Stephen Buchmann was born in Rockford, Illinois and grew up in the chaparral covered hillsides of Orange Co., California. An avid bug watcher since the 3rd grade, Buchmann turned his early passions (raising butterflies from caterpillars, collecting fossils, photography) into his adult career as an entomologist and pollination ecologist. His travels have taken him to most of the USA states, throughout Mexico, to Central and South America, to Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. He kept honey bee colonies for their amber honey during High School, and watched native bees buzz pollinate nightshade blossoms in Tonner Cyn. near his home. He earned degrees in biology and a doctorate in Entomology (UCD). Today, as an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona he continues his studies of bee behavior and pollination. His book "The Forgotten Pollinators" (with Gary Paul Nabhan) was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His children's book "The Bee Tree" (with Diana Cohn) was a Skipping Stones Honor Award Book, and "Honey Bees: Letters from the Hive, A History of Bees and Honey" is an NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book. He lives in the saguaro-filled Sonoran Desert landscapes of Tucson, AZ where he is always watching native bees nesting, mating or foraging, and usually pointing his camera at fiery sunsets or local wildflowers.