Buzzing Canopies: Forests' Vital Role in Supporting Pollinator Diversity

03/26/24 • 37 min

For many of us, if we were asked to describe a place that is good for bees, I suspect that we’d talk about somewhere that is open, sunny, and full of flowers — a garden, meadow, prairie, or hedgerow, maybe. The chances are that forests wouldn’t be high on that list. However, forests provide important resources for bees.

In this episode, we are joined by Kass Urban-Mead to talk about forests and bees. Kass works for the Xerces Society as a pollinator conservation specialist and NRCS Partner Biologist based in Philadelphia. From there, she collaborates with communities in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions to plan, design, install, and manage habitat for pollinators and other beneficial insects. She also climbed a lot of trees to study bees while completing her PhD at Cornell.

Thank you for listening! For more information go to xerces.org/bugbanter.

Thank you for listening! For more information go to xerces.org/bugbanter.

Previous Episode

Bumbling Through Nature: Exploring the Fascinating Life History and Community Science of Bumble Bees

Spend time in a garden and you’ll probably hear the buzzing of a bumble bee. These charismatic bees pollinate many of the foods and flowers that we love and, similar to other bees, their populations are in decline. Fortunately, there is a community science program to help us better understand the abundance and distribution of bumble bees across the US.

To talk more about this we are joined today by Rich Hatfield. Rich is deeply involved with studying and protecting bumble bees in his role as a Senior Endangered Species Conservation Biologist with the Xerces Society. You may also remember Rich from a previous Bug Banter, when we had a conversation about honey bees.

Thank you for listening! For more information go to xerces.org/bugbanter.

Next Episode

Floater, Sheepnose, and Cat’s Paw: Exploring the Fascinating World of Freshwater Mussels

In this episode of Bug Banter, we are going underwater to highlight an invertebrate that isn’t an insect — the freshwater mussel. These animals may not be well-known but are powerhouses in our freshwater ecosystems, playing a critical role in our lakes and rivers.

We’re joined today by not only one but two guests! — Emilie Blevins and Jack Fetters, who are both conservation biologists on the Endangered Species team at the Xerces Society. Emilie serves as the lead on all freshwater mussel conservation work and Jack serves as a specialist on western freshwater mussel conservation work at Xerces.

Thank you for listening! For more information go to xerces.org/bugbanter.

Bug Banter with the Xerces Society - Buzzing Canopies: Forests' Vital Role in Supporting Pollinator Diversity

Transcript

Rachel: Welcome to bug banter with the Xerces society where we explore the world of invertebrates and how to help these extraordinary animals. If you want to support our work go to Xerces.org/give.
Matthew: Hi, I'm Matthew Shepherd in Portland, Oregon.
Rachel: And I'm Rachel Dunham in Missoula, Montana.
Matthew: For many of us, if we were asked to describe a place that is good for bees, I suspect that we’d talk about somewhere that is open, sunny, and full of flowers — a garden, m