New Canaan Library's video: New Canaan Library Presents: Planting for The Bees Needs

Join entomologist Dr. Kimberly Stoner for an informative talk on the importance of bees to the pollination of our crops and native plants. We get many of our ideas about bees from what we know of honeybees, but honeybees are only one of the 349 species in Connecticut. Dr. Stoner will describe the diversity of bees and their life cycles, and how we can create habitats for them to not only survive but thrive. The talk will also cover the routes by which bees are exposed to pesticides and the controversies over restricting or banning certain pesticides due to their toxic effects on bees. Kimberly A. Stoner joined the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in 1987, after receiving her PhD in entomology from Cornell University, and spending a year on a fellowship with the Africa Bureau of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Her PhD and early professional work at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station was in vegetable entomology. In her 30 years at CAES, she has moved from studying plant resistance to insects, to other alternatives to insecticides for managing vegetable insects, to holistic case studies of organic farms, to focusing on bees, including both wild bees and honeybees. She is currently studying bee diversity in Connecticut, pollination of pumpkins and squash, and how bees are exposed to pesticides. She also works with groups across Connecticut, including farmers, beekeepers, and communities, in creating habitat for pollinators.