Jul/Aug 2008Pollinators: Links for further informationby David L. Green

Pollination in agriculture and gardens:

• The standard manual on honeybee pollination is Insect Pollination of Cultivated Crop Plants, by S. E. McGregor. It is out of print, but available online at Bee Culture magazine and other spots on the web.
• Delaplane and Mayer have an update available, which includes more bee species besides honeybees, but it is only available by purchase from bookstores or Internet booksellers. Search for Crop Pollination by Bees by Delaplane and Mayer.
• Pollination for the Home Gardener by Howard Veatch provides details on how to use honeybees to improve your garden, online at pollinator.com/garden/gardpol.htm.

Pollinator Decline:

• The Forgotten Pollinators, by Buchmann and Nabhan, was a major step in public recognition. Learn more about the Forgotten Pollinator Campaign, which resulted from the book, at the Sonora Desert Museum's Web site: www.desertmuseum.org/pollination/introduction.php.
• The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign is an environmental group working on pollinator decline; they have a lobbying presence in Washington. Read more at www.pollinator.org.

Identifying bees:

• A new online key to identifying eastern North American bees is available at www.discoverlife.org/20/q?search=Apoidea. Sam Droege and others have been working on this and other areas, which will be included. Even with the key, it takes some training and a microscope to identify many species.

Bee gardens:

• Karen Strickland, a leading bee researcher, offers notes on what to plant at www.pollinatorparadise.com/Solitary_Bees/beegarden.htm.

Bee nests:

• North Carolina Extension tells you how to house mason bees: https://franklin.ces.ncsu.edu/2018/07/native-bees-in-the-landscape/.
• Researcher Karen Strickland has orchard mason bees and homes for sale at www.pollinatorparadise.com/index.html.
• The Xerces Society shows how to make bumblebee nests at Project Bumble Bee.
• Tom Clothier was one of the original voices calling attention to pollinator decline; his design for bumblebee nests is available at https://tomclothier.hort.net/page38.html.

Honeybee information:

• Kim Flottum, editor of Bee Culture magazine, is one of the most knowledgeable persons in the country about the honeybee situation. His blog can be found at https://www.beeculture.com/contributors/.
• The Bee List is a mailing list of beekeepers and researchers. It is moderated to keep out much of the nonsense that circulates on the Internet. Though it is often quite technical and trade-oriented, it is probably the most up-to-date source of information on honeybees that there is. You can subscribe by following the directions at https://community.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-LSOFTDONATIONS.exe?A0=BEE-L&A0=BEE-L.

Dave Green was a commercial beekeeper who specialized in crop pollination service for growers of watermelons, cukes, squash, cantaloupes, strawberries, peaches and apples. He sold his business and retired a few years ago. After awhile he took up a second career as editor of a small-town weekly newspaper.