Birds

Laramie Area Pollinator Pocket Guide

See a pollinator? Be a Citizen Scientist - visit www.uwyo.edu/berrycenter

BumblebeesBumblebees are large, fuzzy bees that use buzz pollination to extract pollen from flow-ers. Buzz pollination involves the bee flex-ing its thoracic muscles, vibrating the flower to shake out the pollen. Bumblebees carry their pollen in baskets on their legs, which can become large when filled with pollen!

In Laramie, there are approximately 20 species of bumblebees, the most common being Bombus huntii and B. bifarius.

Bumblebees are ground nesters, usually finding an abandoned rodents’ hole or another cavity underground. You can also build a box like the one shown here as a housing alternative for the bees. Visit www.uwyo.edu/berrycenter to learn how!

More Resources

Leafcutter BeesLeafcutter bees get their descriptive name from their way of making nest cells - by cutting pieces of leaves or petals, flying them back to the nest site, and laying an egg in each piece of leaf. Their nests are usually in underground tunnels or in existing holes or tunnels in wood. When you see a lilac bush or a hosta plant with holes cut from it, you could have a leafcutter bee colony nearby!

Leafcutter bees are most attracted to composite flowers, like asters, sunflowers, blanketflowers and others for their pollen. They cut leaves from a variety of plants, so having a diversity of flowers in your yard will foster leafcutter bee habitat!

Butterflies

Xerces Society: www.xerces.orgPollinator Partnership: www.pollinator.orgUS Forest Service publications: www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinatorsUniversity of Wyoming Extension: www.uwyo.edu/cesBerry Biodiversity Conservation Center: www.uwyo.edu/berrycenter

Hummingbirds are the most common bird pollinator in the Laramie area. Three species are found around Laramie, including the rufous (shown bottom left). Hummingbirds are nectar specialists, so favor plants like orange honeysuckle, penstemon, hyssop and others. They use their long tongues to access the nectar deep within the flower structure, which gets their beaks and throats covered in pollen. Hummingbirds can maneuver easily in many directions, and can hover by a plant by beating their wings up to 200 beats per second!

Other bird pollinators include Bullock’s orioles (below left) and ruby-crowned kinglets (below right).

Butterflies typically favor plate-shaped flowers like asters and sunflowers and red, purple or yellow flowers. Important butterfly pollinators in the Laramie area include:

Mourning Cloak: This species overwinters as adults, so are the first to emerge in spring!

Western Tiger Swallowtail: Caterpillars are fond of feeding on western tree species (cot-tonwood, aspen, etc.), but adults drink nectar from a variety of flowers!

Alfalfa Butterfly: These butterflies prefer alfalfa, milkweed, clover and many prairie flowers.

Interested in other Citizen Science projects? Learn more at www.uwyo.edu/berrycenter

Photos outlined in purple were taken by Dr. Alex Latchininsky, University of Wyoming Extension Entomologist

Why do we care about pollinators?

Pollinators, including bees, flies, butterflies, moths, birds, ants, beetles and many other creatures, are nature’s vehicle for spreading pollen. Plants make pollen as part of their reproduction process so their species will have a healthy population. Without pollinators, we wouldn’t have many of the fruits, vegetables, flowers and trees we enjoy today!

But pollinator populations are declining, partly because of land use change and pesticide usage. You can help be part of the solution!

• Provide food, water and shelter for pollinators• Enlist in the Laramie No Spray Program• Collect and submit data about pollinators you see so

scientists can track populations

Mason BeesMason bees are solitary bees, meaning they don’t travel or work in groups. They usually have a metallic coloration (green or blue). They are very important pollinators for fruit trees, and are often called Orchard Mason Bees as a result.

These bees make their nests in narrow tubes and tunnels, using mud as a way to seal in their eggs and seal out intruders and the cold. The mason bee condos shown below are ways you can provide housing for bees in your yard.

Mason bees like lots of native plants, especially penstemons, and fruit trees like apple, cherry, chokecherry, service-berry, hawthorn and others.

Carpenter Bees

Carpenter bees are also solitary bees that live and work alone. They look similar to bumble-bees in shape and coloring, but carpenter bees aren’t as fuzzy as bumbles - look at the shiny abdomen of the carpenter bee!

Carpenter bees get their names by drilling holes into wood to create nests, often in fence posts or wood siding.

These bees pollinate a variety of plants, includ-ing apple trees and chokecherry, but particu-larly love goldenrods and blanket flower.

They can be mischievous pollinators by slitting the petals of tubular flowers at the base, directly accessing the nectar, instead of politely entering through the open end of the flower.

Other types of important bees

2. Squash bees - Pollinate squash, pumpkins, melons and other similar plants. They nest under the same plants they pollinate, so be careful to not squish the nests when you harvest your veggies! They look very similar to honeybees but live very different lives.

1. Miners - Shy, medium to large bees with fuzz between their eyes. They’re usually active only in spring.

3. Sweat bees - Small, metallic green bees that are attracted to salts in humans’ sweat. They’re wonderful pollinators!

All of these bees are ground nesters, so be careful when you dig up your vegetable garden or flower bed to watch for the nests of these beneficial insects!

Moths

Beetles, Flies and Wasps

Sphinx moths, unlike their other moth cousins, are active during the day so are commonly spotted drinking nectar from pale or white fragrant flowers. They follow the scent of flowers in the breeze, and use their exceptionally long tonguesto access the nectar inside the flower. Their tongues can be as long as or longer than their entire bodies! The caterpillars are often found in the garden, called tomato hornworms.

Two other moths that play a large role in pollination in the Laramie area include Grote’s Underwing (below left) and the Polyphemus Moth (below right).

Flower Longhorn Beetle: These critters have antennae that are as long or longer than their bodies.

Hover Fly: These flies are bee copy-cats to avoid preda-tors. They even like the same flowers as bees: currants, gentian (like the one on the upper left) and others. Their larvae find small insects scrumptious.

Pollen Wasp: These insects look very similar to yellow jackets, but never fear, it doesn’t sting humans! The wasp here is pollinating a penstemon.

These insects are more generalists when it comes to their meals, so they get their food from a variety of sources, including plants, and end up pollinating plants as a result. Their groups are varied and diverse; just three examples are listed below.