Managing Wild Bees

The recent highly publicized reports of honey bee declines have brought new attention to the essential service that insect pollinators provide. This service is of particular importance to many high-value specialty crops, including cranberries, apples, cherries, cane fruits, and forage seed like clover and alfalfa.

Prior to the honey bee’s introduction from Europe in 1622, North America was home to approximately 4,000 native bee species, the majority of which lead solitary lives nesting underground or in wood cavities like hollow stems and beetle borer holes. Several of these wild bees can and do play an important role as crop pollinators.

This book provides readers with the basic information necessary to manage populations of solitary cavity-nesting leafcutter and mason bees. Various members of these species are effective pollinators of all major bee-pollinated in the Upper Midwest.

These bees are extremely gentle, and rarely sting, making them a safe alternative to honey bees for small farms and near urban areas. In addition, these bees can be maintained in small populations, at a lower cost than honey bees, and they are not susceptible to the same parasite and disease issues that have devastated honey bees.

While this book was originally developed for Wisconsin audiences, the principles and management system are readily applicable to leafcutter and mason beekeeping worldwide.

Intended Audience:
This book is tailored to the needs of farmers who dependent upon bee pollination (fruit, vegetable, and forage seed producers), organic farmers, Extension personnel, Master Gardeners, and honey beekeepers interested in diversifying their pollination services.

Ueki no Te Ire: The Japanese Art of Giant Bonsai

Ueki no Te Ire: The Japanese Art of Giant Bonsai is the first comprehensive guide to Japanese-style landscape pruning in the English language. It’s an ideal introduction to the subject for bonsai and Japanese garden enthusiasts as well as landscape designers, and professional gardeners. The book includes a brief history of Asian topiary as well as step-by-step guidelines for pruning and training landscape trees in several formal Japanese styles.

The book features extensive full color photos of trees taken at residential and monastery gardens throughout Japan. Extensive appendices include glossaries of Japanese and English arboriculture terms, as well as a detailed list of recommended public gardens in the U.S., Canada, and Japan.

More information about this book and about the Japanese art of landscape tree pruning can be found at:

http://www.giantbonsai.com