Insect pollinator nutritional & behavioral ecology
Did you know there are 20,000 species of bees in the world? And that 4,000 of those species are native to North America? In celebration of World Bee Day, Tufts Pollinator Initiative (TPI) highlights some of the bees TPI members have studied across the United States and in Costa Rica! Read about TEN species of […]
I am excited to announce that the Tufts Pollinator Initiative (TPI) has reached its goal of making Tufts University Medford-Somerville a certified Xerces Society Bee Campus USA! To learn more about the Bee Campus USA program and how TPI will continue to spread the pollinator love, check out my most recent TPI blog post!
Unfortunately, my Washington fieldwork has been delayed for the time being. In the meantime, you can learn about Pacific Northwest bees I saw last year (as well as other pollinators) by checking out this free online version of 2 Million Blossoms! Many thanks to Kirsten, the editor, for making this available. If you enjoy this […]
This month’s Tufts Pollinator Initiative blog post, written by yours truly, lists gift ideas for the pollinator enthusiasts in your life! Check out the gift ideas here. Happy holidays from me and the rest of the Tufts Pollinator Initiative!
Last month I had the opportunity to run a workshop on protecting native bees for 250+ kids at Camp Micah in Bridgton, ME. Like humans, bees need three things: food, shelter, and water. In my workshop, the campers focused on shelter—we built 200 bee “hotels” to donate to the Honeybee Conservancy for their Sponsor-A-Hive program. […]
Miles (5 yo) asked: Why do flowers smell nice? I got to chat with Washington State University’s Dr. Universe to help answer that question! Check out the answer here!
I have the pleasure to be a part of the new group, the Tufts Pollinator Initiative (TPI). Our group was recently funded by the Tufts Green Fund to make Tufts University a better place for pollinators! To learn about our initiative, check out TPI’s first blog post (written by yours truly) here!
Nature can be hostile, especially for insects — tiny creatures that deal with big problems. They get eaten, they dry out, they get smashed. Believe it or not, insects also deal with even tinier pests and pathogens, just as we do. Also, like us, insects have developed an immune system to combat such microscopic threats. […]
“So is there anything everyday people can do to keep these creatures around so that future generations can experience the joy seen in Bonoan’s class? Surprisingly, yes.” Last week, I had the pleasure of hosting ExPress writer, Emma Hodgdon, in my insect pollinators class. I teach From Bees to Beetles: Insect Pollinators and Real-World Science […]
Back in June, The Xereces Society held a #PicturePerfectPollinator photo contest. In honor of National Pollinator Week, I entered a photo accompanied by a pollinator fact each day. Just recently, it came to my attention that my photo of a male Puget blue butterfly getting a snack from oxeye daisy was selected as an honorable […]
Providence Pollinator Lab 