: Community Solutions to Reduce Pesticide Use
2021-02-23 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join panelists from communities around the country to learn about the innovative approaches they have taken to reduce pesticide use and protect pollinators. Communities have tackled pesticides in a wide range of ways, from implementing integrated pest management plans on city land, to educating neighbors about how to take an ecological approach to mosquito control, to galvanizing community support for state legislative efforts. In this webinar, you will hear from three communities about their successes and challenges in addressing pesticide use. We hope this will inspire you to consider creative ways to reduce pesticide use in your own community and beyond.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Building Pollinator Habitat in Towns and Cities: California Region
2021-01-21 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join Jessa Kay Cruz, Senior Pollinator Conservation Specialist, as she takes a closer look at the needs of pollinators in the California Region. Learn what plants pollinators need, how to provide nesting habitat, and what steps you can take to make change in your city.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Building Pollinator Habitat in Towns and Cities: Pacific Northwest Region
2021-01-15 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join Eric Lee-Mäder, Pollinator Program Co-Director, as he takes a closer look at the needs of pollinators in the Pacific Northwest Region. Learn what plants pollinators need, how to provide nesting habitat, and what steps you can take to make change in your city.
This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.
