The Bee's Knees

In our bustling urban environments, the complex dance of pollination continues, often unnoticed. This week's discussion dives into the intricacies of urban pollination ecology with Dr. Elsa Youngstead, exploring how plants and pollinators interact within city landscapes. From battling air pollution to navigating cityscapes, bees are at the forefront of maintaining biodiversity. Join us as we uncover the dynamic ways in which cities alter plant-pollinator signaling and the innovative research ...

Imagine sleeping for a couple of months, waking up and realizing you’ve got to build a house, get a job, raise some kids, and feed them. Bumblebee queens go through this every spring and it’s really a critical time for their survival. Today, we’re speaking with Dr. Matthias Becher who shares his research on the seasonal needs of bumblebee colonies, particularly focusing on the critical early spring “hungry gap.”What's on your buzzy mind? Send us a text message and let us know!Thanks for liste...

How do native bees survive winter's chill? Discover how you can keep them warm and cozy this winter through simple actions like leaving autumn leaves undisturbed and holding off on your garden cleanup. We’ll also share the importance of perhaps unsightly things like bare soil and dead wood. Listen in to create your own cold-weather refuge for native bees.What's on your buzzy mind? Send us a text message and let us know!Thanks for listening! Visit our website to learn more about what we discus...

In this episode of The Bee's Knees, we discuss the threats facing wild and native bees with Dr. Yi Zhou, an ecologist and entomologist. The discussion focuses on a study in South China's rice fields that revealed habitat loss as a more significant threat to pollinator diversity than pesticides. Dr. Zhou highlights the importance of conserving semi-natural habitats within agricultural landscapes to support bee populations. What's on your buzzy mind? Send us a text message and let us know!...

In this episode, we dive into Dr. Lindsie McCabe's enlightening study on how changing temperatures impact the survival rates of cavity-nesting bees. Conducting a transplant experiment over three years, Dr. McCabe and her team uncovered how elevation and temperature fluctuations influence bee emergence. Discover why generalist bees are more adaptable to elevation changes compared to specialist bees, and what this means for bee conservation efforts in the face of climate change. Don't miss this...