Welcome to the Great Pollinator Project blog! Over 220 bee species are known to live in New York City. The purpose of this blog is to celebrate the natural history, ecology and conservation of these and other urban pollinators.
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By Meg Domroese, on July 26th, 2010
At the beginning of the season we distributed a survey at orientations and to new Bee Watchers who had signed up online. We received 154 responses from these mostly new – and some seasoned – Bee Watchers. We thought you might be interested in what your fellow citizen scientists said about why they watch bees.
How did you find out about the Bee Watchers project?
Almost 30% of you found out by word of mouth (from friends, coworkers, professors, and people involved with the project). After that, the project website, email listings, the feature in Rotunda (the AMNH’s member magazine), and newspapers (thank you, Staten Island Advance!) were the most frequently cited sources of information.
What is the main reason you are interested in participating in the NYC Bee Watchers project?
By far the most frequently mentioned reason is the bees themselves. You are fascinated, curious, and concerned about bees, love watching them, and even painting or drawing them. In addition, many of you specifically cited an interest in learning more about honey bees and beekeeping. (Bee Watchers may observe honey bees hard at work pollinating, but for beekeeping we refer you to NYC Beekeepers Association).
Other bee-related reasons for participating in the project include interest in pollination and food production, and concern about declining pollinator populations.
Many Bee Watchers are interested in contributing to research on bees, and several specifically mentioned that being a part of a citizen science project is a draw.
There are many nature enthusiasts among you who like to spend time outdoors, and those who support conservation and want to learn more about environmental issues. Gardeners expressed interest in attracting pollinators to their gardens.
For some of you, the project offers the opportunity to be a part of something, to do something together with family members, or to educate others. Bee Watchers also enjoy solitary time for counting things or simply sitting still.
By Kevin Matteson, on July 20th, 2010
Bee Fly in the family Bombylidae and genus Xenox. Photo by bee watcher Jeff Polley.
We previously posted about common flower visiting flies in the NYC area, but bee watcher and blogger (www.thissideofscience.com) Jeffrey Polley recently brought a few more to our attention. The above massive fly has been seen recently [...]
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By Meg Domroese, on July 14th, 2010
In Dr. Seuss’s Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? there’s a Bee Watcher whose “…job is to watch…is to keep both his eyes on the lazy town bee. A bee that is watched will work harder, you see.”
When watching doesn’t result in harder work from the bee, a watcher is assigned [...]
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By Kevin Matteson, on July 9th, 2010
The following Frequently Asked Questions are in our presentation but I thought they would be worth posting here. Enjoy your bee watching and more posts will be coming next week!
Should I observing the entire plant or just one flower?
Answer- Record bee visitation to the entire plant (which may have multiple flowers). Some flowering plants, such [...]
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By Meg Domroese, on June 25th, 2010
We heard this question many times over the course of the day at Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s 100th birthday – “Bee Day” – celebration on June 12. Ed Toth, Liz Johnson, and I manned a Great Pollinator Project table where a small box of bees from the American Museum of Natural History’s collection attracted a lot [...]
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By Meg Domroese, on June 18th, 2010
On Wednesday, Ed Toth, co-founder and partner in the Great Pollinator Project, and I found our way – after some wrong turns – down a service road into the northeast corner of Van Cortlandt Park where one of the project’s Bee Watcher gardens is located. Ed is Director of the Greenbelt Native Plant Center on [...]
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By Kevin Matteson, on October 5th, 2009
Google Earth image showing the North Meadow of Central Park (highlighted in the top left)
While most people just use Google Earth to “fly” to their home address, this free software can also be used to identify biodiverse urban habitats such as meadows in New York City Parks. The image [...]
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By Kevin Matteson, on October 1st, 2009
Halictus ligatus, Photo by Susan Chesloff
This fairly small (~.5″ long) and slender (note thin waist in above picture) native bee is very common in the city. Like, Lasioglossum zephyrum (featured in an earlier Bee of the Week), this species is considered to be primitively eusocial. This means that individual bees live in groups with [...]
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By Kevin Matteson, on September 22nd, 2009
Wool Carder Bee, Photo by Susan Chesloff
The attractive bee is commonly known as the Wool Carder Bee. It gets the name due to the behaviors of the female, which scrapes hairs off of leaves to create a nice soft nest where she then lays her eggs. If you have the common garden plant known [...]
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By Kevin Matteson, on September 17th, 2009
Rooftop garden of bee watcher Reynold Weidenaar
Rooftop gardens are very popular these days. These elevated oases can range from complete green roofs planted with a single plant such as sedum, to more diverse “meadow-like” landscapes with native wildflowers. Even relatively small rooftop planting efforts may have a positive impact on urban pollinators. Earlier this [...]
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