To Bee or Not to Bee

To bee or not to bee.

When research entomologist Terry Griswold (left) speaks on North American bees on Wednesday, Feb. 10 in 122 Briggs Hall, Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis, he will bring with him his passion to diversify available crop pollinators and conserve pollinator populations.

His talk, from 12:10 to 1 p.m., will be Webcast and you can listen live. It will also be archived on this page. The noon lecture is part of the department's winter seminar series.

Griswold, who works for the Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (also known as USDA-ARS) says his research relates to "the systematics, biogeography, and biodiversity of native bees in support of the research unit's efforts to diversify available crop pollinators and conserve pollinator populations."

He focuses his systematics research focuses on Megachilidae, "the family with the greatest potential for manageable pollinators."

That family includes such native bees as the leafcutter bee (below). These bees are so named because they cut pieces of leaves for their nests.

Other members of the family include mason bees and carder bees. They're solitary bees as opposed to social (honey bees).