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Zusatztext "If you are interested in bees or rely on them to make your garden thrive! this illustrated natural history guidebook is a must-read." Informationen zum Autor Gretchen LeBuhn is Professor of Biology at San Francisco State University and the Director of the Great Sunflower Project! a national citizen science program designed to gather information about bee diversity and activity and pollinators more generally. Noel Pugh is a scientific illustrator. Zusammenfassung This engaging and easy-to-use natural history guidebook provides a thorough overview of native and honey bee biology and offers tools for identifying the most common bees of California and the Western United States. Full-color illustrations introduce readers to more than 30 genera of native bees, noting each one's needs and habits and placing them in their wider context. The author highlights bees’ ties to our own lives, the food we eat, and the habitat we provide, and suggests ways to support bees in our own backyards. In addition to helping readers understand and distinguish among major groups of bees, this guide reveals how bees are an essential part of healthy ecosystem and how many plants, including important crop plants, depend on the pollination they provide. As growing evidence points to declining bee populations, this book offers critical information about the bond between plants and pollinators, and between humans and nature. Thoroughly researched and full of new insights into the ancient process of pollination, Field Guide to the Common Bees of California; Including Bees of the Western United States is invaluable for the window it opens onto the biodiversity, adaptive range, and complexity of invertebrate communities. Inhaltsverzeichnis Preface AN INTRODUCTION TO BEES What Are Bees? Importance of Bees Bee Diversity Bee Morphology Bee Life Cycles Evolution of Social Behavior: Social versus Solitary Bees Parasites and Robbers Other Parasites and Predators Nesting Pollination Basics Ecosystem Services and Bees Conservation of Bees and Other Pollinators Studying Bees Identifying Bees BEE FAMILY AND GENUS ACCOUNTS Plasterer or Polyester Bees (Family Colletidae) Yellow-faced Bees or Masked Bees (Genus Hylaeus) Polyester Bees or Digger Bees (Genus Colletes) Sweat Bees (Family Halictidae) Sweat Bees (Genus Halictus) Green Sweat Bees (Genus Agapostemon) Sweat Bees (Genus Lasioglossum) Sweat Bees (Genus Dufourea) Cuckoo Bees (Genus Sphecodes) Mining Bees (Family Andrenidae) Digger Bees or Miner Bees (Genus Andrena) Panurgine Bees (Genus Panurginus) Miner Bees (Genus Perdita) Leaf-cutter Bees or Mason Bees (Family Megachilidae) Resin Bees or Mason Bees (Genus Dianthidium) Carder Bees (Genus Anthidium) 93 Large Leaf-cutter Bees (Genus Megachile) Small Leaf-cutter Bees or Mason Bees (Genus Osmia) Leaf-cutter Bees (Genus Ashmeadiella) Mason Bees (Genus Hoplitis) Mason Bees (Genus Heriades) Cuckoo! Carpenter! Digger! Bumble!and Honey Bees (Family Apidae) Honey Bees (Genus Apis) Squash Bees (Genus Peponapis) Habropoda Bees (Genus Habropoda) Cuckoo Bees (Genus Nomada) Mining Bees (Genus Anthophora) Bumble Bees (Genus Bombus) Long-horned Bees or Sunflower Bees (Genus Diadasia) Long-horned Bees (Genus Melissodes) Large Carpenter Bees (Genus Xylocopa) Small Carpenter Bees (Genus Ceratina) Long-horned Bees (Genus Eucera) Long-horned Bees (Genus Tetraloniella) Cuckoo Bees (Genus Triepeolus) Appendix 1: Bee Families and G...
