Are you ready for the Great Bee Count?

It's happening Saturday, Aug. 11. 

You're encouraged to be a "citizen scientist" and count the bees in your backyard or garden over a 15-minute period and to watch or listen to a national online video broadcast at http://www.yourgardenshow.com/bees between 8 and 10 a.m., Pacific Time. (Those are Pacific times; consult the website for the schedule in other time zones.)

For the event, affiliated with the Great Sunflower Project, host Emmet Brady interviewed three University of California, Davis bee scientists: pollination ecologist Neal Williams, assistant professor of entomology; Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen, and native bee specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology. 

Brady, a cultural entomologist and journalist from Davis,  describes the event as a special “BEE” broadcast (Bee curious, Bee aware and Bee a good neighbor).

The Great Bee Count also will feature Brady’s footage of the UC Davis Department of Entomology's Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven on Bee Biology Road.

The online video broadcast also will include a question-and-answer session moderated by Ian Cook.  

The Great Bee Count contributes to the Great Sunflower Project, a national bee census monitoring bees. To date, more than 100,000 people have committed to spending 15 minutes in their backyards and gardens on Saturday counting bees. 

What's it all about? The program is about creating a discussion and activity forum for new or experienced beekeepers, and “all of us who would like to learn more about bees and bee conservation, pollinators and backyard citizen science,” according to the YourGardenShow website. 

The schedule (Pacific Time), subject to change:

8 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

Emmet Brady, host, interview with Gretchen Le Buhn, San Francisco State University  (from the first-ever Bee-a-Thon)

Eric Mussen,  Extension apiculturist, UC Davis Department of Entomology

Robbin Thorp, native pollinator specialist and emeritus professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology

Neal Williams, pollinator ecologist and assistant professor of entomology, UC Davis Department of Entomology

 

8:30 a.m. – 9 a.m.

Gretchen LeBuhn / Great Sunflower Project

Eric Mader – Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Kim Flottum – Editor of Bee Culture journal

Jennifer Berry - Apiculture specialist at the University of Georgia.

 9  a.m. – 9:30 a.m.

Gretchen LeBuhn / Fred Bove Great Sunflower Project

Kim Flottum – Editor of Bee Culture journal

Jim Fisher – NYC BeeKeepers

Neal Williams, UC Davis Entomology

Robbin Thorp, UC Davis Entomology

Eric Mussen,  Extension Apiculturist, UC Davis Department of Entomology

 9:30 a.m. – 10 a.m.

Jennifer Berry - Apiculture Specialist at the University of Georgia

Arnold Van Vliet - Biologist at Wageningen University, Netherlands 

Stephen Buchmann - North American Pollinator Protection Campaign

Gretchen Le Buhn, San Francisco State University (from the first-ever Bee-a-Thon)

You may remember Brady for several reasons.

(1) Last year he hosted the first-ever Bee-A-Thon, a global online marathon dedicated to raising awareness about honey bees and other pollinators.

(2) He's an innovator in the emerging field of cultural entomology

(3) He's the creator of the popular radio program, Insect News Network (.com), now based in Davis. It airs every Wednesday from 4 to 5 p.m on KDRT 95.7 FM.

A founding member of the Biomimicry Guild Speakers Bureau, Brady has lectured at seven universities across India.  More locally, he co-founded the San Francisco Bay Area Green Tours. And now, he's  authoring the Wikipedia entry for cultural entomology and a book entitled  "Humvees and Honeybees: An Introduction to Cultural Entomology."  

His passion for entomology extends to his given name, "Emmet."

It means “ant” in Gaelic.