Research Grant Reports
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
"Butterflies are very active during the day and visit a variety of wildflowers. Butterflies are less efficient than bees at moving pollen between plants. Highly perched on their long thin legs, they do not pick up much pollen on their bodies and lack specialized...
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...
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...