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Native Bee Watch Newsletter #3
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Welcome to the Native Bee Watch Newsletter! This biweekly newsletter will provide the current buzz on bee monitoring, tips for best practice observing, the Bee and Plant of the Week, and other fun, educational resources. Enjoy!
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Citizen Scientist Session
Wednesday, July 6th
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We are looking forward to observing bees again this Wednesday from 9am-11am. Remember, it will be another toasty day in the sun! Bring water, a hat and sunscreen!
Schedule
Gardens at Spring Creek
- Diana Dwyer
- Lori Nitzel
- Colleen Fullbright
Nix Farm
- Kate Bolster
- Linda Helm
- Stephanie Kopplin
- Shelly Lynch
CSU Trial Gardens
- Suzy Danford
- Barb Maynard
We have 2 extra spots at the CSU Trial Gardens and 1 extra spot at the Gardens at Spring Creek. Email lisa.mason@colostate.edu if you would like attend.
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Reminders
- Send your photos to Lisa.Mason@colostate.edu!
- If you have participated in at least 2 group bee monitoring sessions, you are welcome to monitor on your own! Ask Lisa if you have questions about getting started!
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Volunteer Spotlight
Meet Citizen Scientist Linda --
The Bee Groupie
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Linda Helm is "mostly" retired from Fine Print Imaging - a fine art and photography reproduction facility celebrating its 41st year of operation in Fort Collins. She and her husband Mark Lukes have dedicated their careers to helping independent photographers and artists succeed.
Why Does She Volunteer?
Over their many years of working with incredible images of the natural world, Linda and Mark have developed a serious commitment to conservation issues both local and global. It is this passion for protecting nature that drew Linda to the Nature in the City Initiative and subsequently to volunteer with the Native Bee Watch. She loves the idea of using "citizen scientists" to help gather data as well as the chance to learn about the life and times of native bees!
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Underground Nest Sighting!
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Volunteers at Nix Farm on June 22nd had an interesting experience. First, they couldn't access the gardens by the farm house because a family of raccoons broke into the building!
Then, while monitoring the garden around the main office building, a ranger showed them a nest of metallic green sweat bees! Native bee nests are hard to find. We watched about 5 bees fly in the nest, and 1 or 2 bees fly out of the nest. What a treat!
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Guess Who Lives in Here?
Another native bee nest was spotted at the Gardens at Spring Creek on Saturday, July 2nd! The bee lives in a tiny cavity just under the stone stair. We weren't able to get a picture of the bee, but we saw the bee fly into the nest twice. Any guesses what type of bee lives here?
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Here is a Hint...
The same type of bee that lives in the cavity in the picture above can also be seen on leaves like this Eastern Redbud tree at the Gardens at Spring Creek. Notice how parts of the leaf are missing. What was this bee doing?
Email your answers to Lisa!
The answers will be in the next edition of the newsletter.
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Bee of the Week: Green Metallic Sweat Bees
Family: Halictidae
Genus: Agapostemon
Sweat bees are very important pollinators as their large populations are second only to those in the Apis family (honey bees, etc).
Agapostemon are generalists so they reach a large variety of flowers that may not be pollinated otherwise. These bees have short tongues, so they prefer flowers that are aren't too deep, and the nectar is easy to access.
Most species live a solitary life in underground nests. Some species live in large communes of 200+ females. In species that have a communal lifestyle, the females will share a common entrance hole. Once underground, each bee creates their own nest, and collects pollen and nectar which will be for the egg they will lay.
The females of Agapostemon can have solid green-blue metallic color over their entire body, or be similar to males with a striped abdomen and are quite fast fliers, while the males typically have a striped abdomen and fly a little more slowly to search for females.
Some great ways to cultivate space for these bees in your garden include:
- Leave bare ground for them to nest. Plastic mulch, weed barrier, rocks, and even wood chips can disturb sweat bee nesting or prevent them from nesting in those areas.
- Plant a large number and variety of pollinator-friendly plants.
Plant of the Week: Little Trudy® Catmint by Plant Select®
Little Trudy® is a compact Catmint with silvery leaves and purple flowers that is perfect for xeric conditions (seasonal dry weather patterns) and attracting pollinators. The smell of catmint is pleasant for both humans and our feline friends. This perennial is low-growing and is great as a ground cover plant. We have seen sweat bees, honey bees and bumble bees on catmint so far this summer!
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Below:
A metallic green sweat bee at the Gardens at Spring Creek on July 2nd. Photo: Lisa Mason
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Native Bee Watch: A Citizen Science Project Exploring Bee Biodiversity in Northern Colorado
Website: nativebeewatch.wordpress.com Contact: Lisa Mason at Lisa.Mason@ColoState.edu
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