When you plant native plants you indirectly invite their pollinators. We know that, but how much do you really know about them? Do you know that a well planted garden can support over 100 species? Do you know that they are nothing like honey bees? No allergic reactions. Single moms putting their nests throughout your lawn. Some specialized species only using the pollen from one of your plants. Do you know that you can identify them using butterfly binoculars? That your yard is part of the solution to pollinator decline? Well, if you know all these things, then very good, but if not, come to Tower Hill Botanic Garden on August 5 from 1 – 2 and see Sam Droege illuminate these and other facts about the secret bee garden you have or will create with the up close pictures his lab crafts.

Sam Droege is a wildlife biologist at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, part of the US Geological Survey. He is widely published in journals and has been the editor of numerous government publications on birds and insects. His work cataloging and photographing native bees has been featured by NPR, The Weather Channel, and the National Wildlife Federation, as well as in numerous publications including Wired, the Wall Street Journal, and Popular Science. Currently he is developing an inventory and monitoring program for native bees, online identification guides for North American bees at http://www.discoverlife.org, and with Jessica Zelt reviving the North American Bird Phenology Program. His group maintains high resolution photographs of insects and other macro natural history objects at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/ Fee is $10 for Tower Hill members, $20 for nonmembers. Register at www.towerhillbg.org.