Royal Saskatchewan Museum Displays Spectacular Saskatchewan Bee Photos at University of Regina

Released on April 16, 2013

An exhibit displaying high-resolution, close-up images of nine bees found in Saskatchewan, including native Leaf Cutter and Cuckoo Bees, is now on display on the fourth floor of the University of Regina’s (U of R) Laboratory building.

In addition to showcasing the outstanding capabilities of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum’s (RSM) new digital imaging system, the exhibit will also raise awareness of Dr. Cory Sheffield’s work.  Dr. Sheffield is a research scientist and Curator of Invertebrate Zoology at the RSM.  He is also one of Canada’s foremost authorities on bees.
 
“Our growing province has propelled us to the forefront in a variety of areas,” Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Kevin Doherty said.  “This display is an opportunity to showcase some of the important scientific research performed at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum.  Dr. Sheffield and the digital imaging system, one of only three such systems in Canada, are helping raise Saskatchewan’s profile and create a reputation for the RSM as a research institution that is both innovative and progressive.”

The RSM and the U of R agreed that a photo display showcasing some of Saskatchewan’s most eye-catching bees would be an appropriate replacement for a mammoth tusk exhibit that was displayed in the same spot at the university for a number of years.

“I am pleased to have the new display for several reasons,” University of Regina professor and Biology Department Head Dr. Mark Brigham said.  “Most importantly, it will attract students’ attention to some of the cool things going on and of course, it is much more pleasing to the eye and educational than the old tusk.  However, perhaps even more importantly, it highlights the research collaborations that exist between the department and the museum - interactions that both institutions benefit from significantly.”

“The digital imaging system is an astounding piece of technology,” RSM Director Harold Bryant said.  “We are so fortunate to have Dr. Sheffield on staff, someone who is skilled in using this sort of system, and to be able to display some of the high-quality images in a place as public as the University of Regina, while highlighting some of the RSM’s research interests at the same time.”

The RSM’s digital imaging system was part of the reason Dr. Sheffield, who completed his PhD at the University of Guelph in 2006, decided to bring his research to Regina.  Additionally, he also sees great opportunities to discover new bee species in the province and to focus efforts on how Saskatchewan’s native bee species can be best managed to pollinate Saskatchewan’s crops.  One of his noteworthy accomplishments: rediscovering the now endangered Macropis Cuckoo Bee, a species of bee that was thought extinct because it hadn’t been recorded since the 1950s.

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For more information, contact:

Chelsea Coupal
Parks, Culture and Sport
Regina
Phone: 306-787-5781
Email: chelsea.coupal@gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-527-8152