Membership in Seniors Achieving Greater Education is not required for this class.  If you get a message to the contrary, please ignore it.  Thank you.

Among the largest of our native bees, bumble bees are social creatures that form small colonies in nests and inhabit temperate to arctic regions of the world.  Pollination by bumble bees is essential to the propagation of many native plants. Bumble bees are perhaps the most efficient of the pollinators. Because of this, they also have become commercially important on crops like tomatoes and blueberries.  We will discuss some bee biology, the species found in the St. John Valley, the plants they prefer, and what you can do to favor them in your yard or neighborhood. 

Presenter: Dave Hobbins: Dave is a University of Maine at Fort Kent Emeritus Professor who retired in 2018.  He lives in Fort Kent with his wife of 33 years and pursues his interests in hiking, history, backyard astronomy, bumble bees, and working in his woodlot. This presentation is based on work he continues since his first involvement with the Maine Bumble Bee Atlas in 2016.