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CSU Extension Agents are offering FREE fall gardening classes!

Season Wrap Up
How about that cold snap last week?? We hope everyone was able to harvest or cover their vegetables!

Temperatures were in the low 30's along the Front Range, which means the insect season is starting to slow down. Since the cold snap, I have seen mostly honey bees, only a few native bees (see the bumble bee photo below), and a lot of paper wasps.

It is time to wrap up your bee monitoring sessions! Feel free to do any last observations, otherwise you are welcome to stop monitoring.

If you have some data left to enter, please have all data entered electronically by October 1st. If this is not possible, please email me.

Once all data is entered, we will compile a summary of observations and send it to everyone!

Thank you for all your hard work! We greatly appreciate all your efforts this summer.
A male bumble bee (Bombus huntii) that survived the cold snap is foraging on sunflower nectar. How do I know it is a male? He doesn't have any corbiculae (pollen baskets) on his hind legs. Photo: Lisa Mason
Where Do the Bees Go In Winter?
While we are likely to see honey bees foraging all warm, sunny days throughout the fall, the native bee are wrapping up their season. Here is more information on what happens to bees during the winter time.
A squash bee (Peponapis pruinosa) inside a summer squash plant. Photo: Lisa Mason
Are Wasps Bugging You?
It is September and you can feel the hint of autumn weather in the air. Autumn brings many joys like cool mornings, leaves changing colors, and garden harvests. One aspect you may not appreciate: Those pesky yellow jackets. Read more here.
A western yellowjacket (Vespula pensylvanica) scavenging for food in the garden. Photo: Lisa Mason
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