California Native Bees in Herbal Gardens

  Did you know that California is home to roughly 1,600 species of native bees?!  While most people can recognize a honey bee and perhaps a bumble bee, few are aware that so many other types are pollinating our native, ornamental, and agricultural plants. In this 2-hour talk, you will learn about the importance of these pollinators, their biology and ecology, including info on their lifecycle and nesting needs.  You will learn about the most common native bees visiting medicinal herb gardens during each season, as well as their very favorite plants.  Jaime will provide info on how to start your own bee garden to encourage these valuable pollinators to visit your own home habitat.  Jaime Pawelek is a native bee biologist and gardener in Richmond, CA.  She has been studying native bees since 2005 and loves teaching people about bees, as well as designing gardens for bees and other pollinators.  She currently works as a bee taxonomist (identifying bees to species) at UC Berkeley, where sh