Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2002 16:29:42 -0700 Reply-To: mdshepherd@xerces.org Sender: Sustainable Agriculture Network Discussion Group From: Matthew Shepherd Subject: Native bees: more reading and resources Hi everyone, I head the pollinator conservation program for the Xerces Society, a nonprofit dedicated to the conservation of invertebrates. Three more books that I would recommend to anyone wanting to learn more about native bees and pollination are: Kearns, Carol, and James Thomson. 2001. The Natural History of Bumble Bees. A Sourcebook for Investigations. University Press of Colorado, Boulder, CO. (A slim, very readable book that is an excellent introduction to American bumble bees.) O'Toole, Christopher, and Anthony Raw. 1999. Bees of the World. Blandford, London, UK. (A great introduction to bees and their biology, behavior, and lifestyle.) Procter, Michael, Peter Yeo, and Andrew Lack. 1996. The Natural History of Pollination. Timber Press, Portland, OR. (An excellent book, probably the best single volume on pollination. Fairly heavy reading, but stuffed full of information on plant/pollinator relationships.) It goes without saying that there are a look of good papers and journal articles on pollinators, especially since they are a conservation issue of growing importance and profile (yeah!). You might also like to look at our website ( www.xerces.org ), where, under the pollinator program, you'll find a brief outline of bee life cycles and suggestions for things you can do to help bees. We're just renewing the content and some pages are not in place yet, in particular, the links page. If anyone wants a list of web page links and other resources, I'll be happy to email a Word document with all the details. Research recently done in northern California suggested that up to 90 percent of pollination on some farms comes from native bees. The features that seem to support native bee populations are good nesting habitat (bare ground or snags), good foraging areas (supports the bees when crops not flowering), and minimal pesticides. There was an article about this by Claire Kremen in a the fall 2001 issue of the California Certified Organic Farmers newsletter. Glad to see pollinators being discussed. They are profoundly important to all of us, whether for the food we eat or the wild areas we enjoy and which support the wild creatures that surround us. Best wishes, Matthew ______________________________________________________ Matthew Shepherd Pollinator Program Director The Xerces Society 4828 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97215, USA Tel: 503-232 6639 Fax: 503-233 6794 Email: mdshepherd@xerces.org ______________________________________________________ The Xerces Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the diversity of life through the conservation of invertebrates, the little things that run the world. For information and membership details, see our website at http://www.xerces.org/