[Pollinator] Seeking article contributors on pollinators

[Kit Prendergast]

Dear Kirsten,
I'd be delighted to write an article for you. I'm a PhD researchers working
on the responsive of native bees to urbanisation; preferred habitats and
flower resources for bees; bee hotel design; and the impact of honeybees on
native bees. Although based in Australia I've read widely on bees across
the world, I have an extensive experience in communicating about wildlife
to a general audience, having been writing for wildlife and animal-keeping
magazines for over a decade. I've attached my CV which has a list of all my
magazine publications. Examples of my articles concerning pollinators and
bees can be freely downloaded from the Files section on my Facebook Group
'Bees in the burbs in a biodiversity hotspot':
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Beesintheburbs/files/
I also am a keen photographer and photographs accompanying these articles
are my own.

Article ideas for your publication are listed below:

- Bee Hotels: Unlike honeybees, most native bees cannot be kept in hives.
However, this doesn't mean that you can't encourage them to nest in your
garden. Bee hotels are a fun, easy way to create nesting habitat for
cavity-nesting native bees, and allow people of all ages to observe native
bees coming and going as they provision their nests. However, many bee
hotels are on the market that aren't designed very well. Based on my
research, I will explain the best designs for bee hotels so that we can
maximise their potential.

- Hylaeinae Bees: When people think of bees, they characteristically think
of fuzzy insects that carry pollen on their bodies. Hylaeine bees challenge
this notion of what a bee is. I will describe the biology of this
incredible, diverse group of bees that swallows pollen and thus have lost
their pollen-carrying hairs during their evolution.

- Honeybee Competition: honeybees are the most widely-distributed bee in
the world and play an important role in agriculture and in the honey
industry. Yet the success of this species may be at the expense of native
bees if the honeybee outcompetes native bees for flower resources. I will
explore the evidence for and against the case for claiming honeybees are
outcompeting native bees.

- Megachile aurifrons: One of the most charasmatic of Megachile bees, this
stunning bee has unmistakeable ruby red eyes in the female, and two-tone
red-green eyes in the male. I will describe this species and it's biology.

- Cuckoo Bees: Some bees have adopted a parasitic lifestyle, forgoing
parental duties and laying their eggs in the nests of other bees. I will
describe these 'cuckoo bee' species.

- Are all bees pollinators?: Just because an insect visits a flower doesn't
make it a pollinator. I will describe pollination, what makes a good
pollinator, and instances where bees act as pollen or nectar theives,
rather than pollinators.

- Lizards that serve as pollinators: although rare, lizards can serve as
important pollinators for flowers, especially on islands. I will describe
the unusual examples where this phenomenon occurs.

Kind regards,
Kit


On Tue, 7 May 2019 at 20:48, Kirsten Traynor <ktraynor at umd.edu> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I'm the former editor of Bee World, published by the International Bee
> Research Association and American Bee Journal. I am working on a project
> aimed at the general public on pollinators. I am seeking contributors
> interested in communicating stories about pollinators, everything from how
> to improve a garden for pollinator habitat, to interesting pollinator
> profiles or intriguing scientists working on pollinators. Articles can be
> short form (300-500 words) or long form (1,200-3,500 words), preferably
> with accompanying photographs. Pays typical trade magazine rates upon
> publication. If you have an article idea or know someone who might enjoy
> writing for a lay audience on pollinators, please send me a pitch or email
> at editor at 2millionblossoms.com.
>
> Thank you,
> Kirsten
>
>
> --
> *Kirsten S. Traynor, PhD*
> *Fellow of the College of Life Sciences*
> Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin
> USDA NIFA ELI fellow
> Research Associate
> University of Maryland
> _______________________________________________
> Pollinator mailing list
> Pollinator at lists.sonic.net
> https://lists.sonic.net/mailman/listinfo/pollinator
>


-- 
Kit Prendergast
Native bee scientist, conservation biologist and zoologist
PhD researcher (Curtin University) and Forrest Scholar
ORCiD: *https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1164-6099
<https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1164-6099>*
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