Author Archives: sukahumbu

 There are more different kinds of beetles on the planet than any other group of creatures. Beetles have been around for a very long time, hundreds of millions of years in fact. Some beetles developed relationships with plants as specialised pollinators even before bees had appeared on the scene! Beetles are important pollinators in some habitats where […]

 Bees are insects. Together with ants and wasps they belong in the insect group Hymenoptera. You may be surprised that there are over 20,000 known species of bees in the world. Bees in East Africa include carpenter bees, Amegilla bees, stingless bees, longhorn bees, and honeybees. These bees vary from each other physically—being of different sizes […]

 A ‘bee hotel’ may sound like a strange idea, but it is simply a nest for bees of different species. It offers a practical way of attracting pollinators to your farm, or garden. The bee hotel could consist of just a tube filled with hollow reeds, or be more complex. Hollow reeds are very appealing to leafcutter […]

 Moths are not the only pollinators active in the dark—bats and bushbabies are mammals that feed during the night. Flowers that are pollinated by bats open in the evening, or during the night, contain nectar, and have a fruity scent. The white flowers of baobab trees are a good example. Baobab trees are pollinated by fruit bats, […]

  While ants are among the most abundant, diverse and ecologically important groups of insects in the ecosystem, they are on whole not good pollinators. A few succulents and other plants (including some Euphorbias) are pollinated by ants. Plants in harsh, arid drylands are the ones that seem to rely on ants as there might be […]

We live in one of the most diverse and beautiful regions on the planet. In a part of the world where most people make their living from farming, and are directly connected to nature in their daily lives. This book is therefore an excellent effort to engage the general public on the diversity and importance of […]

First and foremost I would like to thank the many farmers and communities I have been privileged to work with, and who participated in our pollinator projects across East Africa. Though far too many to mention individually, they hold the future of pollinators in their hands. Only with their help can we develop more sustainable […]

Dr Dino Martins Photo Credit C. Lewis Dr. Dino J. Martins studies ants, bees, and other insects, and their interactions with plants. He holds a research fellowship with the Turkana Basin Institute-Stony Brook University (USA), and lives and teaches in his home country, Kenya. Dino is a scientist, naturalist, artist, prolific writer, and shares his love […]