Beneficials

Attract Mason Bees – No Protective Gear Needed

March 15, 2013

in Beneficials

by Judy Beaudette

Few strategies for keeping our environment healthy are as interesting, simple and fun as raising mason bees, tiny insects that are gaining popularity with gardeners and farmers alike. What’s more, encouraging wild mason bees to your slice of earth – no matter how small or urban – could help counter negative effects of declining honey bee colonies. [click to continue…]

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In Defense of Native Bees

January 15, 2013

in Beneficials,Wildlife Habitats

by Karen Lyness LeBlanc

Native bees are not receiving the attention honeybees have been given recently, but they are also experiencing a significant population decline. In places where there is significant natural habitat, native bees may provide all of the pollination needed for some crops. So maintaining habitat for native bees has economic, as well as ecological benefits. [click to continue…]

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Landscaping for Butterflies and Other Pollinators: Exotics can be Useful

August 11, 2012

by Sharon Stichter Constructed landscapes can provide excellent habitat for many butterflies and other beneficial insects. For butterflies, a complete habitat includes both nectar sources for the adults and larval host plants for the next generation. There are many good sources of information about which plants to use. What is not generally known is that [...]

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Conserving Bumble Bees

August 11, 2012

Guidelines for Creating and Managing Habitat for America’s Declining Pollinators This excerpt is reproduced, with permission, from Conserving Bumble Bees: Guidelines for Creating and Managing Habitat for America’s Declining Pollinators, published by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Portland, OR. For more information or to obtain a copy of the guidelines, please visit http://www.xerces.org/bumblebees/guidelines/. by [...]

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Bats Losing the Battle against White-nose Syndrome

August 11, 2012

by Maureen Sundberg Summer evenings in many parts of New England are missing something this year – the swoop of a bat over yards at dusk. Though some might rejoice at a local reduction in the bat population, particularly if the population resides in one’s attic, the loss of millions of bats since 2006 comes [...]

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