Join us at Moberly Arts and Cultural Centre this Sunday with Special Guest Sean McCann!

 Photo by Sean McCann
  

You are invited to a Special Moberly Pollinator Picnic and Presentation this Sunday July 20 at 11 am.

It's Free!

Please Join us this Sunday at Moberly with a photo presentation and workshop with special Guest Sean McCann.

Sean McCann is a biologist and nature photographer with a special passion for noisy birds (Caracaras) and cuckoo bees (Coelyoxis). Sean has just defended his PhD thesis on Red-throated Caracara foraging biology, after studying the birds for 5 seasons in French Guiana. He has also studied the defensive behaviour of social wasps and mosquito reproduction. Sean's blog at Ibycter.com features his talent for capturing photos of a wide range of fauna and his a talent for finding fascinating subject matter in unexpected places.

Sean McCann will give a photo presentation at 11 am, followed by a BYO (bring your own) picnic lunch and a garden safari/photography workshop. Bring your camera! Dress for the weather--pith helmets are optional.

There will also be a few nibbles of a mysterious nature provided by Cascadia North Catering and Shaktea.

When: Sunday July  20 @ 11 am - 2:30 pm

Where: Behind the Moberly Arts and Cultural Centre

7646 Prince Albert Street, (one block east of 60^th and Fraser)

 Photo by Sean McCann

Photo by Sean McCann

A Cuckoo Came to Our Pollinator Picnic!!!!

Photo: Coelioxys on Santolina blossoms

There is a short border of Yellow Lavender (aka Cotton Lavender, aka Lavender Cotton) around the community herb garden at Moberly. Although we usually trim it low to keep it tidy, I decided to let one corner bloom to see which insects visited the flowers. Eagle-eyed Erin Udall from the Environmental Youth Alliance spotted a cuckoo bee hanging out on one of the flowers which is composed of tiny yellow florets. You've never seen me whip out my camera so fast to capture a shot of this bee. Erin explained that this bee is a cleptoparasite that lays its eggs in the nest of other bees. Our distinguished human visitor, botanist Douglas Justice, (with tongue firmly in cheek) asked: "Shouldn't we be squashing this bee if it preys on other bees?" "No!", we exclaimed in unison, "It's a sign of healthy biodiversity. Leave the cuckoo alone!" The Coelioxys responded by flying off to another celebrity appearance and was not available for comment.

Check out Sean McCann's blog for super cute photos of cuckoo bees sleeping on tansy stems.