Taxonomist & Ecologist Michael Orr (016)

Have you ever wondered about the bee biodiversity in other countries? In this episode, meet Dr. Michael Orr, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, where he has worked for the last three years. Michael is a taxonomist and ecologist, who has studied the aggregations of the sandstone excavating bee, the tiny Anthophora pueblo.

Listen as Kirsten talks with Michael and learn why these bees spend so much time and energy to create nest holes in the pueblo walls.

He just recently published an important paper on global bee distribution and on the show, we discuss how our collection strategies both historically and currently contain inherent biases. Many species sit in drawers waiting to be fully described as type species.

Listen today and learn how bee taxonomists and digitization of collections is moving our understanding of bee diversity forward.

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Learn more about the 2 Million Blossoms and about protecting our pollinators at: https://www.2millionblossoms.com/

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We welcome Betterbee as sponsor of today's episode. BetterBee’s mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent customer service, continued education and quality equipment. From their colorful and informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational activities, including this podcast series, BetterBee truly is Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at www.betterbee.com

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Music: Original 2 Million Blossoms Theme, by Oscar Morante / Mooi Studios. Guitar music by Jeffrey Ott

2 Million Blossoms - The Podcast is a joint audio production of Protect Our Pollinators, LLC and Growing Planet Media, LLC