Enthusiastic Photos

Richard B. Primack  

 

“What was enthusiasm in the young man must become temperament in the mature man.”  Henry David Thoreau in his Journal. 

 

Katia Landauer presenting a pollinator poster with Richard Primack at the Boston University Undergraduate Research symposium.

Libby Ellwood, Abe Miller-Rushing, and Caroline Polgar spelling HDT (Henry David Thoreau) while attending an Ecological Society of America meeting some years ago.

Amanda Gallinat and Richard Primack spelling OPUS (the name of our NSF program) at a recent meeting at Colby College.

Richard Primack and Abe Miller-Rushing spelling OPUS at Acadia National Park.  

In Honor of Casper Bauhin (1560-1624)

 By Richard B. Primack  

 

“A man is wise with the wisdom of his time only & ignorant with its ignorance.”  Henry David Thoreau in his Journal. 

 

In September, the University of Basel in Switzerland celebrated the life of the famous botanist Casper Bauhin with a special international symposium, “400 years of Botanical Collection: Implications for Present-Day Research.” 

 

Participants in the symposium.

Among his many contributions, Bauhin established the university’s botanical garden, was a pioneer in developing the concept of the genus, described many plant species for the first time, and completed a flora of Basel. 

A portrait of Bauhin.

Bauhin’s Flora of Basel from 1622.

Bauhin’s herbarium contains many of the oldest specimens of important cultivated plants, such as potato. 

A herbarium specimen of potato prepared by Bauhin.

As part of the symposium, I presented a keynote talk on the use of botanical gardens and plant collections in climate change research. 

Primack presents a talk at the symposium.

 

Are Pollinators Being Supported in Newton?

By Richard B. Primack  

 

“The effect of a good government is to make life more valuable – of a bad government to make it less valuable.”  Henry David Thoreau in his Journal. 

 

 

Is Newton -- replete with public open spaces, private landscapes, and ever more pollinator gardens -- adequately supporting its native pollinators? Are non-native European honeybees competing with or harming our native insect pollinators? The City of Newton is asking these questions as it considers new regulations that would restrict honeybee numbers on public and private land.  

Honeybees and bumblebees on ornamental onions in a private garden.

To investigate this topic, from June to October 2022 Selby Vaughn, Katia Landauer, and I systematically visited Newton’s natural areas and gardens to determine what flowers native insects and honeybees are visiting. 

 

Giant black wasp visiting swamp milkweed flowers in Wellington Park.

Most pollinators were found on the biggest displays of flowers, primarily non-native cultivated plants on private and public property. Pollinators also visited native and non-native plants flowering in Newton’s forests, wetland meadows, and fields. 

 

Carpenter bees visiting coast pepperbush flowers in Webster Woods.

We saw surprisingly few native butterfly species visiting flowers, perhaps due to dearth of appropriate nectar sources and the effects of the drought.  

 

Tiger swallowtail butterfly visiting Joe Pye weed flowers in a pollinator garden. 

Our observations of mixtures of honeybees, bumblebees, and solitary bees on flowers throughout Newton suggests that native pollinator populations and honeybees can co-exist. It remains unknown how native pollinator populations would change if the number of honeybee hives increased or decreased.  

Introduced cabbage butterflies and honeybees visiting non-native purple loosestrife flowers in the Webster Woods.

In addition to regulating honeybee hives,  Newton residents and the City should also consider protecting, managing, and expanding flower and habitat resources, including larger and more diverse pollinator gardens, that native pollinators need in order to thrive.  

 

Bumblebee visiting mountain mint flowers at the City Hall pollinator garden. 

See the following for a longer treatment of this topic: 

 

https://newtonconservators.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Newsletter-2022-Fall-.pdf