by CONPS SD | Sep 23, 2021 | Native Plants and Pollinators
Pollen Wasps will often rest in Penstemon flowers. These rested all night next to my tent. We all felt the sunrise together. Often mistaken for yellow jackets, but actually a non-stinging gatherer of pollen and nectar. You will not see a yellow jacket collecting...
by CONPS SD | Sep 22, 2021 | Native Plants and Pollinators
Bumblebees pollinating Boulder raspberry- Rubus deliciosusIn Crestone, Colorado at 8,500′ Just as we gather berries in a basket, bees gather pollen and nectar in their own specialized pollen baskets. On bumblebees these are called curbiculae. The curbiculae, or...
by CONPS SD | Sep 21, 2021 | Native Plants and Pollinators
Painted lady butterflyPainted lady butterfly, (Vanessa cardui) Photo ©Carol English “Butterflies and moths—both members of the order Lepidoptera—are valuable pollinators, supporting the health of ecosystems and agriculture. As with many other insect species,...
by CONPS SD | Aug 19, 2021 | Native Plants and Pollinators
Specialist Pollinators! One example of many specialists includes the squash bee. Colorado has a native squash called Buffalo Gourd- Cucurbita foetidissima. This native plant gets pollinated ONLY by squash bees in the genera Peponapis and Xenoglossa. I have never been...
by CONPS SD | Aug 15, 2021 | CoNPS Blog
Bob Kennemer acquired more than a casual taste for collecting edible, medicinal, and useful plants soon after leaving the University in Denver when he attended the legendary National Outdoors Leadership School (NOLS). Considered the Harvard of outdoor schools, NOLS...
