Research Grant Reports
The Bouncy Butterfly Proboscis!
Butterfly pollination and some amazing facts: About three decades ago, I sat in an ecology class while the professor, Dr. Cheesman, went on about the amazing elasticity of the proboscis on a butterfly. I sat wide-eyed and amazed as he explained the tissues that assist...
Big and Little Bluestems Not So Blue in Fall
Perhaps you missed the flowers, they’re pretty tiny, but during the rich light of a late sunny afternoon, you can’t miss the brilliant shine of the seed heads of our two native grasses, Big bluestem and Little bluestem. So alike, yet so different, and each is from a...
Meet the New Executive Director – Maggie Gaddis!
Sue: Maggie, I am so excited that the Colorado Native Plant Society now has its first ever Executive Director, but I’m especially excited that it is you! At my first CoNPS conference three years ago you gave a presentation called ‘Botany and Ecocities: Restoring...
Pollen Wasps
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...
Bumble Bees Pollinating Boulder Raspberry
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 pollen...
Butterflies and Moths
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,...
Specialist 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...
Edible, Medical and Useful Plants
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...
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...