Hubbardston-Ware River Nature Club East Quabbin Land Trust BEYOND THE HONEY BEE: CONSERVING OUR VITAL NATIVE POLLINATORS Saturday May 2, 2015 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. HARVARD FOREST PETERSHAM “Decades of stressors have severely and adversely altered the health and numbers of pollinator populations. Pollinators have been impacted by the loss, degradation, and fragmentation of habitat, reduction in the number and quality of food sources, reduction in the availability of sites for breeding, nesting, and roosting, and improper use of pesticides and herbicides. In some cases these stressors have made pollinator populations more susceptible to existing disease, predators, and parasites. . .” Supporting the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators, The Xerces Society, October 20, 2014 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE 7:45-8:15 Sign-in/Registration 8:20 Welcome 8:30 HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT: RECOGNIZING OUR NATIVE POLLINATORS Gail Howe Trenholm There are over 200,000 different species of animals in the world that act as pollinators. Of these about 1000 are vertebrates like birds, bats and small animals. The real work horses are the 199,000 invertebrates that achieve the majority of our crop pollination. Everyone knows about honey bees, but many people don’t know they are not native. The unsung heroes are our native bees, wasps, beetles, butterflies, moths, and even flies. Gail will provide an introduction and simple overview of the various characteristics of these families of insects with emphasis on the more important pollinators. 9:40 Keynote Presentation: CROWDSOURCING THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF BUMBLEBEE DECLINE Dr. Robert J. Gegear, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute Rob will discuss bumblebee ecology and behavior and focus on the issue of bumblebee decline. He’ll explain how individuals, land managers, and farmers can help research aimed at identifying major causes of bumblebee decline. Habitat factors that promote bumblebee species diversity will be addressed. 10:50 WHAT POLLINATORS DO WHEN THEY’RE NOT POLLINATING Charley Eiseman, Freelance naturalist, author Flowers are just one part of what pollinators need to survive. Charley will discuss the microhabitats and materials used by various types of native bees to make their nests and touch upon the life cycles of a number of non-bee flower visitors, including wasps, flies, beetles, butterflies, and moths. 11:50 NEONICOTINOIDS: ARE THEY HARMING THE BEES? Dr. Anne Averill, Professor of Entomology, Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts--Amherst Anne will talk about the current research findings on these controversial systemic insecticides, risks associated with neonicotinoid treatments of nursery and greenhouse stock, what remains to be investigated, and how national and international programs are addressing pollinator health and safety. 12:15 LUNCH by Petersham Country Store (Included in conference fee) 1:00 PROVIDING POLLINATOR HABITAT IN YOUR BACKYARD OR FARM Ellen Sousa, Author, educator, garden coach As our landscape becomes increasingly developed, backyards and farms are a “final frontier” in providing essential habitat for declining pollinators that play a vital role in environmental health. Ellen will coach us on easy ways to support pollinator populations in your own backyard, including how to attract the beneficial predatory insects that provide free pest control for vegetable gardens. A handout listing the best plants for supporting pollinator diversity in southern New England is included. 2:00-4:30 CONCURRENT WORKSHOPS 2:00-2:45 BUTTERFLIES AS POLLINATORS Gail Howe Trenholm The role of butterflies; life cycle and identification of selected species BUMBLEBEE IDENTIFICATION Rob Gegear Recognizing bumble bees; life cycle information; citizen science research opportunities 2:50-3:35 NATIVE WOODY PLANTS THAT BENEFIT POLLINATORS Ellen Sousa Selection and growing habits of trees and shrubs. IDENTIFYING AND MANAGING POLLINATOR HABITAT ON LARGE PROPERTIES Tom Sullivan, M.A.L.D., Pollinators Welcome.com Forest-edge and meadow bee habitat creation: management techniques to arrest succession, create clearings and establish meadows with an eye to providing floral and nesting opportunities for wood and ground nesting bees. 3:40-4:30 DO I HAVE A DIVERSIFIED BEE COMMUNITY? Anne Averill How to identify and appreciate the major groups of important bee pollinators other than bumble bees, including Halictidae, Andrenidae, Megachilidae, Colletidae (sweat bees, mining bees, leaf cutter and mason bees). We’ll look at