Join fellow entomology enthusiasts for a daylong exploration of the world of insects. The OSU Department of Entomology is sponsoring a One Day Insect University on October 30^th from 9:00AM to 4PM at the 4-H Center. Participants will learn about pollinators, insects in the garden and landscape, and the role citizen/community science plays in what we know about insects. The day will include encounters with the OSU Bug Zoo and an optional visit to the OSU Museum of Biological Diversity.

Master Gardeners, OCVN volunteer naturalists, Chadwick Arboretum volunteers, 4-H volunteers and all insect fans are invited to attend.

Fee to attend: $35 includes morning refreshments, lunch, all educational sessions and optional tour of the OSU Museum of Biological Diversity. Parking is free and easy!

Register here!

All participants will hear these speakers:

Gretchen LeBuhn: The Great Sunflower Project: How Citizen Scientists Are Making a Difference for Pollinators

Mary Gardiner: Dandelion Detectives: A Youth Citizen Science Project Focused on the Value of Weeds

Dave Shetlar: Turfgass — Green Desert, or Lilliputian Rainforest?

Participants will select one of these three sessions:

1. Reed Johnson: Bees and Pesticides: What Are the Risks?

2. Danae Wolfe: Close Up Bugs to Promote Connections with Critters

3. Dave Shetlar: Maximizing Plant Health to Avoid Pest Problems in the Landscape

From 2PM – 4PM, participants will either take a field trip to the OSU Museum of Biological Diversity (spaces limited, must select this option when registering) or will choose from the sessions below.

2:00 Sessions

A. Jerome (Jerry) Wiedmann: Butterflies in Ohio

B. Jeni Ruisch: Understanding Fear and How It Impacts Learners

C. Ashley Kulhanek: Using Phenology (Nature’s Calendar) to Track and Manage Plant Pests

3:00 Sessions

A. MaLisa Spring: The Ohio Dragonfly Survey — What We Found and How You Helped!

B. Sarah Short: Lyme and West Nile: Understanding the Disease Vectors; Protecting Yourself in Nature

C. Katie Turo: Creating Pollinator Habitat, Including Lessons Learned from Urban Cleveland

Program Adjourns at 4:00

Quick link to this site: http://go.osu.edu/insectU

Featuring Sam Droege, Jamie Strange and MaLisa Spring

Tips and tricks for spotting, collecting and identifying bees from some of the best biologists around.

September 19th, 9:30 AM to 2PM

Secrest Arboretum (Miller Pavilion) on the OSU Wooster campus, #33 on the map

Fee to attend: $10 cash or check, payable at the door. Lunch included.

Space is limited! Registration required!

You know Sam from his lab’s amazing photos, YouTube videos and the Very Handy Manual: How to Catch and Identify Bees and Manage a Collection.

MaLisa has studied bees in Ohio for years (including bees on vacant lots in urban Cleveland), and for two years has given leadership to the the Ohio Dragonfly Survey.

Topics to include:

Bees, Community Scientists and Tools to Link the Two;

Bumble Bees in Ohio: Overview, Threats and Reasons for Hope

Very Handy Tips and Tricks to Make Almost-Professionals Out of All Bee Fans

Bees in Ohio: Past, Present and Future? 

Supported in part by a USDA Pollinator Health IPM grant. Questions? Please e-mail Denise: ellsworth.2@osu.edu

From Blight to Bright: Reimagining vacant land to support people and biodiversity in cities

Are you interested in urban conservation? A field tour and workshop on August 19 hosted by Dr. Mary Gardiner and her Laboratory will highlight the importance of vacant land as a habitat for insects and source of many important ecosystem services we derive from our landscape. Speakers will  address the community of insects found in vacant lots, balancing the needs of people and insects in vacant lot design, how to establish native plants in degraded habitats, community gardening, and the importance of the urban forest. The city of Cleveland, OH manages over 30,000 vacant lots. Although these properties can be seen as blight, there are also many exciting ways to reimagine these greenspaces to promote conservation and community goals.

