Bumble bee on clethra. Kim Stoner.
Did you know that Connecticut has 373 species of bees – and honey bees are only one species? Bees are important to us for producing honey and wax and pollinating our crops, and they also are important to the health of our environment, pollinating our native wild plants. We get many of our ideas about bees from what we know about honey bees, but honey bees are very different from our native wild bees. Join Dr. Kimberly Stoner to learn about the life cycles of bees, where they live, and what plants they need to thrive, and how to protect them from pesticides.
Kim Stoner is with the Department of Entomology at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven. She has expertise in developing alternatives to insecticides for managing vegetable insects, working with organic farmers and land care professionals on pest management, and studying the exposure of pollinators to pesticides in pollen and nectar.
Her research focuses on several aspects of bees and pollination:
Exposure of bees to pesticides in pollen and nectar, in collaboration with Dr. Brian Eitzer of the Analytical Chemistry Department
Attractiveness of ornamental plants to honey bees and native bees
Pollinator habitat on Connecticut farms and practices to create or improve habitat
Pollination of pumpkins and winter squash