Bees and mosses with Castlemaine Field Nats – 10 & 11 June 2022

Posted on 7 June, 2022 by Ivan

As a monthly tradition, our friends and project partners at Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club (CFNC) hold a meeting with a guest speaker on the second Friday of the month, followed by a group excursion or field trip the following day. The Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club have provided the following details about their June 2022 meeting and excursion, which both sound fascinating. All are welcome to attend. For more information on CFNC, please visit their website – click here

Monthly meeting: Friday 10 June 2022 at 7.30pm via Zoom

‘What’s on a bee’s mind? Understanding the behaviours of native and introduced bees’ with Dr Scarlett Howard (Deakin University)

How do we ask a bee a question? Can you train a bee? What types of tasks can they solve? Can they acquire concepts? What is the limit of intelligence in a miniature brain?

Scarlett will answer these questions and more using examples from the European honeybee and Australian native bees. We’ll discuss how you can train a bee, how training differs between species, and how to treat bees as individuals. We will learn how understanding learning, memory and cognition in insects informs us about pollination. And we’ll delve into how we’re pushing the limits of what a miniature bee brain is capable of.

If you have registered for our previous webinar meetings you will be sent the link for registering with Zoom. If you have not joined before and wish to attend, please email Peter Turner at munrodsl@iinet.net.au

Excursion: Saturday 11 June 2022 at 10 am

Moss Foray at Clinkers Hill with Cassia Read

Cassia will take us for a slow walk in the Clinkers Bushland reserve and nearby, exploring the variety of moss species along the way. She will give us clues for distinguishing mosses from lichens and point out the features useful for identification of different moss species including the habitat where they are growing. She will explain the importance of mosses in our ecosystem and their role as colonisers after fire and soil disturbance.

Meet: 10.00am at the Octopus (Duke St, Castlemaine VIC, opposite the Castle Motel) or 10.10 am at the top end of Preshaw Street, Castlemaine where the tar turns to dirt road.

Bring: Water, snacks, sturdy shoes and hat. There will be some hand lenses available, but bring a hand lens if you have one. If it’s a dry day it would be good for a few people to bring a spray bottle of water.

The field trip will be cancelled in extreme weather conditions.