AT: Beyond the Honeybee: Native Bees of Texas

A one-hour webinar by Dr. Jessica Beckham, Associate Professor of Instruction, University of Texas at San Antonio

The National Wildlife Federation’s South Central Regional Center’s Webinar series about our native Texas pollinators. Quarterly, we will hear from a local expert who will talk about science-based facts that will help us to appreciate even more these amazing living creatures. Other experts will elaborate on how we can help increase the pollinator populations in our Texas ecosystems, including habitat restoration in urban, suburban, and private lands.

Pollinators are crucial members of our ecosystems, and without them, 75% of the human food and fabric crops could disappear. Do you like coffee? Could you imagine your morning with no coffee? What about chocolate? And avocados? Think of any other non-processed food you like, and most likely there will be one or more pollinators contributing to the production of that food. Also, it is estimated that up to 80% of all plant species are pollinated, mostly by insects. In Texas, our pollinators are mostly native bees, butterflies, moths, wasps, beetles, and bumblebees. But also bats, and many birds, migratory and non-migratory, are part of our Texas pollinators.

Pollinators play a crucial role in creating and sustaining all the world’s habitats and ecosystems, that many animals rely on for food and shelter. Another very cool fact about pollinators is that they help 90% of the world’s flowering plants to reproduce. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says “the majority of flowering plants that comprise Texas’ diverse ecosystems rely upon animals, mainly insects, to transport pollen among flowers to facilitate pollination and ensure the production of viable seed.”