Wild bees and floral jewels: preserving ecological relationships in the west

Call Number:

URL:

Abstract:

The western United States is among the richest areas of bee diversity in the world. Flower patches from the Sonoran Desert to Sierran meadows buzz softly with the paeans bees pay to flowers. Most of our wild, native bees are found in the arid regions west of the 100th meridian: California has 1,500 species, Utah and Arizona more than 1,000 each, the Columbia Basin over 800, and Wyoming, that land of cool, dry summers and frigid winters, claims over 600 species. These insects are the chosen matchmakers for plants: they have evolved in intimate association with our flora. Indeed, bees have helped shape the flora and have, in turn, been shaped by it.

Notes:

Reference Code: A00TEP01IDUS

Full Citation: Tepedino, V. 2000. Wild bees and floral jewels: preserving ecological relationships in the west. Bulletin of the Native Plant Society of Oregon 33(9): 93, 97-98.

Location: ANIMAL EF: INSECTS