Tune in to Colorado Public Radio on June 16th from 9-10 am for the Colorado Matters show on pollinators! Lisa Mason will be interviewed about Native Bee Watch. Find your local CPR station here.

A female sweat bee (Halictus spp.). Photo: Lisa Mason

Check out the new social media toolkit. We encourage volunteers to post their photos and share their enthusiasm for native bees. Click here to learn more.

I took a break to water flowers in my yard. I came across this little bee who landed on my hand. This bee was less than a quarter of an inch, but she was working hard a pollinating the catmint (Nepeta spp.).

She falls under the Hairy Belly Bee category.

This bee is closely related to Mason bees (Osmiini Tribe). We need a microscope to determine the exact genus, but she is likely a Hoplitis spp. bee. She has special pollen-collecting hairs on the underside of her abdomen. She is also a cavity-nesting bee.

We have two different opportunities to meet with fellow volunteers!

We encourage you to get in touch with volunteers in your area. This is a great way to connect.

To protect the privacy of volunteers, the spreadsheet is password protected. Only 2021 volunteers and staff have access to the spreadsheet. The volunteer chooses to "opt-in" by adding their information to the spreadsheet.

Please let us know if you have questions. We are piloting this method of connecting volunteers in local areas. Please be patient with us as we learn too.

National Pollinator Week is June 21-27th! How are you going to show your appreciation for all the benefits that pollinators provide our world?