bymattkelly's Journal

Here's what our informal survey of bees in the Finger Lakes looks like as of June 30.

Top 10 List of Bees, identified by genus or better:

Bombus impatiens 82
Apis mellifera 72
Xylocopa virginica 18
Ceratina 9
Augochlora pura 8
Nomada 7
Bombus griseocollis 6
Colletes inqequalis 5
Bombus bimaculatus 4
Bombus fervidus 3
Osmia 3
Bombus ternarius 3

The complete list includes 35 bees identified to the level of genus or better, drawn from 242 observations to date. Bumble bees (Bombus) made up 42 percent of the observations, and honey bees (Apis mellifera) made up 30 percent. Surprisingly, Ceratina (small carpenter bees) and Lasioglossum (small sweat bees) combined comprised only 5 percent of the observations to date; these two types of bees seem to be on every sort of flower everywhere I look this summer (daisies, chicory, clover and so on), not to mention landing on the occasional person. Have I just been in the right place at the right time? Or are these bees getting missed in observations because of how small there are?

The majority of observations to date have come from Monroe and Tompkins counties. There have been almost no observations from Ontario county.

Join the Finger Lakes Bee Survey and add your own observations.

Here's what our informal survey of bees in the Finger Lakes looks like as of June 30.

Top 10 List of Bees, identified by genus or better:

Bombus impatiens 82
Apis mellifera 72
Xylocopa virginica 18
Ceratina 9
Augochlora pura 8
Nomada 7
Bombus griseocollis 6
Colletes inqequalis 5
Bombus bimaculatus 4
Bombus fervidus 3
Osmia 3
Bombus ternarius 3

The complete list includes 35 bees identified to the level of genus or better, drawn from 242 observations to date. Bumble bees (Bombus) made up 42 percent of the observations, and honey bees (Apis mellifera) made up 30 percent. Surprisingly, Ceratina (small carpenter bees) and Lasioglossum (small sweat bees) combined comprised only 5 percent of the observations to date; these two types of bees seem to be on every sort of flower everywhere I look this summer (daisies, chicory, clover and so on), not to mention landing on the occasional person. Have I just been in the right place at the right time? Or are these bees getting missed in observations because of how small there are?

The majority of observations to date have come from Monroe and Tompkins counties. There have been almost no observations from Ontario county.

Join the Finger Lakes Bee Survey and add your own observations.

I just finished a story about aerial pollination of apples by drone. The company testing the service, Dropcopter, claims its technology has previously produced "a dramatic crop set increase of 10%" in almonds. Can it do the same in apples? How accurate are those original claims? And how can we be sure that any increase in crop set is actually the result of the drone and not other factors — like variation in bee activity? Lots of questions. Still looking for answers.

Solar farms are known to offer a ready source of green energy. But could they also offer ecological and economic benefits as pollinator-friendly habitats? A new Cornell partnership is going to be assessing the actual benefits.

Looking for a podcast this weekend? Check out this recent conversation I had with our local NPR station about bee basics, including: the wide variety of bees in North America, bee stings (noun and verb), the importance of bees to our food system, how to make space for bees in our yards and gardens, and how to recognize when something is not a bee (like a wasp or fly).

A couple corrections to note: In a brief comment, I mixed up the nesting habits of Diadasia with Agapostemon virescens. And I'm not a farmer (worked on farms, written about farms, not actually worthy of the title).

Looking for a podcast this weekend? Check out this recent conversation I had with our local NPR station about bee basics, including: the wide variety of bees in North America, bee stings (noun and verb), the importance of bees to our food system, how to make space for bees in our yards and gardens, and how to recognize when something is not a bee (like a wasp or fly).

A couple corrections to note: In a brief comment, I mixed up the nesting habits of Diadasia with Agapostemon virescens. And I'm not a farmer (worked on farms, written about farms, not actually worthy of the title).

Hey bee experts on Twitter... What do you think of this idea? “Virginia Is Giving Away Hives To Help Pollinators.” Take poll. And comment please. https://twitter.com/bymattkelly/status/1021952991421714433

I had a fantastic afternoon at the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, NY, doing a workshop on Bee Basics for the naturalist team and the Urban Ecology students. In just 20 minutes, in two patches of flowers, we found Brown-belted bumble bees, Common Eastern bumble bees, Lasioglossum, small metallic-blue carpenter bees, and one elusive leaf-cutter bee. There's amazing life to see at this zoo!