|
|
|
New Publication: Smart Mosquito Management at Home
|
|
|
August Coffee & Coworking: Signage
|
|
|
Join us on the last Tuesday of each month for Coffee and Coworking. We know everyone is busy, so we’re setting aside time where you and your fellow Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA affiliates can chat, ask questions, or just silently work.
Our focus in August is Bee City/Campus street signs and habitat/interpretive signs. You could use this time to prepare your design files for printing, inquire about your city/campus’s preferred vendors for printing, get printing estimates, or sketch out a new interpretive sign.
Here’s some background to help you make your Bee City or Bee Campus signs:
- Bee City USA affiliates are required to post at least one street signs in a prominent location. Bee Campus street signs are optional for Bee Campus USA affiliates.
- Affiliates are responsible for printing their own signs. Street sign and logo files (and templates thereof) are available by going to: beecityusa.org/login > My Profile > Logo.
- We updated our logos and street sign artwork in 2022. If we haven’t already made your customized street sign or logos you can make them yourself using our templates, or we can make the files for you. Emails anytime at beecityusa@xerces.org.
- Here are our BCUSA logo use guidelines (PDF).
Other sign ideas:
~~~
Bee City USA Coffee and Coworking: Signage
Tuesday, August 25 @
11 AM – 12 PM PDT / 12 PM – 1 PM MT / 1 PM – 2 PM CT / 2 PM – 3 PM ET
Register
This meeting will not be recorded.
Laura Rost, National Coordinator of Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA, Carly Hirschmann, Community Engagement Specialist, and/or Matthew Shepherd, Director of Outreach and Education, will be on hand to help.
This an informal event with no agenda or presentation, just a chance to focus on implementing your Bee City USAor Bee Campus USAcommitments. Drop in anytime during this one-hour window. Brew some coffee, grab a snack, and join us!
~~~
|
??Š
|
- Eden, NC
- Leesburg, FL
- Obetz, OH
If you know of a community that might be interested in becoming a Bee City or Bee Campus, we'd love to connect with them. We're particularly interested in those in Alaska or Hawaii, two states where we have no affiliates. Let us know at beecityusa@xerces.org.
|
|
|
??Š
??Š
|
New Resource: Plants for Monarchs Database
|
|
Xerces is excited to share a new resource that we hope will increase awareness of native plants that support monarchs and also help you find plants that will help bees, since so many of the plants are nectar sources: plantsformonarchs.org.
Enter your location to generate native plants near you known to be important for monarchs as nectar or host plants. A profile of each plant includes:
- A photo of the nectar or host plant's flower,
- Map of where the species occurs (based on Biota of North America Program (BONAP) data)
- Species attributes such as height, color, bloom time, soil moisture needs,
- Native plant suppliers nearby and online that offer the plant. This feature, which connects the plant species you select to native plant suppliers near you, is particularly unique and useful. Add plants to your list to generate downloads of where to buy plants or seeds.
You can filter the list by these plant attributes to help you choose what to get, as well as by those that can be used in xeriscaping or have high curb appeal.
There are two basic criteria for the suppliers in Plants for Monarchs:
- Their general inventory is accessible online at a URL, and
- They have a profile in theXerces Native Plant, Seed, and Services Directory.
Please encourage your favorite local native plant nurseries to submit their profile information to the directory!
Please share this across your networks. We hope this helps land managers, conservation groups, gardeners, native plant and seed businesses, educators, and everyone support monarch butterflies.
|
??Š
??Š
|
[External] The Bee Genera of North and Central America (Hymenoptera: Apoidea): Second Edition
|
|
The Bee Genera of North and Central America (Hymenopters: Apoidea): Second Edition is now available for free online. This is a fully revised version of the 1997 publication with updated taxonomy, keys, notes on the genera, illustrations, and habitus photos of all 173 genera of bees in North and Central America. There are some nice features in the electronic version, including hyperlinks connecting keys to notes to illustrations, which will facilitate usage.
The PDF is available on the Smithsonian Institution’s Scholarly Press website and can be viewed and downloaded here.
|
??Š
??Š
|
Count Insects, Create Impact: Join The Great Southeast Pollinator Census
|
|
Looking for an easy, high-impact pollinator awareness event for your Bee City USA or Bee Campus USA community this month?
