The Buzz at the Garden

More than 300 visitors attended the successful Second Saturday event at the Urban Garden Center focusing on pollinators. It provided fun and informative educational activities to educate participants about the insects that pollinate their home gardens—honeybees, carpenter bees, and butterflies—and about the native pollinators found only in Hawai‘iʻs ecosystems such as yellow-faced bees and Kamehameha butterflies.

The event was presented by UH Master Gardeners Bee Hui and made possible by Ethel Villalobos and Scott Nikaido (both Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences) and their UH Honeybee Project, who provided training for the hui. The Honeybee Project also brought a live beehive for visitors to see these important insects up close and provided honey tastings. Visitors could see how honey is extracted and the tools used for honeybee hive maintenance.

Paul Krushelnycky presented on Hawaiian yellow-faced bees, Hawai‘i’s only native bee, and Chrissy Mogren introduced visitors to the life cycle of bees by making bee hotels. Both are also PEPS faculty. UH Master Gardeners promoted integrated pest management practices like maintaining habitat for beneficial insects and displayed information about least toxic pesticides for the backyard, explaining that the time of application is important, in the evening when pollinators are not active. Check out more pictures of the event!