On March 14, we celebrated Butterflies Day with a special presentation at the Wilderness Center. Butterflies and moths belong to the same biological group: LEPIDOPTERA. Here are some of the special things we learned about butterflies in Ohio.
The butterfly’s life cycle.
What kinds of plants they need as caterpillars and butterflies.
The top 3 threats to butterflies.
Some common butterflies like blues, whites, yellows, hairstreaks, brush-footed, and swallowtails.
Some endangered butterflies of Ohio.
The reasons native clover is so important to butterflies.
Eco-friendly lawn and garden tips for everyone.
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Save Ohio Bees 2023 Impact
Your generous support has helped us fulfill our mission to restore pollinator habitat, fund conservation, and provide educational resources to the community. This is essential to mitigate the threats to wild bees and other beneficial wildlife, to meet community needs, and to foster healthy ecosystems.
Impact
Our gift to the Pollinator Partnership restored 47,520 sq. ft. of pollinator habitat. To date, Ohioans like you have helped restore 107,776 sq. ft. of pollinator habitat through this collaboration.
The Wilderness Center received a generous gift to fund two vital community conservation programs, the Backyard Habitat Initiative and the Dark Sky Initiative, for the third consecutive year.
And you helped us expand our impact. The 63-acre Oberlin Preserve of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy was added as a beneficiary. With few prairies in the region, this preserve provides a haven for pollinators and other beneficial wildlife.
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Butterflies Day
Join us on March 14 for Butterflies Day
Did you know Ohio is home to about 140 species of butterflies and nearly 500 species of native bees? Come out to the Wilderness Center.
Discover Ohio’s wild butterflies and bees and how to help them flourish.
Enjoy music, art, lawn and garden tips, and pollinator wildflower seeds.
Earn a chance to win a Save Ohio Bees & Wilderness Center gift bag.
Get pollinator plants at the TWC Native Plant Sale.
March 14 Schedule
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As part of its commitment to environmental conservation, Suntrol has announced its support of Save Ohio Bees™ as a $2,500 matching gift sponsor this year.
One in four North American bee species are facing extinction including the American bumble bee, our most important pollinator. Native bees and other pollinators are vital to sustaining healthy ecosystems including the food supply. We are deeply grateful to welcome Suntrol as a sponsor.
Every $100 raised restores 1,600 square feet of habitat or funds conservation programs. Learn how you can join us in making a difference in our home state. Make your gift of any amount HERE.
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June 19 through June 25 is National Pollinator Week. In celebration, Save Ohio Bees will offer free native bee education and family-friendly activities on Saturday, June 24 at Franklin Park Conservatory’s Pollinator Palooza from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
“Pollinator Palooza is a celebration of native bees and all pollinators that are vital to ecosystem health including food and forests ,” said Tracy Teuscher, founder of Save Ohio Bees.
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Join me June 3 for Nature Fest at the Wilderness Center. Come learn about native bees at 11:00 a.m.
We’ll be on site from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. with local artists to benefit the Wilderness Center and the Pollinator Partnership.
Nature Fest will include a Photo Fest, Planetarium Shows, a Creature Feature display, and an array of Ohio artists and makers. Hours are 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on June 3, and 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on June 4.
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As part of the Children’s Garden and Learning Pavilion activities, Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens will host Save Ohio Bees™ founder Tracy Teuscher on Saturday, May 20 in celebration of World Bee Day.
Teuscher will be available from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to offer information, the Save Ohio Bees™ coloring page, and native wildflower seed mix provided by OPN Seed.
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With support from great people like you, we have restored 60,256 square feet of pollinator habitat through the Pollinator Partnership, helped fund two conservation programs at the Wilderness Center, and empowered thousands of Ohioans through our new website resources, Facebook, and Instagram.
Read our latest blog to see what we accomplished in 2022 and learn about collaborations in progress.
If you haven’t already, please join our growing community on Facebook and Instagram and give to our mission. Every $100 = 1,600 sq. ft. of pollinator habitat.
