Naturalists at the Somerset County Park to Hold Native Bees Presentation

From The Naturalists at the Somerset County Park: The Naturalists at the Somerset County Park Commission Environmental Education Center (EEC) have scheduled a presentation, “Native Bees – Who Are They and Why Should I Care?’ on Saturday, January 28, 2017 from 2:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. The EEC is located at 190 Lord Stirling Road in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.

The European honey bee is one of the most common bees in the world. It was brought to this continent for honey by the Colonists in the 1700s and is often thought of as the predominant pollinator in the United States. There are over 4,000 species of bees native to the United States and about 400 of those are native to New Jersey. Native bees serve as our primary pollinators of flowers and crops. While native bees provide sustainable pollination services, we hardly know anything about them.

Bee researcher and Rutgers PhD Fellow, Michael Roswell, will introduce participants to some of the many native bees that can be found throughout New Jersey. His presentation will address what they look like, how they live, and why they differ from the common European honey bee. Roswell will discuss some of the preliminary findings from his studies around New Jersey and in the meadows at the EEC. Find out what he and other scientists are trying to learn about the role bees play in pollination for both agriculture and wildlife.

The presentation is free and is open to all ages. For information call the EEC at 908-766-2489or log onto www.somersetcountyparks.org.

The Somerset County Park Commission Environmental Education Center is located within Lord Stirling Park, in the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township, and is nestled within 450 acres of the western portion of the Great Swamp Basin of the Passaic River. A swamp vivarium, and an environmentally based library are located within the Center itself.

Information on this event and other Somerset County Park Commission activities may be found on the Internet at www.somersetcountyparks.org

Image Courtesy of The Naturalists at the Somerset County Park