The Buzz on Calgary Bumble Bees

Bumble bee populations pose a conservation concern these days, and several species from the Calgary area have been assessed as at risk by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. This talk will provide an introduction to bumble bees and their basic biology, examine bees whose numbers have declined, the reasons for the decline, and what we can do about the situation.

 

Syd Cannings is a Species at Risk Biologist with the Canadian Wildlife Service in Whitehorse, Yukon. He is a member of COSEWIC, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, and has led the development of the national recovery strategies and management plans for four species of bumble bees. He has also written several books, including British Columbia: a Natural History, and The New BC Roadside Naturalist.

 

 

Gypsy Cuckoo Bumble Bee photo courtesy of Syd Cannings