This is a sweat bee (Halictus tripartitus), photographed by Jeremiah Bender!
This is a Ultra Green Sweat Bee (Agapostemon), photographed by Jeremiah Bender!
This is a Long-Horned Bee (Melissodes), photographed by Jeremiah Bender!
This is a Mallow Bee (Diadasia), photographed by Jeremiah Bender!
WHAT ARE NATIVE BEES?
When you hear the word “bee,” you likely think of the European honey bee: black and yellow, lives in a hive, and produces honey. However, did you know there are over 20,000 species of bees worldwide? And only 2 make honey? Of those, 4000 are native to the United States, and California alone has 1,600 species! At the Cheadle Center (and Beecampus), we focus on the 90+ species native to the Santa Barbara area. Most of these bees are solitary, meaning each female lays her own nest with her own eggs. These bees are incredibly diverse. Their sizes range from a grain of rice to a quarter, and their colors range from yellow and black to bright metallic green. They are critical pollinators for agricultural crops, backyard gardens, and the many hundreds of native plant species in our county.
Anthophora, photographed by Jeremiah Bender
WHAT IS BEECAMPUS?
We are committed to conservation and education. As BeeCampus USA affiliates, we maintain our native bee habitat, limit pesticide use, and offer service opportunities through garden workday volunteering events and educational workshops.
SOURCING NATIVE PLANTS:
Native plants are ideal for supporting native pollinators and biodiversity, as they have co-evolved with our ecosystem for millions of years.
But which native plants to plant? The diversity of regions, climates, and microclimates in California mean biodiversity is in hard to see places, and that many widespread species are very unique genetically to each of these places. Finding these truly native plants- what are often called local genotypes- is challenging. On campus, plants like the California poppy have adapted to our coastal climate, however, they are still unique from other coastal forms of the same plant elsewhere in California. As shown on the right, our coastal poppies are more yellow, while poppies found further inland are a deeper orange. If we plant inland poppies here, the two will introgress, yielding poppies that are vulnerable to mildew and disease, and decreasing what is left of these plants' unique genetic biodiversity. Aside from flower color, they have many other differences. All too often, native plants available to the public are hybrids, cultivars, or sourced from far from where they are planted. Admittedly, locally native plants can be difficult to find. In the Santa Barbara area, check out Santa Barbara Natives and the Cheadle Center nursery for locally sourced plants. They preserve both pollinators and botanical heritage!
LEARN MORE:
GETTING STARTED WITH NATIVE BEES!
BOOK RECS ON NATIVE BEES!
Our Native Bees - P. Embry
A Sting in the Tale: My Adventures with Bumblebees - D. Goulson
Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse - D. Goulson
