Valuable tools for pollinator conservation from passionate people

Bee City USA regularly adds links to resources to help raise awareness and enhance habitats. Resources range from books, to movies, websites, brochures and curriculum.
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On this page

>  Plant selection 
>  Federal initiatives
>  ​Pollinator identification
>  Native pollinator habitats
>  Pesticides & pollinators
>  Urban beekeeping in the news
>  Honeybees and Beekeeping info
>  Documentaries

Plant selection guidance

• Recommended Native Pollinator Friendly [Wildflower] Planting List for the Greater Asheville, NC, Area ​(Updated 6/2/17)   Sortable Excel file
• Recommended Native Pollinator Friendly [Trees, Shrubs & Vines] Planting List for Greater Asheville, NC, Area (Updated 6/2/17)  Sortable Excel file
• To create a list that is native to your area, follow the instructions at "Create Habitat"
• The Pollinator Partnership's planting guides for ecoregions across America as well as free phone app: www.pollinator.org
• Bringing Nature Home: A Case for Native Gardening 
• USDA Plants Database
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Centerwww.wildflower.org/plants/

• The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation--Fact Sheets/Plant Guides
• National Wildlife Federation Native Plant Finder 
• Pollinator-Friendly Seeds and Nursery Directory from Beyond Pesticides
• Audubon Society Native Plant Finder
• Bees, An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide, by Heather Holm
• 100 Plants to Feed the Bees, by the Xerces Society

Federal initiatives

• National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honeybees and Other Pollinators
• Presidential Memorandum--Creating a Federal Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators
• Fact Sheet: The Economic Challenge Posed by Declining Pollinator Populations
• Creating a Federal Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators [in Designed Landscapes created by the Council on Environmental Quality and the General Services Administration
• U S Fish & Wildlife Service Save the Monarchs site​

Pollinator identification

This poster from the Pollinator Partnership is one of our best teaching tools. It illustrates some of the 3600 species of native bees in the United States. Click here for a full description of each bee and flower shown on the poster. 

Thank you Pollinator Partnership and North American Pollinator Protection Campaign!

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This wonderful booklet--"Bee Basics: An Introduction to Our Native Bees"--from the Pollinator Partnership and the US Department of Agriculture can be downloaded here or ordered from the Pollinator Partnership here.

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• Outdoor enthusiasts' guide to bugs
• Attracting Native Pollinators, Protecting North America's Bees and Butterflies, The Xerces Society Guide
• Pollinators of Native Plants: Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants, by Heather Holm
• For help identifying pollinators through photographs, go to Bug Guide.net
• USDA's basic introduction to distinguishing pollinators from other insects   
• US Forest Service' Pollinator of the Month website 
• Butterflies and Moths of North America (Bamona)
• Comparison of honey bees and other bee-like insects 
• Bumble Bees of the Eastern United States A 104-page guide by the USDA Forest Service and the Pollinator Partnership 
• Pollinator Syndrome Traits Table, i.e. flower characteristics that predict and determine their pollinator(s)
• Bees: A Natural History and Bees of the World, by Christopher O'Toole
• Bees, An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide, by Heather Holm

Native pollinator habitats

• The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation 
• Resources for Creating Roadside Habitat from Xerces Society
• US Fish & Wildlife Service , especially booklet: Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden
• Beautiful Wildlife Garden: A treasure trove of resources about pollinators 
• Pollinator Paradise Demonstration Garden in Pittsboro, NC (Click on Pollinator Paradise Demonstration Garden link). 
• Pollinator Pathways in Seattle
• Native Bee Conservancy
• UK urban meadows hope to help pollinators get buzzing
• Pollinator Protection Pledge (Xerces Society)
• Penn State University’s Center for Pollinator Research, Master Gardener “Pollinator Friendly Garden Certification Program” 
• For the birds (and bees), County’s first certified pollinator-friendly gardens aims to give shelter to the creatures that help feed us.
• Butterfly Conservation Initiative
• Report from the National Academies Press: STATUS OF POLLINATORS IN NORTH AMERICA
• The Meadow Project
• The Humane Society's Urban Wildlife Sanctuary Program
• Build Your Own Nesting Sites for Native Bees
• Pollination Wunder Station and Other Installations In "Resonating Bodies" Exhibit, Toronto (2008)
• Green Highways: New Strategies To Manage Roadsides as Habitat

​Monarch Habitat Resources

• Monarch Joint Venture
• Monarch Rescue
• Monarch Watch--education outreach, butterfly tagging and waystation program ; to purchase a monarch way-station seed kit, go to shop.monarchwatch.org.
• Monarch Joint Venture & US Fish & Wildlife Service Webinar Series on monarch biology, monitoring and conservation.
• Journey North (A citizen science initiative to document sightings of monarchs at each stage of their migration and life cycle, as well as hummingbirds.)
• Planting Tropical Milkweed Where It Is a Non-Native Is Killing Monarch Butterflies

