In this episode we learn about an effort to map pollinator habitat, as well as their stories, in Southern Oregon. The Southern Oregon Buzzway is a collaboration between Southern Oregon University and Pollinator Project Rogue Valley. 

Pollinator Project Rogue Valley: https://www.pollinatorprojectroguevalley.org/

Southern Oregon Buzzway Map: https://www.pollinatorprojectroguevalley.org/rogue-buzzway-maps

Dr. Jamie Trammell's work: https://sou.edu/academics/environmental-science/faculty/e-jamie-trammell/

This week on our Commercial Beekeeping segment, Nick VanCalcar from VanCalcar Apiaries in Amity, Oregon joins us to discuss the importance of doing your own fabrication in beekeeping operations.

There are over a thousand species of bees in the Pacific Northwest. However, The resources available for someone to tell the bees apart is lacking for this region. In this episode we hear from the team that is working to solve this problem. Carol Yamada, Lincoln Best, August Jackson, Jim Rivers, Joshua Dunlap & Joe Engler discuss their publication of four new taxonomic keys for the bees of the PNW. 

 Early reports are that there may be a large loss of commercial honey bee colonies across the U.S. this winter. In this episode we are joined by co-host Harry Vanderpool to talk with Russell Heitkam. Russell is a second generation beekeeper and Northern California queen, queen cell, package, and nuc producer. He also brokers about 7,000 hives from Oregon and Washington for almond pollination.

Filter strips surround agricultural fields and reduce soil loss and pesticide effluent reaching streams and rivers. They can also host flowering plants that bees and butterflies like. We talk to Dr. Amy Toth about whether these narrow ribbons of land can actually benefit pollinators.

Toth Lab website: https://www.tothlab.org/people

Episode 246 on filter strips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MIcDh_SreU

This week we kick off our new segment on commercial beekeeping with our new co-host, Harry Vanderpool of Vanderpool Farms in Salem, OR. Harry shares his beekeeping journey and what it takes to run a successful operation. 

Michael Getz, a master's student here at Oregon State University, joins us this week on PolliNation to discuss his new paper on the recent introduction of the European Mason bee (Osmia cornuta) to British Columbia, Canada. Using computer vision technology he was able to identify Mason bee cocoons and model the bee's spread across North America. 

Learn more about Michael's research here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381659270_The_Establishment_and_Potential_Spread_of_Osmia_cornuta_Hymenoptera_Megachilidae_in_North_America

What does it take to create a certified pollinator pathway? This week on PolliNation, Colleen Rockwell, the Environmental Committee Chair for Milwaukie's Rotary Club, shares how Milwaukie became only the second certified pollinator pathway in Oregon. 

Learn more about the Pollinator Pathway in Milwaukie here: https://www.pollinator-pathway.org/towns/milwaukie

Also, if you are interested in the fundraiser in Portland for the Oregon Bee Atlas, register here: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/master-melittologist/events/bees-bottles-biodiversity-fundraiser-oregon-bee-atlas 

The last record of the Leafcutter Bee (Trachusa gummifera) in Marin County was in 1977. That is, until the One Tam Community Science Program had a documented sighting of it nearly 47 years later.

This week we hear from Sara Leon Guerrero, a manager of the One Tam Community Science Program through the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. Sara tells us how One Tam is leading the way in bridging ecological data gaps, implementing long-term monitoring efforts, and fostering curiosity and community participation. 

Learn more about the Tamalpais Bee Lab here: 

https://www.onetam.org/tamalpais-bee-lab

What happens to Mason bees after a number of consecutive cold days? Let's say a female lays an egg. What happens to it? Does it die? This week on PolliNation we welcome back Dr. Jim Cane and Ron Spendal to discuss their new paper "Eggs of the bee Osmia lignaria endure weeks of prolonged cold weather" https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381743824_Eggs_of_the_bee_Osmia_lignaria_endure_weeks_of_prolonged_cold_weather