Native Bee Watch Newsletter #6

A Citizen Science Project Exploring Bee Biodiversity in Northern Colorado

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, August 17th

We are looking forward to observing bees again this Wednesday from 9am-11am.

Gardens at Spring Creek

Diana Dwyer

Nix Farm Natural Area

Lori Nixon
Stephanie Kopplin

CSU Trial Gardens

Kate Rentschlar
Suzy Danford

End-of-Season Celebration!

Mark your calendar for Wednesday, September 7th, 6-8pm for a volunteer appreciation event at Nix Farm Natural Area (the same place we held the training). In collaboration with Nature in the City, we will talk about the season successes! Special guest speaker, Jamie Weiss from Audubon Rockies, will talk about how to apply your new knowledge to your own backyards! Dinner and refreshments will be provided.

Look Closely!

At first glance, this insect could look like a bee or a wasp. If you look at the key characteristics, this insect is a syrphid fly! Note there is only one pair of wings, very small antennae, and it is not hairy like most bees. This syrphid fly was spotted on moon carrot, a Plant Select species at the CSU Trial Gardens (see below for the Plant of the Week).

Bee of the Week: Mining Bees

Also called digger bees

Family: Apidae

Subfamily: Andrenidae

Mining bees are solitary bees that nest underground. The female miner bee creates a chamber at the end of a tunnel for her offspring. The tunnel is coated in a waxy material and filled through the summer season with pollen, a provision for her overwintering offspring. The life cycle of a mining bee is one year, and both female and male offspring are fertile. Mining bees need bare ground for nesting. You can create space for them in your garden by leaving uncovered bare soil. Photo Credit: Jackie at BugGuide.net

Plant of the Week: Moon Carrot

Moon carrot (Sesli gummiferum) is a great plant for xeriscape gardens, in addition to attracting pollinators! It is a biennial plant, so it takes two years to complete its life cycle. During the second year of growth, the plant produces 5-inch umbels of pale pink to white flowers. The stems and leaves are silvery gray/blue. Moon carrot is easy to grow and can tolerate full sun to partial shade. The moon carrot plants at the CSU Trial Gardens attracted a high diversity and abundance of bees this summer!

For more information, click here .

Photo: Lisa Mason

Below: A bumble bee at the Gardens at Spring Creek on July 19th. Photo: Lisa Mason

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