Phenology

• ​​Nature's Notebook: Phenology Visualization Tool

Vertical Divider

Journey North map of monarch spring & fall migrations

Pesticides & pollinators

• Xerces Society 's annotated bibliography about pesticide impacts on pollinators & other beneficial insects
• Xerces Society database on impacts of pesticides on invertebrates (insects)
• Spokane, WA, bans neonicotinoid use on city-owned property
• Eugene, OR, first city to ban neonics on city-owned property
• Takoma Park, MD, passes first municipal pesticide ban in US
• Shorewood , Minnesota, passes "Bee-Safe" policy 
• State Preemption Laws--A Beyond Pesticides Factsheet that explains only 9 states allow municipalities toenact pesticide bans locally (However, all municipalities have the right to ban or limit pesticide use on their own property.)
• NAPPC Brochure: "Solving Your Pest Problems Without Harming Pollinators"
• USDA Agroforestry Notes 35: Pesticide Considerations for Native Bees in Agroforestry
• Ontario, Canada bans cosmetic pesticide use
• National Pesticide Information Center,  800-858-7378
• Pesticide-free Yellow Jacket Wasp Extermination and video
• Least toxic integrated pest management (Northeast IPM, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Beyond Pesticides)

Pesticide-free parks programs

• Durango, CO
• Carrboro, NC Least Toxic Integrated Management Policy
• Gardening for Butterflies in the DC/Virginia Area

Urban beekeeping in the news

• ​Backwards Beekeepers campaign to legalize beekeeping in Los Angeles 
• No Buzz Zones: 90+ U.S. Cities and Towns Where Beekeeping Is Still Illegal
• Beekeeping Ordinance--A Good Model from Madison, Wisconsin 
• Madison Abuzz As New Ordinance Legalizes Beekeeping 
• Chicago Honey Coop 
• Urban Beekeepers Keep Cities Abuzz with Pollinators 
• Abuzz about beekeeping in Los Angeles, July 14, 2012. 
• Angry buzz rises among neighbors of beekeepers, June 22, 2011, USA Today. 
• Urban beekeeping at Waldorf-Astoria New York, July 24, 2012. 
• Critical buzz: Thousands of volunteers count bees to help scientists save them 
• North Carolina State Beekeeper Association’s Best Practices for Urban Beekeepers
• HoneyLove Urban Beekeepers and HoneyLove Flash Mob Waggle Dance (Los Angeles, CA)
• BeeAndGarden.com, A resource to help save the honey bees and our environment! 
• Whole Foods’ Share the Buzz Campaign and Whole Foods Market University Heights' produce department photo with and without items dependent on pollinator populations.                          
• Hives for Humanity--A community building program through beekeeping in Vancouver, Canada
• Minneapolis-Based, the Beez Kneez community program for beekeeping education, honey production & delivery on bikes

General information
​about honeybees & beekeeping

• ​The Guide to Beekeeping for Adults and Kids
• Beekeeping Guide for All Ages--A Potpourri of resources for wannabe beekeepers
• Guerilla Beekeepers  
• The Center for Honeybee Research offers annual conferences to learn about the latest research regarding natural beekeeping. 
• Holy Bee Press 
• American Beekeeping Federation 
• National Honey Bee Day
• Bee Culture  Magazine
• The American Bee Journal
• Bee Guardians, a program promoting natural beekeeping

Documentaries & You Tube videos about
​bees & other pollinators

• The hidden beauty of pollination- by Louie Schwartzberg, Documentary clip of DisneyNature movie, Wings of Life
• Vanishing of the Bees 
• Queen of the Sun 
• Nature: Silence of the Bees (PBS Documentary, 2008)
• Who Killed the Honey Bee? (BBC Documentary)
• More Than Honey
• Whole Foods Share the Buzz You Tube video
• Bee City--Black and white film made in 1951
• Why Bees Are Disappearing: Marla Spivak's Ted Talk
• A Ghost in the Making: Searching for the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee, by Clay Bolt
• The Solitary Bees 
• What’s Killing Our Bees, BBC Documentary
• Hometown Habitat, Stories of Bringing Nature Home
• Flight of the Butterflies
• People, Plants and Pollinators  (Pollinators of East Africa) from NatGEO LIVE
• How Do Bees Make Honey? (PBS production)
• How to Increase Food Production by Using Native Pollinators, by Laura Klahre
• Plants, Pollinators and People: A Love Story, by Kyra Krakos
• The Pollination Puzzle. Unexpected alternatives to honey bees, by David Pattemore
  
• [Buzz Pollination] This Vibrating Bumblebee Unlocks a Flower's Hidden Treasure | Deep Look