Buzzing Into Action: Supporting Our Pollinator Friends with Bee Hotels on Campus
Have you seen the hovering, bouncing, bumbling carpenter bees hanging out around tribal campus? These guys are coming out to begin the next phase of life, finding a mate and finding a place to lay eggs. Carpenter bees create holes in dead wood and lay their eggs within the holes. The larva hatches and feeds on pollen, provided to them by their parents, for two months. Yes, pollen. Carpenter bees are pollinators just like bumblebees, and we need to keep as many pollinators around as possible. What's the main visual difference between carpenter bees and bumblebees? Carpenter bees have shiny abdomens, bumblebees have furry abdomens.
Once the carpenter bee larvae grow to adults, they may use their hatching hole or a nearby hole to fill with pollen and nectar for the cold months. Carpenter bee lifespans are around a year in length. Carpenter bees are not aggressive, males do not have stingers. Females will sting and both can bite, however, it takes effort to make them sting or bite. PBKK has ordered over a dozen “bee hotels” that will be put out on tribal properties by Grounds and PBKK where carpenter bees are more likely to be looking for homes in tribal buildings.
Help Keep Wildlife Wild: Baby Wildlife Are Not Abandoned
Every year Pokagon Band Kowabdanawa odë kė receives reports of citizens petting or picking up baby deer and other wildlife because the wildlife is alone and appears to be abandoned. This is usually not the case. Wildlife mothers often leave their babies behind while they are out feeding. A mother deer will stay away from her young to try to keep predators away. A doe may leave the fawn alone for up to 12 hours, then return to provide food for the young one. Removing wildlife babies from the wild reduces their chances of survival and will ultimately result in these little ones being taken to a rehabilitator, costing great time and money. Their mother will return. If the fawn is not crying, cold, covered in insects or injured, caught by a cat or dog, or coming towards you, please do not be a fawn-napper. Please let wildlife remains wild. Thank you for helping keep mothers and babies together. If you believe the baby animal you have come across is injured or abandoned, please call the main office at 269-782-9602 and we will evaluate and determine if a wildlife rehabilitator is needed.