Spring is in full bloom, and so is our lab garden! Here is a peek at what we are currently growing, and some of the bees our garden is attracting. The california poppies have been attracting all kinds of bees, from Agapostemon texanus to Bombus vosnesenskii to Halictus ligatus and everything in between! Habropoda and Anthidium have been fans of the Salvia The rock purslane is popular with the Halictids and Andrena
Our resident artist, Leilani, has been working hard on decorating our lab with her beautiful art. On the left is a poster featuring Agapostemon texanus and on the right is her mural of Megachile fidelis! Up next is a mural of a hummingbird.
Five students from the UC Berkeley Bee Lab went on a field trip on Saturday April 2, 2022 to visit the Frog Hollow farm, where they had the opportunity to chat informally for 2 hours with the owner/manager, Farmer Al. Farmer Al generously told us the history of the farm and how it has grown over the years from 23 acres to 280 acres today. He commented on how the CSA program is now up to ~ 1500 members, and how he and his staff manage to keep up with the boxes of fresh fruit that are sent out each week to subscribers. We also learned about the major compost project and how he is enriching his soils with all the organisms that are part of the compost ecosystem. Finally, we learned about the incredible pastries that his wife Becky continues to produce.
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AuthorSarah is an undergraduate at UC Berkeley studying insect ecology, particularly bee ecology. She works as the lab's manager, and when she's not conducting bee research, can often be found outside on a hike taking pictures of bees. Archives
May 2023
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