Field Guide to the Common Bees of California - (California Natural History Guides) by Gretchen Lebuhn

Book Synopsis

This engaging and easy-to-use natural history guidebook provides a thorough overview of native and honey bee biology and offers tools for identifying the most common bees of California and the Western United States. Full-color illustrations introduce readers to more than 30 genera of native bees, noting each one's needs and habits and placing them in their wider context. The author highlights bees' ties to our own lives, the food we eat, and the habitat we provide, and suggests ways to support bees in our own backyards.

In addition to helping readers understand and distinguish among major groups of bees, this guide reveals how bees are an essential part of healthy ecosystem and how many plants, including important crop plants, depend on the pollination they provide. As growing evidence points to declining bee populations, this book offers critical information about the bond between plants and pollinators, and between humans and nature. Thoroughly researched and full of new insights into the ancient process of pollination, Field Guide to the Common Bees of California; Including Bees of the Western United States is invaluable for the window it opens onto the biodiversity, adaptive range, and complexity of invertebrate communities.

Review Quotes

"If you are interested in bees or rely on them to make your garden thrive, this illustrated natural history guidebook is a must-read."--Bob Walch "CoastViews Magazine" (11/11/2013 12:00:00 AM)

"The book will be appreciated by everyone interested in gardening and those who want to know more about biodiversity. Highly recommended."--J. M. Gonzalez "Choice" (4/1/2014 12:00:00 AM)

"Whether you are interested in nature or are an avid Central Coast gardener and recognize the fact that bees are important to the success you have growing fruits, vegetables and flowers, this a guide you'll want to own."--Robert Walch "The Salinas Californian" (7/26/2013 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Gretchen LeBuhn is Professor of Biology at San Francisco State University and the Director of the Great Sunflower Project, a national citizen science program designed to gather information about bee diversity and activity and pollinators more generally.

Noel Pugh is a scientific illustrator.