California Native Bee Society

Monthly Meeting: Dr. Leif Richardson
2026-03-10 18:30 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Join us for our virtual monthly meeting!
Register for the Zoom meeting here.
We’ll kick things off at 6:30 pm with a few quick Society updates to get everyone up to speed.
Next up: we’ll spotlight a California native plant that’s been absolutely buzzing with activity lately!
Bee sightings welcome!We’ll then turn the mic over to community members who’ve been out photographing bees to share what they’ve discovered. If you’d like to participate, please upload your photos using this Google Form. We’ll share your photos on screen, and you can unmute to tell us a bit about the bee you found.
At 7:00 pm, we’ll welcome our featured speaker, Dr. Leif Richardson
Dr. Richardson is a conservation biologist with The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, where he leads the California Bumble Bee Atlas, a community science project to inventory the native bees of the state. In this capacity, he has primary responsibility for most aspects of the project, including training volunteers, obtaining permits, field inventory, species identification, and fundraising. More generally, his research focuses on the ecology, distribution, and declines of North American bumble bees. Dr. Richardson previously worked as an environmental consultant, studying pesticide risk to bee pollinators, and as an ecologist for Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. He is co-author of a range of scientific publications on bees, including Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide (2014), the standard reference manual on this group of insects. He is an expert in the inventory and identification of bumble bees, and has extensive experience training others to collect bumble bee distribution data in the field.
If you are interested in joining the CA Bumble Bee Atlas, learn more here.

San Diego Bird Festival
2026-02-28 - 2026-03-01 | Marina Village Conference Center, 1936 Quivira Way, San Diego, CA, United States
We will be tabling at the annual San Diego Bird Festival over the weekend. Drop by, say hello, and grab some bee merch!

Monthly Meeting: Corey Andrikopoulos - The Stingless Bees of Palo Alto
2026-02-10 18:30 - 20:00 | Virtual
🌼 Join us for our virtual monthly meeting! 🌼
Register for the Zoom meeting here.
We’ll kick things off at 6:30 pm with a few quick Society updates to get everyone up to speed.
🐝 Next up: we’ll spotlight a California native plant that’s been absolutely buzzing with activity lately!
📸 Bee sightings welcome!We’ll then turn the mic over to community members who’ve been out photographing bees to share what they’ve discovered. If you’d like to participate, please upload your photos using this Google Form. We’ll share your photos on screen, and you can unmute to tell us a bit about the bee you found.
🎤 At 7:00 pm, we’ll welcome our featured speaker, Corey Andrikopoulos to talk about The Stingless Bees of Palo Alto

Corey is a biologist and educator whose career sits at the intersection of ecology, horticulture, and community engagement. After years of conducting pollinator research across the western United States and managing farms along California’s North Coast, Corey found his ideal home in public gardens. He currently serves as Garden Director at the Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden in Palo Alto, where native plants and pollinator-supportive landscapes are central to garden design and public programming.

Tabling at Love Your Wetlands Day
2026-02-07 09:00 - 14:00 | Kendall Frost Marsh, 2055 Pacific Beach Dr, San Diego, CA, United States
We will be at Love Your Wetlands Day in San Diego. Drop by to learn about native bees!

California Native Plant Society Conference
2026-02-05 - 2026-02-07 | Riverside Convention Center, 3637 5th St, Riverside, CA, United States
We are tabling at the California Native Plant Society conference. Stop by Table 24 and say hi!