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Preparing Our Gardens For Winter
Courtesy of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy
A FREE 2-PART SERIES
Learn more about why we need to kick the habit of fall clean-ups in this FREE 2-part virtual symposium.
Wednesday, October 26 at 7:00 p.m.: Leave the Leaves – Life in the Leaf Litter.
Wednesday, November 2 at 7:00 p.m.: Meaningful Maintenance – Fall Cleanup with Positive Impact.
Learn more about the presenters, and register!
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Why are carpenter bees so cool? These much misunderstood and beneficial bees are INCREDIBLE vegetable and crop pollinators that are often confused with the bumble bee. They look very similar to the bumble bee, except they are larger and they have a "shiny hiney" instead of a "fluffy butt". (These are technical terms you can use to impress your friends.)
They are cavity nesters that set up housekeeping in dead wood. If dead wood of your house, shed or deck has not been sealed and or painted and caulked, how do they know the difference between "good dead wood" and "bad dead wood"? They just say, hey, this looks like a GREAT place to build a condo!
Want to repel them safely and super cheap without pesticides? Check out this blog!
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Expanding our work to restore pollinator habitat and fund conservation programs, we’ve launched saveohiobees.org with proceeds to benefit the Pollinator Partnership and the Wilderness Center.
You’ve helped us restore 7,000 square feet of pollinator habitat, and fund two conservation programs. It only takes five flowers to feed a baby bee. Now, there are even more ways to take hopeful action.
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Join us on Friday, May 20 at The Wilderness Center to celebrate the beloved bee from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., rain or shine! Learn fantastic facts about native Ohio bees, native plants and trees for bees, how to map a bee's flight and more. Also, shop bee-saving gifts and enter to win prizes. RSVP HERE
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Purple coneflower is a great perennial native wildflower for bees from the daisy family, also known as Echinacea purpurea. Coneflower attracts a wide range of pollinators including honey bees and native bees. These lovelies grow to be around 3 feet tall, and bloom June through July, and sometimes longer.
The petals attract the pollinators to the center, where they find nectar and pollen they need. Many species of butterflies also like them, and this is a great plant for the caterpillars as well as songbirds that forage on its seeds in the fall.
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Arbor Day is a great time to plant trees for bees. Check out the free guide of 29 Trees for Bees, starting with 5: Redbud, Oak, Crabapple, Willow and Hawthorn. Learn why these native trees are great for bees and habitat restoration. Planting a tree is power-full.
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Join us on Friday, May 20 at The Wilderness Center to celebrate the beloved bee! We’re kicking off this year’s Save Ohio Bees™ campaign from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., rain or shine! Learn about native Ohio bees, and how to ID them, what to plant for pollinators, how to map a bee's flight and more. Also, shop bee-saving gifts and enter to win prizes. RSVP HERE
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Honey bees are naturalized, not native? Yep! These European bees bless us with healing honey, pollen, propolis and beeswax, as well as fruit, vegetable and seed crops like apples, melons and sunflowers, but they are not native to Ohio. Learn about them and the medicinal properties of honey and hive products.
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Planting a wildflower garden is easier than you think. Wouldn't you love to replace a little more lawn with this feast for the eyes (and for the bees?) Bees love a variety of flowering plants to gather nectar (which they need for food and to raise their brood) and nectar (which gives them energy for flight.) Learn more, and get a prairie pocket guide and custom Ohio seed mix.
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Ah, the much misunderstood dandelion. In addition to providing spring food sources for bees and other pollinators, they are good for the land, and good for us. Learn about their benefits for the soil and the land, their rich nutritional and medicinal benefits, and ways you can thin them WITHOUT using chemicals - for the bees, please!
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Bumble Bees are the superheroes (super heroines?) of the native bee world! They are highly social, and the most incredible pollinators because of their unique flight capabilities, fuzzy bodies, "bread basket" thighs for carrying pollen, and their "buzz pollination" capabilities. Their numbers are rapidly declining. Learn what to plant for these winged wonders.
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