{"id":12693,"date":"2019-05-13T06:30:41","date_gmt":"2019-05-13T10:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=12693"},"modified":"2019-05-14T09:11:19","modified_gmt":"2019-05-14T13:11:19","slug":"take-5-busy-bees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-busy-bees\/","title":{"rendered":"Take 5: Busy Bees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s springtime and nature is abuzz with activity\u2014literally, in the case of bees! With more than 370 species of bees<\/a> living in Massachusetts, there’s plenty for a budding entomologist to discover. While the more familiar bumblebees and European honeybees are social, up to 85% of bees are solitary and do not form colonies, preferring to nest in burrows that they dig in wood or the ground. These solitary bees typically overwinter in burrows and emerge in the spring to begin reproducing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bees can sometimes inspire fear because some (but not all) of them sting. However, these fascinating insects are vitally important to nature and to our economy. Many are important pollinators of plants that we rely on for food and, of course, honeybees give us tasty honey and useful beeswax. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out more about bees<\/a> and how you can help pollinators thrive<\/a> on our website and enjoy these five photos of bees from our annual Picture This: Your Great Outdoors<\/a> photo contest submissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Carpenter
Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica) \u00a9 Meyer Franklin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Giant
Giant Resin Bee (non-native species) \u00a9 Sean Horton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Green
Green Sweat Bee (Agapostemon virescens) \u00a9 Emily Gauvin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Mining
Mining Bee (Genus Andrena) \u00a9 Daniel McNamara<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Tri-colored
Tri-colored Bumblebee (Bombus ternarius) \u00a9 Ellen Pierce<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s springtime and nature is abuzz with activity\u2014literally, in the case of bees! With more than 370 species of bees living in Massachusetts, there’s plenty for a budding entomologist to discover. While the more familiar bumblebees and European honeybees are social, up to 85% of bees are solitary and do not form colonies, preferring to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":12697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[158],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-take-5"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/05\/4624Daniel_McNamara25841.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-3iJ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10939,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-helpful-honeybees\/","url_meta":{"origin":12693,"position":0},"title":"Take 5: Helpful Honeybees","author":"Ryan D.","date":"May 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Originally imported from Europe for their prized honey, beeswax, and pollination abilities, much of our honeybee population lives in beekeepers' hives, and the rest build nests in tree cavities and in the eaves and walls of buildings. Each hive consists of a queen (who lays the eggs), female workers (who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/05\/161Susumu_Kishihara12589_fi.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/05\/161Susumu_Kishihara12589_fi.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/05\/161Susumu_Kishihara12589_fi.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4737,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wildlife-in-winter-where-are-they-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":12693,"position":1},"title":"Wildlife in Winter: Where Are They Now?","author":"Rosemary","date":"February 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"How do animals that lack thick fluffy fur, such as frogs or insects, survive the winter? No matter how high the snow piles up, these creatures still somehow manage to appear\u00a0in abundance in the\u00a0spring. Here\u2019s where they are right now. Frogs Take a look at a frozen pond or forest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wood Frog","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/01\/woodfrog-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16693,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/celebrating-wildlife-in-massachusetts\/","url_meta":{"origin":12693,"position":2},"title":"Celebrating Wildlife in Massachusetts","author":"Kaylin D.","date":"March 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"World Wildlife Day is a time to appreciate and advocate for nature. As residents or visitors of Massachusetts, we are lucky to be able to enjoy a wide array of wildlife across our landscape \u2013 from animals as small as a Bog Copper Butterfly to giant\u00a0Humpback Whales. To help you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Get Outdoors"","block_context":{"text":"Get Outdoors","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/get-outdoors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/02\/Skunk-Cabbage.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/02\/Skunk-Cabbage.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/02\/Skunk-Cabbage.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/02\/Skunk-Cabbage.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2350,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/the-story-behind-bee-swarms\/","url_meta":{"origin":12693,"position":3},"title":"The Story Behind Bee Swarms","author":"Hillary T.","date":"June 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"You may have seen the photo of a swarm of honey bees on a car in Dorchester back in early May and wondered what was going on. The short story: the bees were looking for a new home. But why did they need a new home and what should you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2013\/06\/beeswarm.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9469,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/bee-hind-this-years-camp-patch\/","url_meta":{"origin":12693,"position":4},"title":"Bee-hind This Year’s Camp Patch","author":"Hillary T.","date":"July 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Every year, campers at Mass Audubon's 18 day camps and Wildwood, our overnight camp, receive a patch at the end of their session. These patches have featured everything from fireflies to fiddlehead ferns. This year's patch shines a light on bees, but not just any bee. It's the rusty patched\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Advocacy"","block_context":{"text":"Advocacy","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/advocacy-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/07\/camppatchedsFI.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/07\/camppatchedsFI.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/07\/camppatchedsFI.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15948,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-pollinator-power\/","url_meta":{"origin":12693,"position":5},"title":"Take 5: Pollinator Power","author":"Ryan D.","date":"June 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"It's National Pollinator Week! This is a time to celebrate pollinators and raise awareness about how to protect them. So what are pollinators? Pollinators are creatures that help plants reproduce by spreading\u00a0a powdery material called pollen among flowers of the same species when the sticky pollen attaches to their bodies\u2014many\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Take 5"","block_context":{"text":"Take 5","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/take-5\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hummingbird Clearwing Moth on beebalm \u00a9 Lynne Harding","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/5643Lynne_Harding27773-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/5643Lynne_Harding27773-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/5643Lynne_Harding27773-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/5643Lynne_Harding27773-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12693"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12714,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12693\/revisions\/12714"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}