Xerces Society Webinars

Join us to learn how on-farm habitat and Integrated Pest and Pollinator Management (IPPM) can boost biodiversity, enhance pest control, and reduce pesticide risks to pollinators. This webinar will cover the benefits of on-farm habitat, the core principles of IPPM, strategies for minimizing pesticide toxicity and exposure to pollinators, and examples of IPPM approaches across different California crops.

We are currently seeking continuing education units (CEUs/CEs) through the Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) program and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR). We will notify all registered participants via email prior to the webinar regarding the status of CEU/CE credit approval.

Learn more about important requirements for receiving Continuing Education Units and register here today!


Staci Cibotti - Pesticide Program Specialist - Xerces Society


Mia Park - Pesticide Program Specialist, Integrated Pest and Pollinator Management Lead - Xerces Society

Important: Allowing someone other than the person identified as the course attendee to complete this online continuing education course, in order to qualify for Department of Pesticide Regulation approved continuing education hours, constitutes fraud.

Committing fraud in connection with meeting any license requirement, including to obtain renewal of any license or certificate issued by the Department of Pesticide Regulation or a County Agricultural Commissioner may result in civil and criminal penalties or license denial, suspension, or revocation.

Note: This webinar is designed for agricultural producers in California. However, growers from other regions may also find much of the information applicable and valuable.

Funding for this webinar is supported by the California Department of Agriculture through the Office of Agricultural Resilience and Sustainability’s Pollinator Habitat Program.

This webinar will be recorded. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

To request a reasonable accommodation or for inquiries about accessibility, please contact [email protected].

This 1-hour workshop will prepare Iowa and Minnesota Bumble Bee Atlas participants to work within federal protections for the rusty-patched bumble bee. During this training, we will cover the federal protections for the rusty-patched bumble bee, how to avoid rusty-patched bumble bee "zones", and how to identify rusty-patched bumble bees. We will also discuss the qualifications volunteers will need to obtain a federal recovery permit for the rusty-patched bumble bee.

This training is highly encouraged for all Iowa and Minnesota Atlas volunteers and is required for all Atlas participants who plan to survey in a grid cell that overlaps the current range of rusty-patched bumble bee (a.k.a., a rusty-patched bumble bee "zone").

This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

This workshop is supported by the University of Minnesota, Iowa State University, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Learn more and register here today!


Genevieve Pugesek - Endangered Species Conservation Biologist, Midwest Bumble Bee Atlas - Xerces Society

To request a reasonable accommodation or for inquiries about accessibility, please contact [email protected].

In this webinar, Dr. Laura Figueroa will present on the importance of pollinators worldwide, factors that influence pollinator communities, and novel monitoring tools (including non-lethal AI based approaches), for monitoring pollinators in changing landscapes. She will present work on bee communities in solar facilities and other human modified environments.

This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Learn more and register here today!


Dr. Laura Figueroa - Assistant Professor; Environmental Conservation Department - University of Massachusetts Amherst
Dr. Laura Figueroa is an Assistant Professor in the Environmental Conservation Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Dr. Figueroa was previously an NSF postdoctoral research fellow, and completed her PhD in entomology at Cornell University. She is broadly interested in insect conservation, with a focus on pollinators in changing landscapes and climate change. She has worked in temperate regions (primarily the Northeastern US) as well as in the tropics (in Costa Rica and in Colombia), and her active research program seeks to answer pressing questions in the field of pollinator conservation.

To request a reasonable accommodation or for inquiries about accessibility, please contact [email protected].

Join Bug Banter podcast co-hosts Rachel Dunham and Matthew Shepherd for a special live recording in celebration of Pollinator Week! They'll be joined by a panel of staff experts to answer your questions and dive into how we can support butterflies, bees, and other vital insects. Bring your questions about creating pollinator-friendly habitats and be part of the conversation to help protect these essential species.

This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel as well as on Bug Banter on all podcast platforms. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Learn more and register here today!


Rachel Dunham - Community Engagement and Volunteer Coordinator - Xerces Society


Matthew Shepherd - Director of Outreach and Education - Xerces Society

To request a reasonable accommodation or for inquiries about accessibility, please contact [email protected].

Pesticides are a hidden hazard in many monarch conservation efforts, whether in working lands, parks, backyards, or monarch overwintering groves. Residues in milkweed and nectar plants can degrade habitat quality and put monarchs at risk. This webinar will unpack the latest science on pesticide contamination in habitat and explore how these chemicals affect butterflies directly and indirectly. Join Emily May, Agricultural Conservation Lead with the Xerces Pesticide Reduction Program, to discuss practical steps land managers, farmers, and gardeners can take to reduce exposure and support the creation of high-quality habitat for monarchs.

This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Learn more and register here today!


Emily May - Agricultural Conservation Lead, Pesticide Program - Xerces Society

To request a reasonable accommodation or for inquiries about accessibility, please contact [email protected].

How are U.S. bee species faring in light of the major threats they are facing? What more do we need to know to protect them? There are over 3,600 species of bees in the United States, but we only know the conservation status of about 20% of those species. This makes it difficult to make decisions about how to prioritize bee conservation. Join Saff Killingsworth, Xerces Endangered Species Conservation Biologist and State of the Bees Initiative, to discuss how conservation biologists decide which bees are imperiled and which bees are safe, highlight some interesting bees of conservation concern, and talk about the Xerces Society’s effort to understand the conservation status of all U.S. bee species.

This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Learn more and register here today!


Saff Killingsworth - Endangered Species Conservation Biologist, State of the Bees Initiative - Xerces Society

To request a reasonable accommodation or for inquiries about accessibility, please contact [email protected].

Bees and other pollinators visit flowers to forage for their food. Floral nectar supplies carbohydrates, and for bees, pollen is a critical protein source necessary to producing offspring. But pollinators also encounter a range of plant chemicals at flowers, some of them potent toxins like nicotine and cardiac glycosides. Why do flowers invest pollinator rewards with chemicals that might poison them? And how do pollinators cope with these chemicals? In this talk, Leif Richardson, Xerces Endangered Species Conservation Biologist, will dive into the fascinating world of plant chemical ecology, and share how these chemicals can both harm and heal their consumers.

This webinar will be recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Closed Captioning will be available during this webinar.

Learn more and register here today!


Leif Richardson - Endangered Species Conservation Biologist, California Bumble Bee Atlas - Xerces Society

To request a reasonable accommodation or for inquiries about accessibility, please contact [email protected].