This summer, the Master Gardeners have taken on the theme of Pollinators for their farmers market booths.  They will talk about a host of other gardening topics, but the focus is going to be pollinators, and what you can do in your yard to host, attract, and maintain pollinators locally.

Pollinators are very important to the local crops and pollinating the various fruit, nut and vegetable crops we grow here in Solano County.  Without the pollinators, we'd be without the bounty.  I'm not just talking about the European honey bee, I'm talking about the host of other insects out there (and birds and bats too!).  Solitary insects like the leaf-cutter bee, you know this little bee by the half-circular cuts it makes in your plants.  Most people are troubled by this, but seeing this phenomenon in your yard should make you excited about having solitary bees in your garden...pollinating away.  Other insects like the huge carpenter bee always get my attention as they lumber by.  They are huge bees!  I sometimes mistake them for hummingbirds out the corner of my eye. 

It is important to get out there and have a look at your garden and see what insects are there.  You'd be surprised by the variety and number of insects you can find, and most are beneficial insects.  You just have to become knowledgeable about what you're looking at.

The Xerces Society is a great place to start learning more.  They have a ton of free materials to get you started.  Here is the link to their website http://www.xerces.org/.  I recommend looking at their publications and then fact sheets, many are free. The Master Gardeners are utilizing several in their 'bee binders' they take to the farmers markets.

Get out there and learn more about your native bees.