Be a part of a Bee Blitz with McHenry County Conservation District
The McHenry County Conservation District is looking for 10 additional volunteers to be part of a Bee Blitz from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 23, at Glacial Park, Route 31 and Harts Road Ringwood.
A "blitz," often called a bioblitz, is a race against the clock to discover as many species as possible within a given area and time frame.
The process is simple: you go out looking for bees, take pictures of the ones you see, record a few other important details and return to base to record your findings.
Instructions and educational materials will be provided. Bring a camera and dress for the weather.
What's all this buzz about? The Bee Blitz will expand on the district's current known species of bees at Glacial Park, contribute to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's knowledge of bee distribution, and help educate participants on the importance of our native bees and how they can be citizen scientists on their own by submitting photos to BeeSpotter.org and BumbleBeeWatch.org, collaborative citizen science organizations whose efforts track and help conserve North America's bumble bee declining populations.
Bee blitz's and bee spotter events are being hosted throughout the country as part of National Pollinator Week, June 16-24, to increase public awareness of preserving bee diversity and enhancing pollinator appreciation.
Many bees are important pollinators of flowers in natural landscapes and also function as complementary pollinators of some farm crops.
Honey bees and bumble bees are ideal subjects for citizen-scientist data collection contributions because of their relatively large size, striking color and readily recognizable shape and behavior, thus making them far more easily spotted, photographed, and identified.
Sign up by Monday, June 18, by contacting Cindi Jablonski at CJablonski@mccdistrict.org. Spots are available on a first-come basis. Both notice and advanced bee enthusiasts are welcome. Anyone younger than age 13 must be accompanied by an adult.
Visit www.mccdistrict.org or www.facebook.com/Explore.MCCD/.