Category Archives: Native Bees

Bees, Climate Change, Catastrophe

Usually, I’m the person asking the questions. I invite someone onto About Bees, Culture, and Curiosity, turn on the microphone, and start poking around. Sometimes we stay on topic. Sometimes we disappear down a rabbit hole and emerge forty minutes … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Ecology, Native Bees, Podcasts, Pollination, Save the Bees, Science | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Too Hot for Bees? Arizona Heat, Drought, and Rescuing Bees

How hot is too hot for a honey bee? That question doesn’t mean much sitting here in Calgary on a mild (20°C) summer day. It becomes important to my niece, keeping bees in southern Arizona where the thermometer was pushing … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Culture, or lack thereof, Ecology, Native Bees, Podcasts, Save the Bees, Science, Stings, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Where Have All the Bugs Gone?

A few weeks ago, I drove from Calgary to Banff and back again. It was a beautiful summer day. The mountains were spectacular, the wildflowers were in bloom, and the bumble bees were busy. When I returned home, however, something … Continue reading →

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The 3-in-1 Bee Tree: Linden, Lime, and Basswood

Basswood is nice, if you don’t mind hanging around with a tree accused of murdering millions of bees. Falsely accused. For over a hundred years, people have found dead bumble bees under basswood trees. Starved? Poisoned? Do you remember the … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Books, Comb Honey, Ecology, Honey, Honey Plants, Native Bees, Save the Bees | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bees on the Rocks

Combs clinging to rock ledges and human foragers climbing to harvest part of the sticky sweet honey gathered by wild bees on the edge of the Himalayas conjures up images of a way of life few of us will ever … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Honey, Honey Plants, Native Bees, Save the Bees, Travels | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Dandelion: The Bee Plant That Doesn’t Need Bees

Some things I didn’t know about dandelions until today: Dandelions don’t need bees. Or any other pollinators – not even wind or gravity to move their pollen. Each dandelion flower is made up of a hundred florets, each an individual … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Honey, Honey Plants, Native Bees, Save the Bees | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Repost: Bumblebees of Iceland.

Posted in Native Bees, Reblogs | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Podcast: from Beyonce to bee forage and beyond

Season 1 Episode 5: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Some Bee Buzz In today’s podcast episode, we jump from moving bees between Alberta and British Columbia to examining a recent paper about the ecology of disappearing bee species. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Culture, or lack thereof, Ecology, Native Bees, Personal, Podcasts, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bees and frequencies

Hi, Everyone! Chief Lee Crowchild and I have been asked to present at the Calgary Science Centre for an upcoming Indigenous Science Night. Attendance will be up to about 1700 people and the event is just a few weeks away, … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Friends, Native Bees, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Native and Non-Native Bee Debate

A few days ago, I sat down with the folks at Beekeeping Today Podcast to talk about how our non-native honey bees may affect native bees. Jeff Ott and Becky Masterman were informed, sympathetic interviewers. I had a great time … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Ecology, Native Bees, Outreach, Personal, Podcasts, Save the Bees | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments