US (OH): Short course addresses threats to bees

Farmers, gardeners, beekeepers, naturalists and others with an interest in bees are invited to attend The Power of Pollinators Short Course, a workshop organized by Ohio State University's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC). The event will be held March 14-15 on OARDC's Wooster campus.

"We depend on bee pollinators for much of what we eat and drink, and bees are also essential to ecological health," said Denise Ellsworth, director of the Honey Bee and Native Pollinator Education Program at OARDC's Department of Entomology.

"Worldwide, bees are threatened due to habitat loss, pests, pesticides, climate change and more," she said. "This two-day workshop will focus on the biology, identification and conservation of native bees."

The event will take place at OARDC’s Fisher Auditorium, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster. OARDC is the research arm of Ohio State's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

Short course participants will learn from national experts about bees and bee health, get an up-close look at bees at a microscope area, explore bee displays and meet like-minded bee fans, Ellsworth said. Attendees will also go home with handouts and publications to help them learn more about the current situation of bees.

Registration costs only $20 thanks to funding provided by Bayer Bee Care Center, which is co-sponsoring the event. It includes lunch and handouts. To register and for more information, log on to http://go.osu.edu/R8k, or contact Ellsworth at 330-263-3723 or [email protected].

One of the short course's highlights is Bayer Bee Care Program's "Beehicle," a specially wrapped vehicle that’s on a three-month journey across the Midwest providing bee stewardship workshops and expert presentations on issues impacting honeybee wellness.

Topics that will be covered during the short course include pollination biology, native bee identification, garden-variety bees and confused cousins, threats to pollinators, the status of honeybees, and native plants for native bees.

Ohio State Speakers include Mary Gardiner and Reed Johnson, assistant professors, Department of Entomology; Scott Prajzner and Doug Sponsler, graduate research associates, Department of Entomology; and Barbara Bloetscher, coordinator of the Department of Entomology's School IPM Program and state apiarist with the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

Other speakers include Randy Mitchell, professor of biology, the University of Akron; Mary Rager, plant ecologist, Pollinator Partnership; and Robyn Kneen, bee health project manager, Bayer CropScience's North America.