Diario del proyecto Bees of San Diego County

A big thank you to all of you who paid close attention to the little things and photographed bees during the City Nature Challenge.
In just 4 days, the project collected 259 bee observations! Of course A. mellifera dominated with 132 observations, but that means that almost half of the total observations were native bees! Check out the impressive list of native species, genus, subgenus seen within the 4 days (with a handful still needing review):

Bombus vosnesenskii
Bombus melanopygus
Dufourea australis
Xylocopa californica
Bombus sonorus
Anthophora californica
Melissodes
Andrena
Xylocopa varipuncta
Diadasia bituberculata
Neopasites mojavensis
Dialictus
Colletes
Pygoperdita
Agapostemon melliventris
Bombus californicus
Anthophorula
Ashmeadiella
Ancylandrena
Habropoda tristissima
Tetraloniella davidsoni
Diadasia rinconis
Centris pallida
Habropoda depressa
Diadasia ochracea
Megachile
Anthidium
Diadasia nigrifrons

Last but not least, a big thank you to John Ascher who looked at so many observations during this challenge and lent his expertise to ID and correct many records (177 to be exact). Rusty, a big thank you as well for your 105 IDs.

Looking forward to CNC 2020!!

Don't miss the next Nat Talk:
Tuesday, May 14, 2019 7:00 PM
Visit https://www.sdnhm.org/calendar/ for tickets.
Humans have kept honey bees in hives for millennia, but only in recent decades have biologists begun to investigate how these industrious insects live in the wild. Author and Cornell University Professor Tom Seeley will present the captivating story of what scientists are learning about the behavior, social life, and survival strategies of honey bees living outside beekeepers’ hives.
Tom Seeley will show why wild colonies of honey bees living in forests are thriving while the managed colonies living in beekeepers' apiaries are in crisis. This Nat Talk offers a new vision of how beekeeping can better align with the natural habits of honey bees. After the talk, Tom will sign copies of his book, The Lives of Bees: The Untold Story of the Honey Bee in the Wild, available for purchase in the Museum store.
Museum doors open at 5:30 PM and the talk begins at 7 PM. Food, beer, and wine will be available for purchase at the Flying Squirrel Café before the talk.

"Commentary: The ecosystem collapse is already happening. For humans, this is life and death."
By MICHAEL WALLVICE PRESIDENT OF SCIENCE AND CONSERVATION AND CURATOR OF ENTOMOLOGY AT THE SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/commentary/story/2019-05-09/an-ecosystem-collapse-is-already-happening-and-it-will-impact-the-survival-of-humans?fbclid=IwAR3LSc4ixB7f9RQ7GW9OhOSfuH1YcjNNcPdDypL2G59pRnctBC7c3vIc1-8
@michaelwall