Bumble Bee Queens, Nests, and Spring Wildflowers

Dr. Jeff Karron’s upcoming talk features striking slow-motion videography to highlight the interdependence of bumble bee queens and spring-flowering perennial plants. Early-blooming native perennials provide the essential food resources queens need to survive, establish nests, and successfully raise their first brood. In turn, many spring flowering plants depend heavily on bumble bees for effective pollination and seed production. All video and photography featured in this presentation were filmed in high-quality woodland and prairie sites across southeastern Wisconsin. The talk highlights the importance of conserving and restoring early-season floral resources to sustain bumble bee populations.

Dr. Karron is Professor of Biology emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is internationally known for his research on the ecology of plant-pollinator interactions, bumble bee behavior, and the conservation of endangered plants. For more information about his research, please visit his website: www.karronlab.com. Jeff recently produced a highly regarded nature documentary highlighting the ecology of bumble bees and native plants in a tallgrass prairie

You may also like the following events from Wild Ones - Milwaukee North:

• Next month, 14th February, 09:30 am, Invasive Species and Restoration Efforts in the Milwaukee Area in Brown Deer
• This March, 14th March, 09:30 am, The Wild Within Us: Gardening for Homo sapiens' Habitat in Brown Deer