Native predatory wasps: their role as pollinators and beneficial insects

Date: January 24th, 2023
Time: 7:30-9:00 p.m.
Where: Online

Online presentation by the Ottawa Horticultural Society

Native bees and predatory wasps share the same lineage and also share many behaviours and habitat requirements. Predatory wasps feed their offspring invertebrates (insects and spiders) and bees diverged from this carnivorous diet to feed their offspring plant-based food (pollen and nectar). Flower-rich landscapes provide critical habitat for both adult bees and wasps because they each consume flower nectar; in addition, wasps need diverse, flower-rich landscapes to hunt for their prey.

Speaker Heather Holm will highlight many amazing natural history and biology facts about native wasps illustrating their nesting habitat, prey specificity, and the ecosystems services they provide—pest insect population control and pollination.

Heather is a biologist, pollinator conservationist, and award-winning author. She passionately informs and educates audiences nationwide, through her writing and many presentations, about the fascinating world of native pollinators and beneficial insects, and the native plant communities that support them. The author of several popular and authoritative books, Heather’s expertise includes the interactions between native pollinators and native plants, and the natural history and biology of native bees and predatory wasps. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, among many other publications. Heather is also an accomplished photographer and her pollinator photos are frequently featured in print and electronic publications.