In the News: What's the Buzz?

Fig.1. This Paranthidium jugatorium is bee from the eastern United States, whose species is experiencing a population decline. Plant some woodlands sunflowers to attract this beautiful bee! (Credit: USGS via Flickr, 2015)

Happy National Pollinator Week! To accompany our Wednesday post on bats, we found other articles which celebrated pollinators with interesting facts and calls for conservation. Read to learn about these special animals, big and small, that contribute to ecosystems, agriculture, and more:

• What’s in your drink? You should probably thank these furry pollinators for that buzz: “Love Tequila? A Toast To Pollinating Bats!” Smithsonian Science News (18 June 2015)

• Many of our foods come from the product of pollination. Learn more about the power of pollinators through these events or partake in an online digitization effort of a bumble bee collection with 44,000 specimens! “Celebrate Pollinators, The Real Party Animals,” The Q? Blog (10 June 2015)

• Want more pollinators in your garden? Create a healthy habitat for sustaining their communities: “Protecting Pollinators Through Habitat Conservation Is Critical To Preserving Food Supply,” USDA Blog (17 June 2015)

• These citizen science projects can get you involved in tracking bees around the world: “Pollinator Citizen Science,” Xerces Society (n.d.)

• Where would we be without bees, birds, bats, lemurs, and more? These animals fill an important role in the world but their numbers are falling: “Pollinators In Decline Around The World,” BBC News (02 April 2015)