Our Native Bees Americas Endangered Pollinators & the Fight to Save Them

Honey bees get all the press, but the fascinating story of North America’s native bees — an endangered species essential to our ecosystems and food supplies — is just as crucial. Through interviews with farmers, gardeners, scientists, and bee experts, Paige Embry explores the importance of native bees and focuses on why they play a key role in gardening and agriculture. The people and stories are compelling: Embry goes on a bee hunt with the world expert on the likely extinct Franklin’s bumble bee, raises blue orchard bees in her refrigerator, and learns about an organization that turns the out-of-play areas in golf courses into pollinator habitats.

"Designed to educate everyone from bee and honey enthusiasts to amateur gardeners and agricultural professionals, Embry’s captivating profiles of just a few of the myriad native bee species and the dedicated individuals and institutions committed to their survival are as entertaining as they are enlightening." Booklist

"A keeper for people interested in our food supply — gardeners in particular — as it relates to bees. The book is also essential for those of us who enjoy good writing with a bent toward natural history and science, who are simply keen to know more about the world around us." The Missoulian

A New York Times 2018 Holiday Gift Selection

Honey bees get all the press, but the fascinating story of North America's native bees--endangered species essential to our ecosystems and food supplies--is just as crucial. Through interviews with farmers, gardeners, scientists, and bee experts, Our Native Bees explores the importance of native bees and focuses on why they play a key role in gardening and agriculture. The people and stories are compelling: Paige Embry goes on a bee hunt with the world expert on the likely extinct Franklin's bumble bee, raises blue orchard bees in her refrigerator, and learns about an organization that turns the out-of-play areas in golf courses into pollinator habitats. Our Native Bees is a fascinating, must-read for fans of natural history and science and anyone curious about bees.

Paige Embry has a BS in geology from Duke University and an MS in geology from the University of Montana. She has worked as an environmental consultant, taught horticulture and geology classes, and run a garden design and coaching business. She has written articles for Horticulture, The American Gardener, and other magazines. Visit her at paigeembry.com.

An obsession with bees offers unexpected pleasures. I stand, motionless but ready, by a clump of flowers. Then, the quick swoosh of the net, the moment of uncertainty while the results are still unknown, and finally, the belly leap of joy at a successful catch. Bee hunting has been a surprising side benefit of my quest to learn about native bees....

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