Research Grant Reports
The Art and Science of Nature Journaling
Editor’s note: The author of this post will be leading a field trip on nature journaling at our 2021 Annual Conference in Trinidad! Nature Journaling can mean something different to each person who practices it. There are numerous approaches for both teaching and...
Wild Bergamot: Commonly Extraordinary
Wild bergamont (Monarda fistulosa) attracts an Aphrodite fritillary butterflyWild Bergamot is abundantly in bloom right now, covering the hills with exuberant bursts of purple, scenting the air nearby with gentle fragrance, and generously providing nectar to a variety...
Ground Nesting Bees
While hiking near Bonanza, Colorado we found a large nest of ground nesting native bees. This is always a very exciting thing to observe. They fly so fast and dive into the holes they have dug. Some are still digging, some are stuffing pollen and nectar...
Hummingbirds Love Penstemons!
Several species of hummingbirds migrate from Mexico and South America to Colorado in the spring each year. They are especially attracted to red flowers. Adding red penstemon to your garden such as Penstemon barbatus is essential for hummingbirds! Penstemon...
Pollination Biology of the Yucca!
Pollination Biology of the Yucca! An Amazing Story to learn about. Have you noticed? The Yucca plants are in bloom! In Colorado there are approximately six species of Yucca which occur in the Agave or Agavaceae Family. Each species of Yucca has its own species of...
2021 Alice Eastwood Scholarship Awarded
2021 Alice Eastwood Scholarship Recipient: Tiffany Gentry (Integrative Biology, University of Colorado Denver). $950. Tiffany moved to Colorado in 2010 and quickly became obsessed with the landscape of the Southern Rocky Mountains, which led her to pursue...
2021 John Marr Grant Award Winners
Marr Grant Recipients: Valerie Martin, $1000 for “Microbial Facilitation of Floral Exploitation in a Subalpine Pollination Mutualism,” Justin Yow, $1000 for “Understanding how climate variability within the Colorado Rocky Mountains affects fuel load dynamics in...
Native Gooseberry Brings in the Pollinators
Early this week the native gooseberry began to bloom. Immediately the shrubs were filled with pollinators including native bees (Osmia spp., and Anthophora spp.), syrphid flies, flies, and butterflies (thicket hairstreak, Milbert's tortoiseshell, hoary comma). Also, I...
Travel Blog to the Purgatoire River
Why not? With a fresh dump of snow smothering the wildflowers nearby, and no family obligations for the weekend, why not run down to the ominously named Purgatoire River and discover its mysteries for myself? A check on the weather cam revealed bare ground in La Junta...
Habitat for Native Pollinators
A native bee heavy enough to lower the keel of a Golden banner flower, (Thermopsis divaricarpa) and receive the pollen reward. ©Carol EnglishProviding foraging habitat for native pollinators with diverse needs! Depending on where you live in Colorado, we are...