See the workshop schedule here: Blight to Bright – A Workshop on August 19 in Cleveland

Register here

Join us Sunday August 4th at Studio 35 (3055 Indianola Ave, Columbus, OH 43202) for a celebration & education of our backyard friends – bees!

Beekeeper and educator, Dave Noble, will host this 2-hour fun filled adventure into the world of these most important insects. We’ll be hosting special guest – biologist, author, and bee researcher, Dr. Olivia Carril! Short films, presentations from Olivia, Dave, and a host of other bee researchers and experts will give you and entertaining look into the world of bees!

Bee-themed drinks, raffles, and interactive presentations will be on offer. This will be a fun, exciting way to learn about bees as well as find out what you can do to help keep these wonderful creatures healthy and happy!

Come to help us celebrate the Ohio Bee Tour with Olivia Carril. Copies of Olivia’s book The Bees in Your Backyard will be available for $25 and posters for $15 until they run out!

Admission just $5. BEE there!

Can you volunteer this Saturday with the 10TV and Metro Parks Outdoor Adventure at Highbanks Metro Park (Saturday, July 13)? The event will run from 10am- 4pm in our Big Meadows picnic area (9466 Columbus Pike).  We are expecting a very large crowd for the event!

Rajat Saksena, one of our OSU Volunteer Pollinator Specialists, is coordination a pollinator/insect display at the event, and could use some helping hands. Please contact Rajat if you can help.

Rajat Saksena

Ph.D. Candidate, Research Associate

Details on the event:

Those arriving before the event begins will be able to park and unload near the Big Meadows 2 parking lot.  Please allow plenty of time to park and reach your location if coming after the event begins!

Who knows what the weather will actually be, but for now the forecast is Sunny and 85! We will have water and snacks available and there will be food trucks with all sorts of goodies!

For further details about the event, follow this link https://www.10tv.com/article/10tv-metro-parks-outdoor-adventure.  Feel free to share the event information on all your social media outlets and with friends and family!

We are looking forward to a great day!  See you Saturday!

Jill Snyder

Assistant Manager- Interpretation & Education

614-895-6211

snyder@metroparks.net

Ohio is home to more than 450 species of bee. They’re bumble bees, carpenter bees, cuckoo bees and others, and you can identify more than a dozen of them — types you’re likely to see in your garden — using the pocket bee card from The Ohio State University.

And how about some love for wasps? Ohio has an amazing diversity of wasps, including paper wasps, golden digger wasps and potter wasps. Not fond of wasps? They serve as pollinators, are important in the biological control of caterpillars and other pests, and add to the diversity and beauty of our landscapes.

To celebrate National Pollinator Week, The OSU Department of Entomology is offering a free copy of the 4-by-6-inch bee and wasp identification cards. Common Bees of Ohio and Common Wasps of Ohio cards can be requested through July 5th by sending a self-addressed, stamped, business-size envelope to “Bees and Wasps” c/o Denise Ellsworth, OSU Entomology, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, OH 44691. One copy of each card will be sent per envelope.

Multiple copies of the bee and wasp cards can be purchased through the OSU Extension Publications website.

So far this week, we’ve seen an assortment of butterflies, bumble bees and other pollinators on our bee walks, despite challenging weather. Maybe we’ll see each other Thursday in Doylestown, Friday in Chadwick Arboretum in Columbus, or Saturday at Franklin Park Conservatory’s Pollinator Palooza?

Join fellow bee fans for casual bee and pollinator exploration with Denise Ellsworth. No fee, no registration required. Dress for the weather and light walking. Nets, vials and bee cards provided. Cancelled if raining (call for message: 330-263-3723).

Thursday, June 20th, Rittman Orchards in Doylestown: bee walk and bee blitz 1PM to 3PM (meet at store entrance)

Friday, June 21st, Chadwick Arboretum on the OSU Columbus campus (meet in front of Howlett Hall): bee walk and bee blitz 1PM to 3PM

Saturday, June 22nd, Pollinator Palooza at Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus. Free event, lots of activities and displays! Rain or shine! Free bee walks at 11:30, 1PM and 2PM in the pollinator garden. No field clothes needed.