Heather Holm, Bumble Bee Banquet: Selecting Native Plants for Bumble Bees

Part of the Tending Nature speaker series sponsored by The Ohio State University. More details here: go.osu.edu/tend...

[@garthbrewster6926]

Thank you all! Enjoyed the presentation!

[@turneryouboob]

thank you, Denise Ellsworth, for doing such a great job including your rapid posting of the videos. Outstanding.

[@cynthiamcmahon9656]

Thank you for a facinating presention. I have fallen in love with carpenter bees, they have such inquisitive personalities wish more people would live with these bees and know all the great ways you gave us to help!

[@darinschmanke8567]

Excellent content, thank you very much!

[@jdy1054]

Thanks to you both. Great presentation!

[@peterg6638]

Interesting video. I have had bumble bee nests fp3 two years now. I noticed a new qween this year she was very large. Seems that i added the right perenials to my garden and they find the anise hyssops to be the best choice for the workers in the summer.

[@marciawolff1496]

Thank you for your wonderful research and information Heather. And for all you do informing this community Denise, thanks is not enough!

[@SarahWilsonMySmartPuppy]

Great presentation. Full of useful info and plant ideas from Heather. Thanks for getting this done and up, Denise. Just discovered your channel and am loving it!

[@suefeustel8751]

Wonderful lecture! Thank you for all the useful information.

[@joannecoulton4011]

Thank you for all this information!

[@volvosafe4662]

Thank you!!! 🐝

[@54nancylee]

wonderful!!

[@danlawrence6356]

fascinating! many thx from Richmond VA

[@marciawolff1496]

Thank you for the great work and information Heather. And to you too Denise, this series is fabulous! Can't wait to get out there and plant more pussy willows and natives!

[@alicebierhorst6712]

super helpful, thank you!

[@lisadeluca5714]

I am in SE Michigan and am looking to purchase native wild Rosa Rose. any suggestions where to get it?

[@marianwhit]

Since the bees are how plants reproduce, looking at it from the plant's point of view, is it possible that a high load of very attractive non-native plants would cause diversion from native plants (also used by other animals such as lepidopterans)? I call this pollinator "theft" so to speak, enabling higher reproduction of plants that were introduced without their normal predator pressures, and thereby making more room for the invaders to establish when the native plants don't get pollinated? Studies on these plants compared with their evolved native location suggest they have much more energy to invest in reproductive processes and making room for themselves via soil and other forms of allelopathy (like the common dandelion delivering allelopathic pollen to others in its genus as Japanese research on Taraxicum is showing). Something like this was demonstrated in Costa Rica with hummingbirds going to feeders in high numbers, being drawn from the landscape, having zero pollen on them because of the alternate concentrated and convenient food source, and a subsequent decline in the highly co-evolved plants they pollinated (that are also needed by many other animals). All animals (and probably plants) operate on "opportunity cost". So this could conceivably result in a degradation factor for the whole ecology. I would love Dr. Holm's thoughts on this or any work she might know of to study this. I also wonder about introduced plants "enticing" our bees from their nests too early in the spring...if they can smell mouse nests, does smell impact the time of their emergence in the spring and subjecting them to cold or excessive energy use? Everyone loves the introduced coltsfoot that blooms earlier than any other plant here, saying "the beeezeee loooovvvee" it, but I am suspicious. Removing it from my one acre and I have more Bombus than ever before. I actually remove as many introduced species as I have time for. It deeply concerns me when some of the best experts dismiss the importance of the smaller native ground plants for not only forage, but things like ground insulation and other habitat needs as well. There are parts of Canada where there is dandelion and orchard grass as far as the eye can see. Great talk, I've been a fan of your research since before you really went "public", happy for your success, and if you are ever in Nova Scotia, look us up, we will give you a nice free cottage of your own on the water to use depending on when you are here. Bravo.

[@LaRaeBassett]

While sising my shed I had a. Bumblebee chase me all the way in the house and stung me on the face.

[@marygrogan6101]

The words that show up are different from the speaker. Hard to keep up with both. Lots of good info.

[@leslieboucher4949]

Printed dialogue does not sync with speaker and is distracting, covers up some of the photo titles. Topic is very good and interesting, I will be looking more carefully at my bumblebees.