specimens under the microscope and get to know these bees up close . MOTHS AS POLLINATORS Tom Murray & Brian Klassanos The role of moths; life cycle and identification of selected species ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Anne Averill is a professor of entomology in the Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts--Amherst where she conducts research on bee diversity and bumble bee health in managed and natural systems. Charley Eiseman is a freelance naturalist who conducts plant, wildlife, and natural community surveys for various land trusts, universities, and state agencies. In his spare time, he studies plantinsect interactions, with a focus on leaf-miners and gall-makers. He is the lead author of the awardwinning field guide, Tracks & Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates (Stackpole Books, 2010) and also writes an insect-themed blog called BugTracks. Rob Gegear is Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology and Biotechnology at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where his laboratory focuses on the study of pollinator neuroecology and conservation, with particular emphasis on bumblebees and the monarch butterfly. In the past he also studied two other important pollinators—hummingbirds and honey bees. Brian Klassanos’ background is in landscaping and various agricultural enterprises. His property in Ware is filled with native plantings and his management practices encourage native butterflies and other beneficial insects. Recently he has become interested in moth photography and identification, and at certain times of the year he spends a lot of time on the moth photographers group website hosted by Mississippi State University. Tom Murray is a naturalist and photographer with a special interest in insects. He is the author of Insects of New England & New York (Kollath-Stensaas, 2012), a handy field guide to over 1,250 distinctive and interesting insects. A regular contributor to BugGuide.net, Tom has collaborated with others to document previously-unknown distribution ranges for numerous insects as well as new regional records. Ellen Sousa is a Spencer, MA‐based author, speaker and garden coach specializing in habitat, landscaping and earth‐friendly gardening. She teaches classes and workshops across New England for New England Wild Flower Society, NOFA and many other organizations, and is the author of The Green Garden: A New England Guide to Planning, Planting and Maintaining the Eco‐friendly Habitat Garden (Bunker Hill, 2011). Tom Sullivan, M.A.L.D, at Pollinators Welcome.com, is a sustainable landscape designer, land consultant, and educator with special focus on native bees. He gives workshops on the nesting, foraging and life cycles of native bee species in New England. Tom designed the first pollinator habitat nursery in Massachusetts at “That’s A Plenty Farm in Hadley, where he maintains a presence and from which he holds workshops. A beekeeper in his youth, Tom switched his interest from honeybees to natives in 2008 after Colony Collapse Disorder emerged and as it became clear how intricately tied whole ecosystem health is to pollinator well-being and human survival. Gail Howe Trenholm is founder and director of Nature Visits, Inc. and has been educating children and adults about the wonders of the natural world for over 25 years. Her knowledge, enthusiasm and humor about a wide range of natural history topics is unequaled. As a Master Naturalist for MassAudubon for many years, Gail served as a resource for other natural history, conservation and education staff. She is also a trained facilitator in several national curricula such as Project Wet, Project Wild and Project Learning Tree, and is an authority on dragonfly and butterfly behavior and gardening for butterflies. REGISTRATION 1) Print & complete this form and send with check or money order to Hubbardston-Ware River Nature Club, P.O. Box 134, Hubbardston MA 01452 OR 2) Register on-line by providing the following information in an email message to [email protected] and pay via PayPal (use email address to make payment). Name(s)________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Organization/business ________________________________________________________________________________ Email address________________________________________________ OR Mailing address_______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Preferred telephone ___________________________________________ Conference fee (through April 27th) Includes lunch Conference fee after 4/27 Includes lunch $45.00 Number of people _____@ 45.00 Total ______ 50.00 Number of people______ @50.00 Total ______