- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Mark your calendar.
If you're a bee aficionada and haven't ordered your educational North American Bee Calendar, you have until Tuesday, Nov. 30 to place your order.
It's for a good cause. Proceeds benefit the pollination services work by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and the Great Sunflower Project.
This is an order-online-only calendar, says Celeste Ets-Hokin, the Bay Area native bee enthusiast who is spearheading the second annual project. That means you won't find the calendar in any stores and you won't be able to order it after Nov. 30.
The calendar spotlights a different bee genus each month, with notes on preferred plants, nesting needs, and guidance on how to identify the genus. In other words, it's a good way to learn about bees: what they look like, where they live and how to entice them to your garden.
At the UC Davis Department of Entomology, we frequently get requests for information on bees. "What are those big black bees buzzing around my garden?" they ask. "What does a leafcutter bee look like? How can I attract bumble bees?"
If you're around entomologists, you'll hear them talking about Osmias, Lasioglossums, Xylocopas and Agapostemons.
Bees appearing in the calendar and the scientific names are:
January: Honey Bee (Apis)
February: Bumble Bee (Bombus)
March: Digger Bee (Habropoda)
April: Mason Bee (Osmia)
May: Sweat Bee (Lasioglossum)
June: Ultra Green Sweat Bee (Agapostemon)
July: Leafcutter Bee (Megachile)
August: Squash Bee (Peponapis)
September: Long-horned Bee (Melissodes)
October: Carder Bee (Anthidium)
November: Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa)
December: Cuckoo Bee (Epeolus)
The photos by Rollin Coville of Berkeley are stunning. The green metallic sweat bee glitters like emeralds.
Calendars are $15 each, which includes shipping anywhere in the United States. The international price is $18, shipping included. Orders may be placed by accessing the Xerces website or The Great Sunflower Project website.
Coville, who has a doctorate in enotomology from UC Berkeley, collaborates with Gordon Frankie of UC Berkeley and emeritus professor Robbin Thorp of UC Davis on urban bees.
Indeed, the calendar is the work of many scientists and "bee folks." Matthew Shepherd, senior conservation associate of the Xerces Society, and Ets-Hokin served as editors, and Miguel Barbosa as the graphic designer. Scientists sharing their research expertise included: Neal Williams of UC Davis; Gordon Frankie and Claire Kremen of UC Berkeley; and Rachael Winfree of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
This is no ordinary calendar. No oceans. No mountains. No deserts.
Each month features a "pin-up girl."
But these models will never run for Miss America or promote world peace. Only a few have social skills and most are solitary.
Take a look at Miss May. She's a sweat bee. Take a look at Miss August. She's a squash bee. And Miss December? A cuckoo bee.
They're all a part of the second annual "North American Bee Calendar." And...drum roll...the first ordering deadline is rapidly approaching: it's Friday, Oct. 15.
“It’s our second annual calendar, a project aimed at protecting pollinators, raising public awareness and generating funds to carry on the work of The Great Sunflower Project and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation,” said native bee enthusiast and calendar project coordinator Celeste Ets-Hokin of the San Francisco Bay Area. “Most of these bees are commonly found and important pollinators.”
The calendar, measuring 9x12, features close-up photos by noted insect photographer Rollin Coville, who received his doctorate in entomology from UC Berkeley. He has been photographing insects--and spiders--for more than 25 years.
The calendar spotlights a different bee genus each month, with notes on preferred plants, nesting needs, and guidance on how to identify the genus, said author Ets-Hokin, who holds a degree in zoology from UC Berkeley.
Bees appearing in the calendar and the scientific names are:
January: Honey Bee (Apis)
February: Bumble Bee (Bombus)
March: Digger Bee (Habropoda)
April: Mason Bee (Osmia)
May: Sweat Bee (Lasioglossum)
June: Ultra Green Sweat Bee (Agapostemon)
July: Leafcutter Bee (Megachile)
August: Squash Bee (Peponapis)
September: Long-horned Bee (Melissodes)
October: Carder Bee (Anthidium)
November: Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa)
December: Cuckoo Bee (Epeolus)
Matthew Shepherd, senior conservation associate of the Xerces Society, and Ets-Hokin served as editors, and Miguel Barbosa as the graphic designer. Four scientists shared their research expertise: Neal Williams and Robbin Thorp of UC Davis; Gordon Frankie and Claire Kremen of UC Berkeley; and Rachael Winfree of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J. In addition, contributing photos were Shepherd and Ets-Hokin, along with yours truly.
Purchasing a $15 calendar ($18 if you have an overseas address) is a good way to protect our badly needed pollinators and to raise public awareness.
Folks can place their orders by accessing the Xerces website or The Great Sunflower Project website. (Preview calendar)
Order by Oct. 15 and you'll get your calendar by late October, Ets-Hokin says. The last deadline to order is Nov. 30. For more information or discount rates for 25 calendars or more, contact Ets-Hokin at celeste.ets@comcast.net.