On Friday, August 21, and Saturday, August 22, community members across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi will participate in the Great Southeast Pollinator Census—a regional community science initiative led by university extension programs.
Why Affiliates Love the Pollinator Census:
- Helps Meet Designation Goals: Hosting a counting station or encouraging residents/students to count helps fulfill your affiliate commitment to host educational pollinator events.
- 15-Minute Micro-Volunteering: Participants pick a single blooming plant, set a timer for 15 minutes, tally insect visits across eight broad categories (like honey bees, bumble bees, butterflies, and small native bees), and upload their data online.
- Generates Real Science: Data collected helps researchers track regional pollinator population trends, species diversity, and habitat health.
How Your Community Can Participate:
- Host a Public Count: Gather residents or students at a community garden, campus landscape, or local park on Aug 21 or 22.
- Promote Individual Counting: Remind community members that they can count on any blooming plant right in their own backyards or balconies!
- Explore Regional Resources: Access free field guides, printable datasheets, and logging portals at the main regional website: gsepc.org.
(Affiliates in GA, SC, FL, AL, and MS can visit gsepc.org to connect with their respective state coordinators and access state-specific materials).
|
??Š
??Š
|
[Webinar] Gardening for Butterflies: From the Ground Up
|
|
|
While adult butterflies can drink nectar from a variety of local plants, providing the resources they need for their whole life cycle is more complex. Caterpillars of most butterflies can only eat a few different types of plants, and they need space to pupate into adults. Some species may be found as adults all summer long, while others may only be present for a week or two and need refuges to spend the rest of the year safe from predation and pesticides.
During this webinar, Xerces conservation biologists Ray Moranz and Kevin Burls will discuss the key components of butterfly habitat, how butterflies use habitat throughout the year, and which plants can provide the high quality forage that caterpillars need to complete their life cycle.
~~~
Gardening for Butterflies: From the Ground Up
Thursday, August 27 @
10 AM – 11 AM PT / 11 AM – 12 PM MT / 12 PM – 1 PM CT / 1 PM – 2 PM ET
Register
This webinar will be recorded and available on the Xerces YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.
~~~
|
|
|
??Š
??Š
|
There is Still Time to Report
|
|
Each year, Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA affiliates share a renewal report and pay a renewal fee. Our deadline was May 31, 2026. If you need an extension email beecityusa@xerces.org.
Please note: we have a new check payment address as of 3/2/2026:
Xerces Society
PO Box 739563
Dallas, TX 75373-9563
Who is due to report and pay?
- If your community was FIRST certified in 2024 or earlier, you are due to report and pay this year.
- If your community was FIRST certified in 2025, you do not need to report or pay until 2027.
- If your community was FIRST certified in 2026, you do not need to report or pay until 2028.
- If your community was one of the first 61 Bee Cities and Bee Campuses, just fill out the renewal report. You are an "early adopter" and do not need to pay the fee.
More info: How To Prepare Your Bee City Or Bee Campus Report
Thank you to everyone who has already finished their reports and paid. We'll be in touch when your report is approved over the next month.
|
??Š
??Š
|
|
Have an event, funding opportunity, or volunteer opportunity you would like us to promote? Emailbeecityusa@xerces.org. If you have a Bee City/Campus login: you can add events here.
|
|
|
NEW Application and renewal fee address:
The Xerces Society
PO Box 739563
Dallas, TX 75373-9563
|
??Š
|
??Š
|
??Š
|
|
Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA are initiatives of the Xerces Society.
The Xerces Society is a donor-supported nonprofit organization that protects our world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats.
Your tax-deductible donation will help grow and sustain that essential work.
|
|
??Š
??Š
|
|
Image credits from top:
Coworking: Hannah Persic (Bee City USA – Snowshoe, WV)
Plants for Monarchs database: Composite image · Background: Marcie Hebert, USFWS · Monarch butterfly: Jim Hudgins, USFWS
Bee Genera of North and Central America book: cover photo: Bruce D. Taubert
Gardening for Butterflies webinar: L to R, Ray Moranz and Kevin Burls
© The Xerces Society
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
