Bug Squad

The 10th annual National Pollinator Week ends Sunday, June 25, and what an opportunity it's been to showcase our pollinators! As noted entomologist May Berenbaum pointed out, it's "a celebration of Earth's 100,000-plus animal species that, by transporting pollen and facilitating flower fertilization...

It's National Pollinator Week and you might be wondering where your pollinators are. I'd love to attract honey bees, bumble bees and other pollinators, but what can I do?" you ask.

Hey, honey bee, I'll race you to the flowers. Okay, but you'll lose. I can go faster. Watch me! The scene: a male bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, and a worker honey bee, Apis mellifera, are buzzing along at breakneck speed toward the lavender in our pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif.

The Echium wildpretii is commonly known as "The Tower of Jewels" but it ought to be known as "The Tower of Beauty." That's especially when honey bees gather to collect the blue pollen and sip the sweet nectar. Or when their wings glisten in the early morning sun.

It's National Pollinator Week! Do you know where your pollinators are? Or better yet, do you know how to attract them and protect them? Pollinator Partnership has announced that June 19-25 has been designated National Pollinator Week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S.