The Gardiner Lab OSU

09/01/2020

The Bug Zoo in Wooster is on the move! As part of a new building is interactive kid-friendly attraction is seeking donations to expand their outreach activities. See details in the attached article.

Help The Ohio State University raise $25,000 for the project: Support the Bug Zoo's big move to the new science building!. Your gift will make a difference!

09/22/2019

Our September bee collections from Cleveland Pocket Prairies, Metropark Grasslands, and Vacant Lots are complete!

09/19/2019

Last of the summer blooms in our Cleveland pocket prairies! September bee sampling is underway.

07/17/2019

Interested in the ecology of vacant land and its conservation potential? Join us next month at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History to learn more! Register by August 12.

Workshop and Tour on August 19 July 17 2019 From Blight to Bright: Reimagining vacant land to support people and biodiversity in cities Are you interested in urban conservation? A field tour and workshop on August 19 hosted by Dr. Mary Gardiner and her Laboratory will highlight the importance of vac...

07/16/2019

With the storms predicted mid week much of the lab had long field days Monday and Tuesday. One team set pitfall traps to catch spiders, ants, and beetles along with sticky cards to capture lady beetles. A second group sampled bees at all blooming plant species using small vacuums. You can see this time of year the vacant lot sites begin to dry down a bit. Our pocket prairies have blooming bee balm, coneflower, and cup plant. Some of the cup plant is over 8 feet tall!

07/15/2019

Katie Turo and I were interviewed today about our Pocket Prairie study!

06/27/2019

Flowering milkweed is a resource for butterflies, bees and many other nectar and pollen feeding insects. However, allowing all milkweed to go to flower might not be ideal for developing monarch caterpillars. Research from the Landis Lab at Michigan State University finds that butterflies are more likely to lay eggs on new growth from milkweed plants that are cut back. This is not to suggest that you should cut back all your plants, the Landis Lab recommends rotational cutting scheme that will allows both flowering plants and new growth to be present. Find the link to their report below.

Michigan is an important state for supporting the summer breeding population of monarchs. Here is an update on what we do and don’t know about increasing egg laying and survival.

06/27/2019

Common milkweed is in bloom in our pocket prairies and vacant lots.

06/19/2019

Ohio Spiderwort is in full bloom in our pocket prairies this week.

06/11/2019

After dandelions go to seed white clover begins to flower in Ohio lawns and vacant lots. This plant is an important food source for urban bees!

06/11/2019

Insects forage on both non-native plants like dandelion and seeded natives such as golden alexander and foxglove beardtongue this time of year in our Cleveland, OH pocket prairies.

06/04/2019

Do you know a young person (~3-8th grader) who is interested in environmental science and insects? Looking for a fun science project to complete at home this summer? The Gardiner Lab at The Ohio State University has launched Dandelion Detectives! We are registering Citizen Science Detectives from around the country to measure the value of weeds for bees and other insects! the program has a registration fee of $10 to support printing and shipping costs. See our website for registration and program details! Please share this post!

Home Become a Dandelion Detective! The Gardiner Lab at The Ohio State University is developing a youth-focused citizen science program called Dandelion Detectives. We are seeking individuals, school groups, and other youth organizations to participate in this collaborative project! Dandelion Detecti...