Does St. Louis or KC have more species of native bees?
Join Kansas City WildLands to discover who has more species of native bees on their urban, remnant habitat – Kansas City or St. Louis?
Come find out on Tuesday, November 15 at 6:45pm at the Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center auditorium. Kansas City WildLands with support from Burroughs Audubon and The Westport Garden Club through Garden Club of America have enlisted renowned bee expert, Mike Arduser, to survey bee species, populations and preferred plants on WildLands sites in the Kansas City, Missouri Parks district. This public program will start shortly after brief Burroughs Audubon Society meeting announcements.
Sites surveyed include Jerry Smith Park, a 75+ acre, never plowed prairie, and Rocky Point, a preserved and restored limestone glade in Swope Park. Midway through the season, Kansas City comes in with an astonishing 75 bee species, including some very specialized bees that are found only on these undisturbed sites.
The same surveys are going on in St. Louis and we are anxious for the Kansas City WildLands sites to come out on top with the most number of bee species supported. Data from these surveys will not only give us a baseline for management of these ecologically significant locations, but also determine best plant species to be included in future restoration areas.
Come for the unveiling of the results- how many bee species, which bee specialists we have in the KC area and what plants the bees prefer. There is no cost to attend this event.