Badger Talk: Native Bees of Wisconsin

This is a free, in-person talk hosted on October 25, 2026 at 1:00 PM by La Crosse County Historical Society and the Nature Place in La Crosse, WI. No registration required. This talk will not be available virtually. Wisconsin is home to 500 kinds of native bees! Discover the diversity and life histories of these important pollinators. Learn how you can create and manage habitat for them, using native plants and bee-friendly gardening practices. Susan Carpenter is the Native Plant Garden curator and gardener at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum. Since 2003, she has worked with students and community volunteers to maintain and monitor a 4-acre garden representing the plant communities of southern Wisconsin. She also leads a conservation project that involves students and the public in documenting and studying native bumble bees, including the endangered rusty-patched bumble bee, Bombus affinis. A graduate of Stanford University, Susan earned her MS in Botany and MS in Science Education at UW–Madison. Her professional interests include plant ecology, ecological restoration, pollinator conservation, and science education.